TOFEDU: The Future of Education Journal
Vol 5 No 2 (2026)

Analysis of the Hardness of AISI 4140 Steel Gears after Carbon Enrichment Using Coconut Shell Charcoal

Supriadi Supriadi (Universitas Ekasakti Padang)
Mukhnizar Mukhnizar (Universitas Ekasakti Padang)
Veny Selviyanty (Universitas Ekasakti Padang)



Article Info

Publish Date
15 Jul 2026

Abstract

Carbon steel is widely used in engineering and industrial applications, particularly in machine component. One of the most important properties of steel is its strength. In addition to having good resistance to friction, steel is also required to possess adequate hardness. However, excessive hardness may lead to increased brittleness AISI 4140 steel is an  alloy steel known for its good strength and toughness, nevertheless, in certain application, it still requires improved surface hardness to enhance wear resistance and extend component service live. This study aims to analyse the hardness improvement of AISI 4140 steel gears after carbon enrichment though a carburizing process using coconut shell charcoal as the carbon source, followed by aquenching process with three different cooling media air, water and new oil. The experimental method with solid carburizing technique was applied at a temperature of 900⁰ C and a holding time of 2 hours. Hardness teting was performed using the Vickers method to determine the changes before and after treatment. The results indicate that air cooling resulted in a hardness of 226,63 HV, showing a decrease of – 1,2 % compared to untreated speciments 229.57 HV. Water cooling produced a hardness of 234,83 HV, corresponding to an increase of 234,83 HV, corresponding to an increase of 2.29 %. Meanwhile, oil cooling resulted in the highest hadness value of 239,60 HV, withan increase 436 %.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

journal

Publisher

Subject

Education Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media Mathematics Other

Description

TOFEDU Journal is a scientific journal related to research results, conceptual studies, critical/comprehensive studies in the field of education. The results of the work of the researchers are expected to make a positive contribution in the field of education in order to achieve equitable, inclusive ...