Austempering is a specialized heat treatment technique utilized to enhance the toughness and ductility of materials. This intricate process entails gradually heating the material to a precise temperature, maintaining it at that level for a designated duration to ensure uniformity, and then swiftly cooling it in a quenching medium to slightly surpass the transformation temperature. Subsequently, the material is sustained at this temperature for a specific period to facilitate the development of a bainitic microstructure.
Austempering stands apart from traditional quenching by carefully controlling the cooling rate to prevent the formation of brittle martensite. This results in the creation of a bainitic microstructure during austempering, which is known for its superior ductility and toughness compared to martensite. This makes it an ideal choice for applications under high stress. Austempering is commonly applied to high-carbon steels and various ferrous alloys.
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