Methods
Annealing
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Annealing is a heat treatment that heats a material, usually metal or glass, to a controlled temperature and then cools it slowly, relieving internal stresses, softening the material and refining its internal crystal structure. It is commonly applied after cold working, casting or welding, all of which otherwise leave a material hardened, stressed and brittle.
Facts
Disputed
Origin YearAncient metalworkers were annealing copper by around the third millennium BCE to counteract the brittleness cold hammering introduced; a single point of origin is not established. Core PrincipleHeating a worked or cast material to a controlled temperature and cooling it slowly, to relieve internal stress, soften the material and refine its crystal structure. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Forging, Methods Forged and cold-worked metal is frequently annealed afterward to relieve the stresses working introduced.
Welding, Methods Welded joints are sometimes annealed afterward to relieve the thermal stress welding introduces.
In Field
Sources
1. Annealing (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationLead sectionQuote, Lead section
annealing is a heat treatment that alters the physical and sometimes chemical properties of a material to increase its ductility and reduce its hardness, making it more workable.
2. A History of Technology
Charles Singer, E. J. Holmyard, A. R. Hall and Trevor I. Williams, editors, Oxford University Press, 1954
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