Quenched and Tempered Steels

Steels with Elevated Mechanical Characteristics

Quenched and tempered steels have a chemical composition that has been specifically designed to guarantee the best performance after quenching and tempering heat treatment, consisting of a quenching and a subsequent tempering: this process makes the pieces particularly hard and tough, making them suitable for use in even very severe conditions. Temperability is the capacity of a steel subjected to rapid cooling (usually in oil or water) to more or less completely transform its structure, even on larger pieces. The quenching and tempering treatment is generally carried out on pieces during the final stage of finishing, after most of the mechanical processing. In this case the semi-finished raw material can be provided in its natural rolling state or annealed for workability, depending on the type of steel. Thanks to the technologies available, which are in accordance with the most advanced state-of-the-art, these products can be offered in the quenched and tempered state: the treatment is carried out on the rolled semi-finished product before drawing or peeling, so that the delivered product has in any case the appearance and typical surface characteristics of the cold-finished product. The complete range of quenched and tempered steels, diversified in terms of chemical composition and therefore temperability, allows both the metallurgic and mechanical needs of all customers to be satisfied. The heat treatments available for this type of steel – to be checked on a case-by-case basis according to the different qualities – are: rolled natural, workable annealed, isothermal annealed, globular annealed, normalized, and quenched and tempered.

Quenched and Tempered Steels Non-Alloyed

Quenched and Tempered Steels Alloyed