BASIC HEAT TREATMENT

HEAT TREATMENT PROCESS TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

What is Heat Treatment?

Definition of Heat Treatment- A process used to change the
physical or chemical property of a material. Heat treatment of
materials include:
metal heat treatment - titanium heat treatment - heat treatment of
aluminum alloys - heat treatment of stainless steel - heat treatment
of brass - heat treatment of carbon steel - heat treatment of iron
Pacific Metallurgical, a heat treatment company in Kent, WA is a
leader in industrial heat treatment services to the Pacific Northwest.
Below are various heat treatment processes and heat
treatment definitions in alphabetical order.

Alpha Case Titanium

In titanium, a hard, brittle surface layer caused by reaction of the
titanium with oxygen.

Aluminum Tempering Designations

O - Full anneal

F - As fabricated

H - Strain hardened

W - Solution treating, quenching, and not aging. Material must be

held cold prior to aging, typically below zero degrees F. Times and

temperatures depend upon the specification the alloy is being heat

treated to.
T - Heat treatment of aluminum alloys to produce a stable temper
other than O. Applies to products that are thermally treated, with or
without supplementary strain hardening, to produce stable tempers.
The T is always followed by one or more digits.

Annealing Heat Treatment

Annealing heat treatment process is heating the material above the
critical temperature, holding long enough for transformation to
occur and slow cooling. Full annealing heat treatment differs from
normalizing heat treatment in that the temperature is typically 150200F lower and the cooling rate is slower. This establishes a soft
microstructure and thus a soft product.
Annealing materials include:
Annealing Copper - Annealing Steel - Annealing Stainless Steel Brass Annealing

Austenitizing Definition
Austenitizing heat treatment is heating a steel above the critical
temperature, holding for a period of time long enough for
transformation to occur. The material will be hardened if
austenitizing is followed by quenching at a rate that is fast enough
to transform the austenite into martensite.

Carburizing Steel
Carburizing heat treatment is the introduction of carbon into the
surface of steel. Carburizing occurs when the steel is heated above

the critical temperature in a carburizing furnace which contains

more carbon than the steel contains.

Critical Temperature Definition

For steel and steel alloys, the temperature above which austenite is
the stable phase.

Decarburization Definition
Decarburization is the removal of carbon into the surface of a steel.
Decarburization occurs when the steel is heated above the critical
temperature in an atmosphere which contains less carbon than the
steel contains.

Deep Freezing Steel

Deep Freezing is cooling a steel to approximately -100F or lower in
order to complete the transformation of austenite to martensite.

Gas Nitriding Heat Treatment

Gas Nitriding process is the purposeful introduction of nitrogen in
the surface of a steel which results in a thin, hard case. Gas nitriding
heat treatment is typically performed at 50-75F below the
tempering temperature of the steel being nitride. Material must be
in the quenched and tempered condition prior to nitriding for best
effectiveness. Steels which contain Tungsten, Vanadium,
Molybdenum, Aluminum, and/or Chromium form the hardest nitride
layers.

Hot Oil Quenching Heat Treatment / Marquenching

Definition
Oil Quenching heat treatment that is held at a temperature at or
below the martensite start. This helps to prevent quench cracking.
May also be referred to as Marquenching.

Metal Heat Treatment

Metal Heat Treatment process is the heating and/or cooling a metal in a
.controlled way to produce a desired condition or properties

Normalizing Heat Treatment Definition

Normalizing Heat Treatment process is heating a steel above the critical
temperature, holding for a period of time long enough for transformation to
occur, and air cooling. Normalized heat treatment establishes a more
uniform carbide size and distribution which facilitates later heat treatment
operations and produces a more uniform final product.

Solution Annealing - Solution Heat Treatment Definition

Some alloys (aluminum, PH stainless steels, Ti) harden by precipitating
microscopic particles during aging. Solution heat treatment / solution
annealing takes these particles and puts them back into solution. In the
solution annealing process, the alloy is heated to a high temperature, held
for a period of time related to the section size of the material and air
cooled or faster. This traps the precipitates in solution.

Spheroidize Annealing Heat Treatment

Spheroidize Annealing is heating and cooling to produce a spheroidal or
globular form of carbide in steel. Spheroidizing annealing process is typically
used for high carbon alloys.

Steel Aging (also referred to as Precipitation Hardening)

Precipitation Hardening is the heating of alloys, in the solution treated
condition, to a lower temperature, which allows a relatively uniform
distribution of microscopic particles throughout the alloy. The hardening
process results in alloy strengthening.

Steel Tempering Heat Treatment

Steel Tempering process is heating steel to reduce the hardness and strength
of the material and increase the ductility of the material.

Stress Relieving Heat Treatment Definition

Stress Relieving heat treatment process is heating to a temperature in order
to relieve internal stresses in the material and lower the hardness of the
surface of the material.

Sub Critical Annealing / Sub Zero Heat Treatment

Sub-critical annealing is heating to a temperature below the critical
temperature.