The results of the stress relieving and tempering processes are dependent on the temperature and time of the process, which may be correlated using a parameter such as Holloman's (Holloman-Jaffe) parameter or the Larsen-Miller parameter. These parameters are a measure of the thermal effect of the process on the metallurgical transformation of the steel during tempering. The processes that exhibit the same tempering parameter are expected to exhibit the same effect (such as hardness). However, these more traditional numerical expressions assume isothermal tempering processes which seldom exist in production tempering ovens due to the heat-up period prior to soaking