If hardening is making the steel hard, tempering is making it usable. Barreiro points out that as-quenched martensite is brittle as glass. He provides detailed charts showing the loss of hardness versus gain in toughness at increasing tempering temperatures (from 150°C to 600°C). He also warns about specific phenomena like "temper embrittlement" in the 450-550°C range—a critical warning for tool makers.
¿Alguna vez te has preguntado cómo se consiguen las propiedades específicas de los aceros utilizados en la construcción, la industria automotriz o la fabricación de herramientas? La respuesta se encuentra en los tratamientos térmicos, un proceso crucial en la metalurgia que permite modificar las propiedades de los aceros sin cambiar su composición química. If hardening is making the steel hard, tempering
Whether you are a student trying to grasp the TTT curves or a seasoned engineer optimizing a tempering process, this text is a cornerstone of Spanish metallurgical literature. He also warns about specific phenomena like "temper
Before diving into the technical jargon, it is essential to understand the author. Jose Apraiz Barreiro was a distinguished Spanish engineer and educator specializing in metallurgy. His work emerged during a period when the Spanish industrial sector was rapidly modernizing, requiring robust technical documentation. He recognized a gap in the market: there were plenty of German and English textbooks on heat treatment, but very few that addressed the specific steel alloys and industrial constraints common in Spanish and Latin American factories. Whether you are a student trying to grasp