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Tempering is a process of heat treating, which is used to increase the toughness of iron-based alloys. Tempering is usually performed after hardening, to reduce some of the excess hardness, and is done by heating the metal to some temperature below the critical point for a certain period of time, then allowing it to cool in still air. The exact ...
Normalizing not only produces pearlite but also martensite and sometimes bainite, which gives harder and stronger steel but with less ductility for the same composition than full annealing. In the normalizing process the steel is heated to about 40 degrees Celsius above its upper critical temperature limit, held at this temperature for some ...
The temperature range for process annealing ranges from 260 °C (500 °F) to 760 °C (1400 °F), depending on the alloy in question. This process is mainly suited for low-carbon steel. The material is heated up to a temperature just below the lower critical temperature of steel.
Differential tempering begins by taking steel that has been uniformly quenched and hardened, and then heating it in localized areas to reduce the hardness. The process is often used in blacksmithing for tempering cutting instruments, softening the back, shaft, or spine, but simultaneously tempering the edge to a very high hardness. The process ...
The steel is gradually heated until the desired temper colours are drawn, generally at a temperature significantly lower than the alloy's critical temperature. Different colours in the temper spectrum reflect different balances of hardness to toughness, so different temper levels are appropriate for different applications.
However, precipitates of chromium, copper, or other elements can strengthen the steel by similar amounts in comparison to hardening and tempering. The strength can be tailored by adjusting the annealing process, with lower initial temperatures resulting in higher strengths. The lower initial temperatures increase the driving force of nucleation.
As with conventional quench and tempering the material being heat treated must be cooled from the austenitizing temperature quickly enough to avoid the formation of pearlite. The specific cooling rate that is necessary to avoid the formation of pearlite is a product of the chemistry of the austenite phase and thus the alloy being processed.
Time-Temperature-Transformation diagram for two steels: one with 0.4% wt. C (red line) and one with 0.4% wt. C and 2% weight Mn (green line). P = pearlite, B = bainite and M = martensite. Isothermal transformation diagrams (also known as time-temperature-transformation ( TTT ) diagrams ) are plots of temperature versus time (usually on a ...