always avoided.

Some important boundaries at single-phase fields have been given special names that facilitate the
discussion. These include:

A1, the so-called eutectoid temperature, which is the minimum temperature for austenite
A3, the lower-temperature boundary of the austenite region at low carbon contents, that is, the / +
boundary
Acm, the counterpart boundary for high carbon contents, that is, the / + Fe3C boundary

Sometimes the letters c, e, or r are included. Relevant definitions of terms associated with phase transformations of steels
can be found in Table 2 as well as the Glossary of Terms in this Volume and Ref 3. The carbon content at which the
minimum austenite temperature is attained is called the eutectoid carbon content (0.77 wt% C). The ferrite-cementite
phase mixture of this composition formed during cooling has a characteristic appearance and is called pearlite and can be
treated as a microstructural entity or microconstituent. It is an aggregate of alternating ferrite and cementite lamellae that
degenerates ("spheroidizes" or "coarsens") into cementite particles dispersed with a ferrite matrix after extended holding
close to A1.
Table 1 Important metallurgical phases and microconstituents
Phase
(microconstituent)

Crystal structure of
phases

Characteristics

Ferrite (-iron)

bcc

Relatively soft low-temperature phase; stable equilibrium phase

-ferrite (-iron)

bcc

Isomorphous with -iron; high-temperature phase; stable equilibrium phase

Austenite (-iron)

fcc

Relatively soft medium-temperature phase; stable equilibrium phase

Cementite (Fe3C)

Complex
orthorhombic

Hard metastable phase

Graphite

Hexagonal

Stable equilibrium phase

Pearlite

Metastable microconstituent; lamellar mixture of ferrite and cementite

Martensite

bct
(supersaturated
solution of carbon in
ferrite)

Hard metastable phase; lath morphology when <0.6 wt% C; plate morphology when
>1.0 wt% C and mixture of those in between

Bainite

...

Hard metastable microconstituent; nonlamellar mixture of ferrite and cementite on an

extremely fine scale; upper bainite formed at higher temperatures has a feathery
appearance; lower bainite formed at lower temperatures has an acicular appearance. The
hardness of bainite increases with decreasing temperature of formation.

Table 2 Definitions of transformation temperatures in iron and steels

See the Glossary of Terms in this Volume for additional terminology.
Transformation temperature. The temperature at which a change in phase occurs. The term is sometimes used to denote the limiting
temperature of a transformation range. The following symbols are used for iron and steels.