Basic Information on Steel Treatment

Annealing
Annealing is a form of heat treatment of steel. This is the process wherein the steel
is heated into a meticulous hotness in the austenite area and being cooled down very
gradually. There are several derivatives in the annealing procedure, but normally the
procedure is a sluggish cool process.

Sub-critical annealing is another derivative of the annealing process. This procedure

entails drenching at a temperature less than the lower conversion line, in the area from
1,200xF to 1,300xF, up to the time the steel has been stable across the cross-section of
the temperature, being followed by sluggish cool. Gradual cooling may mean a cooling
speed between 5xF/hour - 50xF/hour. As you may imagine, the duration of cooling might
be a substantial quantity of time. It must be observed that the steel combined with nickel
and A series devices made of steel must be cooled extremely gradually since nickel may
cause the air-hardening result.

The following are some types of annealing:

- Bright Anneal - this method of annealing utilizes a protective environment to avoid the
steel surfaces from oxidation.

- Process Anneal - this process is made at a temperature which is close to the less critical
line in the iron carbon chart. Sometimes it is mistaken with sub-critical type of annealing;
it is utilized whenever a significant cold job is going to follow.

- Recrystallization Anneal - this process is frequently mistaken for sub-critical annealing.

It is utilized after cold work in order to produce a distinctive grain structure.

- Sub-Critical Anneal - this method is being utilized on cold-job steel and is passed out
under the lesser critical line in the iron carbon balance diagram. It is seldom useful to
steel tools which were over raged and need annealing prior to tempering and hardening.

- Spheroid Anneal - this procedure is a controlled cooling and heating course of action
in producing spheroid or spherical cementite elements. It is.high alloy steel and also tool
steel.

- Isothermal Annealing - the temperature of this method is decided through the

knowledge of the carbon content of the steel. After knowing the carbon content, the
steel is then brought to that specified temperature and then cooled down into a clinging
temperature which permits the steel to change isothermally.

- Full Anneal - this is the method that entails the elevation of the temperature of the steel
up to austenite region being followed by a gradual cool.

Normalizing is a method which makes the size of the grain in normal form. This
process is normally carried out following forging, drawing, extrusion or intense bending
operations. When the steel is heated into elevated temperature to finish the above
process, the grain of steel will develop. The steel practice an occurrence called "grain
growth". This allows the steel with extremely coarse and irregular grain structure.
Moreover, whenever the steel is automatically deformed by the above mentioned
operations, the grain turn out to be elongated.

There are automatic property changes which take place as an outcome of normalizing
- as long as the normalized steel is flexible, but not as flexible as a completely annealed
steel. The grain composition is not as rough as annealed steel, plainly since the cooling
speed is quicker than that of the annealing. Normally, the steel is chilled in steady air and
free from any air draft.