1. Classic quality treatments

1.1 Standardization or annealing of non-alloy steels

During heating and cooling, these steels undergo a reversible allotropic transformation α " γ and, due to their very low hardenability, the structure obtained after cooling is always composed of equilibrium constituents: ferrite + pearlite. This is true for the full range of cooling rates experienced by parts either in the mold (raw structure), or during heat treatment of parts with common thicknesses in excess of 10 mm, and also for all usual carbon contents, usually between 0.18% and 0.40%. The continuous...