Heat treatment is a process used to modify the properties of metals and alloys.
It involves heating and cooling metals to achieve specific outcomes.
There are three main categories of heat treatment, each with its own unique purpose and methods.
What are the categories of heat treatment? (3 Key Categories Explained)
1. Integral Heat Treatment
Integral heat treatment involves heating the entire metal part to a specific temperature.
After heating, the metal is cooled at a controlled rate.
The goal is to modify the microstructure of the metal.
This modification improves mechanical properties like strength, hardness, and toughness.
Examples of integral heat treatment processes include annealing, hardening, tempering, and normalizing.
2. Surface Heat Treatment
Surface heat treatment focuses on modifying only the surface layer of the metal part.
The core of the metal remains unaffected.
This category is often used to improve wear resistance, hardness, and corrosion resistance of the metal surface.
Common surface heat treatment processes include carburizing, nitriding, and induction hardening.
3. Chemical Heat Treatment
Chemical heat treatment involves altering the chemical composition of the metal surface.
This is done to achieve desired properties.
One example is case hardening, where the surface layer of the metal is enriched with carbon or other elements to increase hardness.
Another example is precipitation strengthening, where fine particles are precipitated in the metal to enhance its strength.
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