Fe-C Alloys — Properties & Heat Treatment p. 13.

THE Fe-Fe 3C SYSTEM — phases

• Ferrite (a.k.a. α-iron)

• BCC • Stable up to 727-912°C
(depending on C
• Can contain up to content)
0.022 wt% C

• Austenite (a.k.a. γ-iron)

• FCC • Maximum of 2.11
wt%C
• Stable from 912- • Can be stable as low
1400°C for pure as 727°C and as high
Fe as 1495°C, depending
on C content

• Fe 3C, cementite
• Stoichiometric compound, 6.67 wt% C
• Very hard & brittle
• Present in all commercial steels
Note: If held just below 727°C for several years (!), Fe3C
will decompose to α + graphite
⇒ The Fe-Fe3C phase diagram represents metastable
equilibrium (as opposed to stable equilibrium);
but because Fe3C decomposition is so slow, the
Fe-Fe3C phase diagram will prove more useful in
most practical heat treating conditions.
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Fe-C Alloys — Properties & Heat Treatment p. 13.2
THE Fe-C EQUILIBRIUM PHASE DIAGRAM (high-Fe side)
Callister, Fig. 11.2

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Fe-C Alloys — Properties & Heat Treatment p. 13.3
THE Fe-Fe 3C PHASE DIAGRAM (metastable equilibrium)
Callister, Fig. 9.21

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Fe-C Alloys — Properties & Heat Treatment p. 13.4

THE Fe-Fe 3C SYSTEM — solid state transformations

This system exhibits a eutectoid reaction:

γ (s) →
← α (s) + Fe3C (s)

• Occurs at 727°C and 0.77 wt% C

• Similar to a eutectic reaction, but between three

solid phases rather than two solids and a liquid

• Results in a layered microconstituent (similar to, but

generally finer-scaled, than a eutectic) — pearlite
• Slow cooling ⇒ thicker layers — coarse
pearlite
• Faster cooling ⇒ thinner layers — fine pearlite

Callister, Fig. 10.6a,b — coarse and fine pearlite

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Fe-C Alloys — Properties & Heat Treatment p. 13.5
GROWTH OF PEARLITE
Callister, Fig. 9.25

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Fe-C Alloys — Properties & Heat Treatment p. 13.6
EUTECTOID STEEL —
microstructural evolution related to the phase diagram
Callister, Fig. 9.23

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Fe-C Alloys — Properties & Heat Treatment p. 13.7
Microstructures of HYPO- & HYPEREUTECTOID STEELS

On cooling* from the γ single-phase field to above 727°C…

γ→α+γ γ → Fe 3C + γ
for hypoeutectoid for hypereutectoid
compositions (<0.77 w% C) compositions (>0.77 w% C)
Then, below 727°C,
α + γ → α + Fe3C Fe 3C + γ → α + Fe3C
Askeland, Fig. 11-15 — microstr’l evol’n in hypo- & hypereutectoid steels
In Callister, for hypoeutectoid steels, see Figs. 9.26 (phase diagram) & 9.27
(actual microstructure)
In Callister, for hypereutectoid steels, see Figs. 9.29 (phase diagram) & 9.30
(actual microstructure)

Note: the proeutectoid phase — the phase which forms

prior to the eutectoid reaction — is…
• Continuous ⇒ dominates ductility and hardness
• α for hypoeutectoid • Fe 3C for
steels ⇒ ductile hypereutectoid steels
⇒ brittle

* At a slow to moderate rate. Rapid quenching will lead to martensite formation.

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Fe-C Alloys — Properties & Heat Treatment p. 13.8

AISI-SAE DESIGNATIONS FOR STEELS

• 4- or 5-digit numbers: yyxx or yyxxx

level of alloying elements

• First 2 digits —  (excl. carbon)
• Second 2 (or 3) digits — carbon content

• Examples

• 10xx — plain carbon steels

• < 1.0 wt% Mn
• all other elements ≤ trace levels
• xx = (wt% C) × 100 e.g.: 1077 = eutectoid steel
• balance: Fe

• 13xx, 40xx, 41xx, 43xx, et c. — low-alloy steels

• 13xx: 1.60-1.90 wt% Mn, 0.15-0.30 wt% Si
• 41xx: 0.70-1.00 wt% Mn, 0.15-0.30 wt% Si, 0.80-
1.10 wt% Cr, 0.15-0.25 wt% Mo
• others — see Callister, Tables 11.1a & 11.2a

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Fe-C Alloys — Properties & Heat Treatment p. 13.9

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES IN PLAIN CARBON STEELS:

Effect of Composition

 σy & σut ↑
wt% C ↑ ⇒ amount of Fe3C ↑ ⇒ 
hardness ↑
impact
ductility ↓
strength ↓

Figure 10.20, Callister

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Fe-C Alloys — Properties & Heat Treatment p. 13.10

KINETICS vs. SURFACE ENERGY:

Microstructure Evolution of Plain Carbon Steels

Given time & thermal energy, these microstructures will

evolve to minimize the surface area between α & Fe 3C

Recall: fast cooling ⇒ fine pearlite

slow cooling ⇒ coarse pearlite
Extended heating of pearlite* just below the eutectoid
temperature (e.g., 18-24 h @ 700 °C) ⇒ spheroidite :
• Like pearlite, a microconstituent consisting of Fe3C
&α
• Unlike pearlite, Fe3C is in form of spherical
particles in a continuous matrix
⇒ softer & more ductile than pearlite

Callister, Fig. 10.10 — spheroidite

* Or bainite
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Fe-C Alloys — Properties & Heat Treatment p. 13.11

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES IN PLAIN CARBON STEELS:

Effect of microstructural scale

spheroidite coarse pearlite fine pearlite

Increasing α-Fe 3C boundary area ⇒ more impediments to slip

Increasing grain size strengthening & dispersion strengthening

Callister, Fig. 10.21 — hardness & ductility of fine & coarse pearlite & spheroidite

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Fe-C Alloys — Properties & Heat Treatment p. 13.12

BAINITE

At lower temperatures, the eutectoid reaction produces a

different microstructure — bainite

• Like pearlite & spheroidite,

• Contains α & Fe 3C
• Is a microconstituent, not a phase

• Forms as needles containing elongated Fe3C

particles in an α matrix

• Forms at lower temperatures than pearlite ⇒ finer

scale — only visible in electron microscope

Callister, Fig. 10.8 — bainite needle

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Fe-C Alloys — Properties & Heat Treatment p. 13.13

MARTENSITE

When austenite is
cooled rapidly to 220°C
or below, martensite
forms
Body-centered
tetragonal unit cell is
related to austenite
structure
Callister, Fig. 10.11
Martensite —
FCC iron with body-centered
interstitial carbon tetragonal

• Characteristics of martensite transformation:

• Little time for rearrangement ⇒ minor shifts in atom
positions rather than segregation into two phases —
diffusionless transformation
• Occurs very rapidly — speed of sound
• Speed of transformation is independent of
temperature — athermal
• (Fraction transformed) ↑ as (temperature) ↓

• Properties of martensite
• Very hard, brittle — essentially zero ductility
• During heat treatment at 250-650 °C,
martensite will transform to α + dispersed Fe3C
⇒ more machinable — tempered martensitic steel

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Fe-C Alloys — Properties & Heat Treatment p. 13.14

ISOTHERMAL TRANSFORMATION CURVES (start)

• A.k.a. “time-temperature-transformation”
(T-T-T) curves
• Starting from homogeneous austenite, describe
microstructural changes that occur …
• … after rapid quench to a T < eutectoid T…
• … and holding at that T for various times
Callister, Figs. 10.9, 10.13
• (Some examples — Callister, Example Problem 10.1 &
Fig. 10.15)

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Fe-C Alloys — Properties & Heat Treatment p. 13.15

ISOTHERMAL TRANSFORMATION CURVES (end)

• Why C-shaped? Competing effects of thermodynamics &

kinetics:
• The farther below a transformation T a system is,
the larger is the driving force for that transformation
• The higher the temperature, the faster the diffusion
(recall D = Do exp[–Q/RT])
 Low driving force dominates at T's near the eutectoid
∴Slow diffusion dominates at T's far below the eutectoid
⇒ slow reaction at high T and at low T

∴ Nose or knee of curve: T of highest transformation

rate (Callister, Fig. 10.9)

EMSE 201 — Introduction to Materials Science & Engineering © 2003 Mark R. De Guire rev. 3/27/03