Annealing, Normalizing, Martempering and Austempering

Abstract

Heat treatments that develop soft structures are sometimes required, such as for machining components prior to hardening. This chapter describes the heat treatments called annealing and normalizing for steels and examines the structures formed and the reasons for these treatments. It provides a description of the special heat treatments, namely, martempering and austempering. In addition, information on intercritical heat treatment is also included.