Heat Treatment Methods

 

Heat treatment Methods

Heat treatment is the process of heating and cooling metals, using specific predetermined methods to obtain desired properties. Both ferrous as well as non-ferrous metals undergo heat treatment before putting them to use.

Over time, a lot of different methods have been developed. Even today, metallurgists are constantly working to improve the outcomes and cost-efficiency of these processes.

For that they develop new schedules or cycles to produce a variety of grades. Each schedule refers to a different rate of heating, holding and cooling the metal.

These methods, when followed meticulously, can produce metals of different standards with remarkably specific physical and chemical properties.

In simple terms, heat treatment is the process of heating the metal, holding it at that temperature, and then cooling it back. During the process, the metal part will undergo changes in its mechanical properties. This is because the high temperature alters the microstructure of the metal. And microstructure plays an important role in the mechanical properties of a material.

The final outcome depends on many different factors. These include the time of heating, time of keeping the metal part at a certain temperature, rate of cooling, surrounding conditions, etc. The parameters depend on the heat treatment method, type of metal and part size.

Over the course of this process, the metal’s properties will change. Among those properties are electrical resistance, magnetism, hardness, toughness, ductility, brittleness and corrosion resistance.

Common Heat Treatment Methods

There are quite a few heat treatment techniques to choose from. Every one of them brings along certain qualities.

The most common heat treatment methods include:

• Annealing
• Normalising
• Hardening
• Ageing
• Stress relieving
• Tempering
• Carburisation