Metallurgical interactions
Steel aging

The tendency of ferritic steels to age after work-hardening depends on their chemical composition and the thermal or thermomechanical cycle they undergo.

The metal manufacturing cycle: for example, the fixation of nitrogen in the form of stable precipitates by aluminum depends on the conditions of solution and precipitation.

The thermal cycle is also important in the absence of nitrogen- and carbon-fixing elements, as there is the effect of the γ – α transformation and possible precipitation on cooling or during low-temperature holding.

Figure 19 illustrates four types of simplified cycle, which can be followed in the manufacture of a wide range of products (hot-rolled thin sheet, as-rolled heavy plate, standardized...