Heat treatment is something many people need to think about when they choose metals. However, it can be difficult sometimes to get a grip of some of the terms. We would love to help. As a leading stockist of various metals and products, we have a lot of experience here. In fact we offer many products with specific types of treatment. This includes options like nickel alloy round bar in alloy 80A.
Many terms for the same thing
One term in particular that can confuse some people is precipitation hardening. The issue here is that some people also refer to it as age or particle hardening or simply ageing. However, all of these mean the same thing and the process is always the same.
How does it work?
What happens here is there is an extra solution annealing process once the forging or rolling finishes. This involves holding the alloy at a high temperature for a period of time. It could be as high as 1,000 degrees Celsius for several hours. However, it is also possible to adapt the temperature and length of time. In some cases a single alloy may have several periods at different temperatures to produce a range of strength levels.
Following the period or periods of heating, the metal requires quenching. This could cool it quickly or slowly depending on the needs.
Why use this type of hardening?
What this process does is change the solubility of some elements within the alloy. As a result the small particles of precipitates spread throughout the microstructure. They can therefore support grain boundaries. Ultimately this means you have a much stronger alloy. It can have especially good yield strength.
With this kind of hardening it is much easier to create the optimum alloy. It is a much better option than relying on the strength purely from the alloying process.
The higher strength alloys are great for a huge array of applications where it is vital that the metals are stronger than usual.
Talk to us about Alloy 80A nickel alloy round bar
Brindley Metals works hard to make sure we stock the highest quality metal products. This includes many alloys of different metals, a number of which have been through the precipitation hardening process. We can say with confidence that these products will be perfect for clients with various needs.
So, if you want to order nickel alloy round bar, whether it is alloy 80A or another option, we can serve you. We already work with clients in many different industries so you can come to us with various specs and we will do our best to help. We can even arrange various types of processing.