Softening by Overaging

The decrease in mechanical strength of a precipitation-hardened alloy due to prolonged holding times or excessive temperatures, causing precipitates to coarsen and lose density. As a result, dislocation impediment diminishes.

Overaging occurs when you hold a hardened alloy too long or too hot. The fine precipitates that make the material hard then coarsen, and the part becomes soft and loses strength. In welding, this is a problem because the heat can trigger exactly this effect. If you heat the component too much, you get a soft zone that can fail under load. So keep the heat input as low as possible and don't let the part get unnecessarily hot. If you're unsure how much heat the material can take, better ask or check the data sheet.

MetallurgieSchweißtechnik