Several years ago I talked with an actual metallurgist and specifically asked him about cryogenic treatment of wires changing the crystal structure and when he stopped laughing, he said *if* that happens, the crystals will go back to their normal structure when they return to room temperature.
Am I missing something here? I thought and was taught not only at Atlanta Area Technical but at The Delta Airlines Technology Operations Facility in Atlanta, GA to treat metal parts cryogenically is changing the crystal structure and exactly what happens in cryogenic treatments of metals. I have seen first hand cryogenic treating of metals in a facility that is almost 10 times the size of a football field and is more akin to an Aeronautics plant than anything I’ve ever seen.
Thermal processing for metals is nothing new. Heat treating has been used for centuries to alter metals’ characteristics. Although the simplest heat treatment comprises just three steps—bringing the metal to a specified temperature, holding the temperature for a set length of time, and bringing it back to room temperature, in a precise manner under controlled conditions—these steps can be applied in literally countless combinations. The quenching step alone has innumerable variables, including the quenchant, such as oil, water, brine, aqueous polymers, air, nitrogen, or helium; the type of agitation—none, mechanically agitated, or ultrasonically agitated; and quenchant temperature. Circa 2013 Cryogenic processing—dispelling the myths, mysteries
Here are just some of the uses of cryogenic treatments in manufacturing:
- Aerospace & Defense: communication, optical housings, weapons platforms, guidance systems, landing systems, aircraft parts.
- Automotive: brake rotors, transmissions, clutches, brake parts, rods, crank shafts, camshafts axles, bearings, ring and pinion, heads, valve trains, differentials, springs, nuts, bolts, washers.
- Cutting tools: cutters, knives, blades, drill bits, end mills, turning or milling[3] inserts. Cryogenic treatments of cutting tools can be classified as Deep Cryogenic Treatments (around -196 °C) or Shallow Cryogenic Treatments (around -80 °C).
- Forming tools: roll form dies, progressive dies, stamping dies.
- Mechanical industry: pumps, motors, nuts, bolts, washers.
- Medical: tooling, scalpels.
- Motorsports and Fleet Vehicles: See Automotive for brake rotors and other automotive components.
- Musical: Vacuum tubes, Audio cables, brass instruments, guitar strings[4] and fret wire, piano wire, amplifiers, magnetic pickups,[5] cables, connectors.
I don’t know where your metallurgist got his education but he is/was dead wrong? In fact metallurgy is one of the oldest sciences known to man. Understand cryogenic processing or treatment is a vast scientific improvement/study far and above over simple metallurgy techniques that were used in the past. Metallurgy is the precursor of cryogenic treatments/processing.