Claims
- 1. A metal body comprising:
a surface layer having a surface face and a predetermined depth; and a base layer contiguous with said surface layer; said surface layer having been hardened at least at said surface face by exposure to a source of infrared radiation capable of producing a heat flux of from about 250 to about 1000 kW/m2 whereby said surface face was hardened by being heated at a rate of from about 100 to about 200° C. per minute and subsequently quenched.
- 2. A metal body according to claim 1, wherein said surface layer has a gradient of hardness from a relatively high hardness at said surface face to a relatively low hardness at said depth.
- 3. A metal body according to claim 2, wherein said surface face is a forging die face.
Government Interests
[0001] The United States Government has rights in this invention pursuant to contract number DE-AC05-960R22464 between the U.S. Department of Energy and Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation.
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09268624 |
Mar 1999 |
US |
Child |
09676167 |
Nov 2000 |
US |