Question

What are the three stages of Heat treatment?

Answer 1

Heat treatment is explained as the process of heating metal without reaching the molten state and then cooling the metal to get the metal of desired mechanical properties.

The 3 stages of heat treatment are

1. Heating - First stage in which any structure of an alloy is heated at a specific temperature. Slow and steady heating allows the uniform temperature of an alloy throughout. Uneven heating results in distorted or cracked sections in some places.
2. Soaking - A second stage in which the heated metal completely changes its structure due to soaking. It keeps the metal at the appropriate temperature until the internal structure takes the shape.
3. Cooling - The third stage is cooling where the structure of the soaked metal is cooled either by quenching or by still air. It depends on the metal itself and the medium of cooling as some metals are quenched (rapid cooling of metals in presence of a medium like air, water, oil, brine, etc.