normalizing
what is normalizing?
Normalizing, also known as the normalization of steel, is a heat treatment process used in connection with the further processing of steel materials.
This annealing process is used to improve irregular, inhomogeneous and coarse-grained structures in castings, forgings or rolled sheets, for example.
This improves the mechanical properties of the material by achieving a fine-grained structure with grains of approximately the same size and round shape.
normalizing process
In this process, the materials are generally brought up to temperature quickly and held at the target temperature for a certain period of time. This holding time and the temperature itself vary and depend on the base material.
As soon as the material is fully austenitized, it must be cooled down. In contrast to hardening, where rapid cooling (quenching) is required to force the transformation into a martensite structure, it is of great importance that the cooling is slow and controlled during normalizing.
hypoeutectoid and hypereutectoid steels
This process leads to a ferrite and pearlite microstructure in hypoeutectoid steels and to a microstructure of pearlite and molded-in cementite at the grain boundaries in hypereutectoid steels.
advantages of normalizing
- Improvement of the microstructure : Normalizing makes the microstructure of the steel more homogeneous and finer, which leads to an improved structure and strength.
- Elimination of internal stresses: The process effectively reduces internal stresses in the material that may have arisen during previous processing steps. This helps to improve dimensional stability.
- Increased toughness : The steel becomes more resistant to breakage and cracking as normalizing improves its toughness and impact resistance.
- Reduction of residual stresses: The process minimizes residual stresses and dimensional changes, which is particularly important for precision components.
suitable materials for normalizing
Normalizing can be used for all steels that exhibit a ferrite-austenite transformation.
application of normalizing
Normalizing is one of the most frequently used industrial processes. It is therefore used in a wide range of industries. Here are some examples:
Automotive industry: Typically, ferritic stainless steel stampings are normalized for use in the automotive industry to reduce the residual stresses created during the forming process.
Nuclear industry: In the nuclear industry, nickel-based alloys are often normalized because the microstructure has changed thermally. These changes usually occur during the welding process.
Work hardening: Normalizing is used to make carbon steel less brittle after cold rolling.
Normalizing is used in various industries for different applications.
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frequently asked questions – normalizing
What temperatures are reached during normalizing process?
For ferrous materials, the temperature range is approx. 880 °C to 900 °C. The exact treatment temperatures are standardized for each material or defined in the manufacturer’s specifications.
What are some advantages of normalizing?
Normalizing provides a homogeneous microstructure with a defined hardness for component use as well as for further production steps.
When should normalizing be applied?
For the removal of a cold-formed structure, for the removal of a coarse-grained structure, for the removal of Widmannstätten structure and for improving the strength and toughness of components if quenching and tempering are not an option.
Are there alternative methods to normalizing?
Usually not. However, other annealing processes, such as soft annealing or stress-relief annealing, can be used to reduce residual stresses in the components. However, with a different target microstructure and different mechanical properties. The classic ferrite-pearlite structure of normalizing cannot be achieved by any other process.
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