What is the process of cooling a material at a variable rate after heating commonly known as?

The process of cooling a material at a variable rate after heating is commonly known as quenching. Quenching typically involves rapidly cooling a metal or alloy, usually by submerging it in water, oil, or other cooling fluids. The purpose of quenching is to lock in a specific microstructure that has been achieved through heating, often resulting in increased hardness and strength. By controlling the rate of cooling, material properties can be finely tuned for specific applications.

In contrast to quenching, tempering is a related process that occurs after quenching. It involves reheating the material to a lower temperature to relieve stresses and improve toughness, but it does not focus solely on variable cooling rates post-heating. Fracturing, on the other hand, refers to the breaking or cracking of material and is not a cooling process. Solidifying is related to the phase change of materials from liquid to solid, but it doesn’t specifically describe the controlled cooling from a heated state.