Processing of Steel Rods. Minimizing Distortion during Heat Treatment.

Quenching involves rapid cooling from the austenitizing temperature, making it important to have direct contact between the material to be treated and the quenching medium. As a result, internal microstresses occur which often cause accentuated distortion of the material. To avoid these problems, a process was developed which allows the rods to be quenched in bundles, resulting in higher productivity and less distortion without impairing their mechanical properties. After tests with various types of steel, satisfactory results were obtained with rods 24. 70 to 30. 16 mm in diameter.