Heat Treatment, Microstructure and Properties of Carbon Steels
Effect of Carbon Content on the Properties of
Normalised Steels
Normalised steels have been cooled slowly in air - their microstructure is close to
equilibrium, as predicted by the phase diagram. The microstructure consists of grains of
the phase ferrite, and grains of pearlite (made of fine layers of the phases ferrite and
cementite). Increasing the carbon content increases the fraction of cementite (iron
carbide, Fe3C), and hence the amount of pearlite (the darker grains in the micrographs).
Cementite is a hard phase, so the strength of normalised carbon steels increases with
carbon content. However, the ferrite-cementite interfaces form easier paths for cracks, so
increasing carbon content decreases the fracture toughness.
A Willoughby, W Rentzsch, H Shercliff, and M F Ashby
Heat Treatment of Carbon Steels
When carbon steels are rapidly quenched from the austenite field (typically 850-
1000oC), a non-equilibrium phase forms, called martensite (a super-saturated solid
solution). Martensite is very hard but also very brittle, making it unsuitable for most
applications. We therefore temper martensite, i.e. reheat to an intermediate, typically
500-600oC for 1 hour.
Tempering
Quenching
Tempering gives the carbon atoms enough thermal energy to diffuse out of the super-
saturated solid solution and to react with the iron to form fine, hard precipitates of Fe3C.
The remaining lattice reverts to ferrite. The final strength is higher than in the normalised
condition, but the fracture toughness is restored to similar levels. This reflects the uniform
fine dispersion of ferrite and cementite, which gives efficient precipitation hardening. The
combination of strength and fracture toughness achieved is controlled by the choice of
temper conditions - higher temperatures and longer times lead to coarser precipitates of
Fe3C and the strength falls (see property chart).