- tempering
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In tempering, steel is slowly heated to a temperature between 300 and 1,300 °F (150 and 700 °C), depending on desired properties, in an oil or salt bath and held for about two hours and then allowed to air cool. As steel is physically worked (e.g., rolling, wiredrawing, hammering), hardening takes place, and it grows progressively more brittle. Similarly, but more deliberately, heating and quenching increase hardness. Combined quench-and-temper heat-treating is applied at many different cooling rates, holding times, and temperatures and is a very important means of controlling the properties of steel.
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in metallurgy, process of improving the characteristics of a metal, especially steel, by heating it to a high temperature, though below the melting point, then cooling it, usually in air. The process has the effect of toughening by lessening brittleness and reducing internal stresses. Suitable temperatures for tempering vary considerably, depending on the type of steel and designed application; for tool steels, the hardness of which must be retained, the range is usually from 200° to 250° C (400° to 500° F). The term is also used for hardening by cold-working, as in drawing wire or rolling sheet steel.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
