IRON CARBON DIAGRAM

Ferrite (-iron, -iron) Austenite (-iron) Pearlite (88% ferrite, 12% cementite) Martensite Bainite Ledeburite (ferrite-cementite eutectic, 4.3% carbon) Cementite (iron carbide, Fe3C

Some important terms: 1. Austenite: A solid solution of ferric carbide or carbon in iron; cools to form pearlite or martensite 2. Cementite: A chemical compound that is a constituent of steel and cast iron; very hard and brittle An iron carbide (Fe3C) constituent of steel. It is hard, brittle and crystalline. Steel which has cooled slowly from a high temperature contains ferrite and pearlite in relative proportions varying with the chemical composition of the steel. Pearlite is a lamellar structure of ferrite and cementite. 3. Pearlite: A (flat and thin) mixture of ferrite and cementite forming distinct layers or bands in slowly cooled carbon steels. 4. Ferrite: a solid solution in which alpha iron is the solvent - or - or a solid solution with iron as the main constituent, with a body centered cubic crystal structure 5. Bainite: Steel formed by austempering, having an acicular structure of ferrite and carbides, exhibiting considerable toughness, and combining high strength with high ductility. 6. Ledeburite: The eutectic of the iron-carbon system, the constituents being cementite and austenite at high temperatures; cooling decomposes the austenite to ferrite and cementite. 7. Maretensite: a solid solution of carbon in alpha-iron that is formed when steel is cooled so rapidly that the change from austenite to pearlite is suppressed; responsible for the hardness of quenched steel 8. Eutectic Reaction: An isothermal, reversible reaction between two (or more) solid phases during the heating of a system, as a result of which a single liquid phase is produced. 9. Eutectoid Reaction: It is a three-phase reaction by which, on cooling, a solid transforms into two other solid phases at the same time. 10. Peritectic Reaction: An isothermal reversible reaction in which a liquid phase reacts with a solid phase during cooling to produce a second solid phase.