ferrous metallurgy information Page 1 of 3

Pictorial Guide to Basic Metallurgy

(Notes correspond to numbers in the chart)

1. Transformation
Range - In this range
steels undergo internal
atomic changes which
affect the properties of
the material.

2. Lower
Transformation
Temperature - (AC 1)
Temperature at which
structure begins to
change from ferrite and
pearlite to austenite if
being heated, upon
cooling, temperature at
which structure
completes change from
austenite to ferrite and
pearlite.

3. Upper
Transformation
Temperature - (AC 3)
Temperature at which
structure completes
change from ferrite and
pearlite to austenite if
being heated, upon
cooling, temperature at
which structure begins
change from austenite to
ferrite and pearlite.

4. Annealing - Heating
steels to slightly above
AC3 , holding for
austenite to form, then
slowly cooling (usually
in a furnace) to produce
ferrite and pearlite with
a small grain size,
softness, and good
ductility.

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5. Normalizing -
Heating to slightly
above AC 3 , holding for
austenite to form, then
slowly cooling in still air
(usually out of the
furnace) to produce
material with somewhat
higher strength, hardness
and less ductility than
that produced by
annealing.

6. Forging Range -
Usually conducted
several hundred degrees
above AC 3 . Typically in
the range of 1800F to
2000F.

7. Burning Range -
Results in steels that
have to be remelted due
to liquation and other
problems.

8. Stress Relieving -
Heating to below AC 1
and holding sufficiently
long to relieve internal
stresses and then slowly
cooling.

9. Blue Brittle Range -

Loss of ductility while at
temperatures from
approximately 300F to
700F compared with
temperature ranges
above and below this
range.

10. Preheating for

Welding -
Recommended
temperature range for
preheating steels and
alloys to precent
cracking while welding.
Temperature increases

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with the carbon content.

11. Carburizing -
Temperatures normally
used to carburize steels
(dissolving carbon into
the surface of steels
using high carbon
gaseous atmospheres.)

12. Nitriding -
Temperatures normally
used to nitride steels
(dissolving nitrogen into
steels, usually with an
ammonia-based
atmosphere).

13. Spherodizing -
Heating to just below
AC1 sufficiently long for
for the cementite
constituent of pearlite to
change into globular
form. May take many
hours to complete.

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