TemperingTempering is a heat treatment usually applied to carbon and alloy steels after hardening. The treatment takes place at a temperature below that which causes major phase transformations in steels, and it results in the partial softening of the hard brittle phases produced by the prior hardening treatment. This partial softening results in the tempered steel having a good combination of strength and toughness. The tempering process will produce metallurgical changes in the material and this in turn will effect the mechanical properties. These will differ for different materials.
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