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Heat treatment is a set of processes that are performed with the intention of altering the physical properties of the material in question. The alteration may also target chemical properties besides the physical ones. The most common application for this application is metallurgical. The use of industrial heat treating is not only in metals, but rather in a wide range of materials, including glass.
It requires extreme temperatures to do these processes. Either extremely cold or extremely hot temperatures are used. Such temperatures allow for hardening or softening materials. Like stated above, various processes are comprised in heat treatment, including normalizing, annealing, tempering, precipitation strengthening, aging, case hardening, and quenching. The term heat treatment is preserved for processes that lead to cooling or heating with the intentional of altering of material. Other processes that result in incidental heating and heating do not go by this name.
Different quality levels are achieved depending on precision of the timing and maintenance of temperature. The purpose of being very precise with the temperatures and timing is to achieve the desired qualities. Qualities often vary depending on the temperature and duration of heating. Undesirable results can be easily achieved if the temperatures and timing are not maintained precisely.
Annealing is a very general term. The process of annealing refers to heating metal and then allowing it to cool off at some rate. Cooling is generally done a very slow pace. After cooling is complete, the resultant metal has a refined microstructure with constituents separated partially or completely. The reason for doing annealing is to improve qualities like machinability, electrical conductivity, and ability to be cold worked.
Normalizing is done so that the metal can attain uniformity in the grain size and composition. The exact temperature depends on the type of metal being normalized, but typically ranges between 1559 and 1600 degrees F. Once the heating is complete, the metal is left in open air to cool. The strength and hardness of the metal is usually higher, but its ductility is comparatively lower.
Stress relieving as the name suggests is a process done to reduce or remove internal stress created in metal. Stress is created in different ways including cold working and non-uniform cooling. To relieve stress, the metal is heated to a temperature below its lower critical temperature and then allowed to cool uniformly.
Quenching involves cooling the heated metal at a very rapid rate. This allows for the achievement of martensite transformation in the metal. For ferrous metal alloys, the end product is a harder metal while for alloys that are non-ferrous, the end product is abnormally softer.
Temperatures are required to be maintained high for very long in many of these processes. This means that energy consumption is also very high. To avoid huge monthly energy bills, companies devise alternative energy sources that they can maintain less costly. Such sources are not connected to the national power grids. Power consumption is also more efficient in modern furnaces, which are computerized.
It requires extreme temperatures to do these processes. Either extremely cold or extremely hot temperatures are used. Such temperatures allow for hardening or softening materials. Like stated above, various processes are comprised in heat treatment, including normalizing, annealing, tempering, precipitation strengthening, aging, case hardening, and quenching. The term heat treatment is preserved for processes that lead to cooling or heating with the intentional of altering of material. Other processes that result in incidental heating and heating do not go by this name.
Different quality levels are achieved depending on precision of the timing and maintenance of temperature. The purpose of being very precise with the temperatures and timing is to achieve the desired qualities. Qualities often vary depending on the temperature and duration of heating. Undesirable results can be easily achieved if the temperatures and timing are not maintained precisely.
Annealing is a very general term. The process of annealing refers to heating metal and then allowing it to cool off at some rate. Cooling is generally done a very slow pace. After cooling is complete, the resultant metal has a refined microstructure with constituents separated partially or completely. The reason for doing annealing is to improve qualities like machinability, electrical conductivity, and ability to be cold worked.
Normalizing is done so that the metal can attain uniformity in the grain size and composition. The exact temperature depends on the type of metal being normalized, but typically ranges between 1559 and 1600 degrees F. Once the heating is complete, the metal is left in open air to cool. The strength and hardness of the metal is usually higher, but its ductility is comparatively lower.
Stress relieving as the name suggests is a process done to reduce or remove internal stress created in metal. Stress is created in different ways including cold working and non-uniform cooling. To relieve stress, the metal is heated to a temperature below its lower critical temperature and then allowed to cool uniformly.
Quenching involves cooling the heated metal at a very rapid rate. This allows for the achievement of martensite transformation in the metal. For ferrous metal alloys, the end product is a harder metal while for alloys that are non-ferrous, the end product is abnormally softer.
Temperatures are required to be maintained high for very long in many of these processes. This means that energy consumption is also very high. To avoid huge monthly energy bills, companies devise alternative energy sources that they can maintain less costly. Such sources are not connected to the national power grids. Power consumption is also more efficient in modern furnaces, which are computerized.
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