What is the purpose of annealing in material processing?

The purpose of annealing in material processing primarily revolves around relieving internal stresses within a material and improving its ductility. During processes like cold working, materials often develop high levels of internal stress due to deformation. These stresses can lead to unwanted properties like brittleness. Annealing involves heating the material to a specific temperature followed by a controlled cooling process. This heating allows atoms within the material's structure to move more freely, effectively relieving the internal stresses and allowing the microstructure to reorganize.

Additionally, as materials are annealed, they often show an increase in ductility, which refers to the ability of a material to deform under tensile stress. Enhanced ductility is critical for many applications where materials need to undergo further shaping or forming without fracturing. Thus, the process of annealing is vital for improving the mechanical properties of materials, making option B the correct answer.