<![CDATA[One effective approach to improve the surface hardness of steel is pack carburizing, in which carbon is introduced into the surface in a sealed chamber. This study investigates the effect of different carbon powder media on the surface hardness and microstructure of low-carbon steel subjected to pack carburizing. Three carbon sources were employed: bamboo charcoal, coconut shell charcoal, and beef bone charcoal. Each carburizing medium was prepared by mixing 70 wt.% carbon powder with 30 wt.% Ba₂CO₃ energizer. The carburized specimens were characterized by Vickers hardness testing and optical metallography to evaluate hardness response and carbon diffusion depth. The results show that pack carburizing significantly increases surface hardness, with the highest hardness obtained with bamboo charcoal, reaching 416.4 HVN, corresponding to a 59.4% increase over the base material's hardness of 156.8 HVN. Microstructural observations confirm that the carbon diffusion depth depends strongly on the carbon source, with the greatest depth of 538 μm from the surface also observed with bamboo charcoal. These findings indicate that bamboo-based carbon media are particularly effective for enhancing the surface properties of low-carbon steel through pack carburizing.]]>
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