Engineering English
Cooling Rate
Materials Engineering · Last updated: July 30, 2026 · How this entry was written
Definition: Cooling rate is the speed at which the temperature of a metal decreases during heat treatment. It determines the resulting microstructure and mechanical properties, such as hardness and toughness.
Example in context
“Controlling the cooling rate is essential to avoid distortion and achieve the desired hardness in large steel forgings.”
“Büyük çelik dövmelerde distorsiyonu önlemek ve istenen sertliği elde etmek için soğuma hızının kontrolü esastır.”
Where engineers use it
Cooling rate is monitored during quenching and annealing to control phase transformations. Engineers adjust it via medium selection and part geometry to meet property targets.
Synonyms: cooling speed, quench rate
Antonyms: heating rate
Practice: can you use “Cooling Rate” at work?
A process engineer is troubleshooting a batch of gears that show excessive brittleness; they suspect the cooling rate was too high.
Show a model answer
“We need to adjust the cooling rate to prevent martensite formation.”
“Cooling Rate” in 21 languages
| English | Cooling Rate |
|---|---|
| Turkish | soğuma hızı |
| French | vitesse de refroidissement |
| German | Abkühlungsgeschwindigkeit |
| Spanish | velocidad de enfriamiento |
| Chinese | 冷却速率 |
| Arabic | معدل التبريد |
| Portuguese | taxa de resfriamento |
| Russian | скорость охлаждения |
| Japanese | 冷却速度 |
| Italian | velocità di raffreddamento |
| Vietnamese | tốc độ làm nguội |
| Hindi | शीतलन दर |
| Thai | อัตราการเย็นตัว |
| Indonesian | laju pendinginan |
| Korean | 냉각 속도 |
| Bengali | শীতল করার হার |
| Dutch | koelsnelheid |
| Swedish | kylhastighet |
| Finnish | jäähtymisnopeus |
| Ukrainian | швидкість охолодження |
Frequently asked questions
What does Cooling Rate mean in engineering?
Cooling rate is the speed at which the temperature of a metal decreases during heat treatment. It determines the resulting microstructure and mechanical properties, such as hardness and toughness. In Materials Engineering, the term carries a usage-frequency rating of 10/10 in the Engineering English library.
How do you pronounce Cooling Rate?
Cooling Rate is pronounced /ˈkuːlɪŋ reɪt/ (IPA). The Engineering English app plays audio for the term and checks your pronunciation with speech recognition.
How is Cooling Rate used in a sentence?
Example from an engineering context: “Controlling the cooling rate is essential to avoid distortion and achieve the desired hardness in large steel forgings.”
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