Glossary Terms

WATER QUENCHING. A quench in which water is the quenching medium. The major disadvantage of water quenching is its poor efficiency at the beginning or hot stage of the quenching process.

WHITE LAYER. Compound layer that forms as a result of the nitriding process.

WORK HARDNESS. Hardness developed in metal resulting from cold working.

WORKING ZONE. That portion of the enclosed volume of a piece of thermal processing equipment occupied by parts or raw material during the soaking portion of a thermal treatment. It is usually, but not always, a high percentage of the total enclosed volume. It may include more than one control zone.

YIELD STRENGTH. The stress at which a material exhibits a specified deviation from proportionality of stress and strain. An offset of 0.2% is used for many metals. Compare with tensile strength.

AGE HARDENING. Hardening by aging, usually after rapid cooling or cold working.

ACID EMBRITTLEMENT. A form of hydrogen embrittlement that may be induced in some metals by acid treatment.