Tempering is a heat treatment process in which the seamless pipe is heated to a temperature below Ac1 (the temperature at which the transformation of pearlite to austenite begins during heating) after quenching, kept for a certain period of time, and then cooled to room temperature.
Tempering is generally followed by quenching, the purpose of which is:
(1) Eliminate the residual stress generated when the steel pipe is quenched to prevent deformation and cracking;
(2) Adjust the hardness, strength, plasticity and toughness of the steel pipe to meet the performance requirements;
(3) Stable structure and size to ensure accuracy;
(4) Improve and enhance processing performance. Therefore, tempering is the last important process for steel pipes to obtain the required properties. The required mechanical properties can only be obtained through the combination of quenching and tempering.
To sum up, although the seamless pipe has high hardness and high strength after quenching, it has a large kink, unstable structure, and large quenching internal stress, so it must be tempered before it can be used. Generally speaking, the tempering process is an indispensable follow-up process after the steel pipe is quenched. It is also the last process of the heat treatment process, which endows the workpiece with the final required properties.
Tempering is generally followed by quenching, the purpose of which is:
(1) Eliminate the residual stress generated when the steel pipe is quenched to prevent deformation and cracking;
(2) Adjust the hardness, strength, plasticity and toughness of the steel pipe to meet the performance requirements;
(3) Stable structure and size to ensure accuracy;
(4) Improve and enhance processing performance. Therefore, tempering is the last important process for steel pipes to obtain the required properties. The required mechanical properties can only be obtained through the combination of quenching and tempering.
To sum up, although the seamless pipe has high hardness and high strength after quenching, it has a large kink, unstable structure, and large quenching internal stress, so it must be tempered before it can be used. Generally speaking, the tempering process is an indispensable follow-up process after the steel pipe is quenched. It is also the last process of the heat treatment process, which endows the workpiece with the final required properties.
