Scribd
Upload
271 views31 pages

Introduction-Iron Carbon Phase Diagram

The document discusses steel and cast iron alloys. It explains that steel contains up to 2% carbon and can be classified as low, medium, or high carbon steel based on carbon percentage. Cast iron contains 2-4% carbon. The iron-carbon phase diagram is used to understand the different phases of steel like ferrite, austenite, cementite, and pearlite that form based on carbon content and temperature. It also shows the eutectic and eutectoid reactions involved in steel solidification. Micrographs of the different phases are provided to illustrate their structures.

Uploaded by

THE BBEAST
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
271 views31 pages

Introduction-Iron Carbon Phase Diagram

The document discusses steel and cast iron alloys. It explains that steel contains up to 2% carbon and can be classified as low, medium, or high carbon steel based on carbon percentage. Cast iron contains 2-4% carbon. The iron-carbon phase diagram is used to understand the different phases of steel like ferrite, austenite, cementite, and pearlite that form based on carbon content and temperature. It also shows the eutectic and eutectoid reactions involved in steel solidification. Micrographs of the different phases are provided to illustrate their structures.

Uploaded by

THE BBEAST
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 31

IRON IRON-CARBON PHASE

DIAGRAM
STEEL AND CAST IRON
 Steel and Cast iron are alloys in which the main alloying
element is carbon.

 These alloys are useful in many applications due to their


increased desirable properties.

 One of the increased properties of steel and cast iron is that


they are harder than iron.

 Because, the presence of carbon causes high hardness.


STEEL AND CAST IRON

 Moreover, these alloys undergo heat treatments to impart


desired properties.

 These forms and the different percentages of carbon vary


the properties of the alloy.
WHAT IS STEEL?
 In steel, the main alloying element is carbon, and the other
elements are Manganese, Silicon and Copper.

 In fact, the steel contains up to 2% carbon by weight.


 We can classify steel as follows depending on the percentage
of carbon in steel

 Low carbon steel


 Medium carbon steel
 High carbon steel
 Tool steel
WHAT IS STEEL?

 In steel, carbon is present as iron carbide.

 Steel is harder than iron, but ductile in nature.

 It can change into different shapes by the application of forces


WHAT IS CAST IRON?
 Cast iron is an alloy of iron that contains 2- 4% of carbon by
weight.

 The key difference between steel and cast iron is that the steel
is ductile and malleable whereas the cast iron is hard and
brittle and has high compressive strength.
CLASSIFICATION OF STEEL AND CAST IRON
CLASSIFICATION OF STEEL
ALLOTROPY OF METALS
 Many of the metallic elements exist in more than one
crystalline form depending upon the external conditions of
temperature or pressure.
 This phenomenon is called polymorphism or allotropy.

 At atmospheric pressure, three allotropic forms of iron exist:


 Alpha iron (α-Fe),
 Gamma iron (γ-Fe),
 Delta iron (δ-Fe)
COOLING CURVE FOR PURE IRON
THE IRON-IRON CARBIDE DIAGRAM
 A map of the temperature at which different phase changes
occur on very slow heating and cooling in relation to Carbon,
is called Iron- Carbon Diagram.

 Iron- Carbon diagram shows:


I. The type of alloys formed under very slow cooling,
II. Proper heat-treatment temperature and
III. How the properties of steels and cast irons can be changed
by heat-treatment.
MICROSTRUCTURE OF DIFFERENT PHASES
OF STEEL
THE IRON-CARBON PHASE DIAGRAM
PHASES OF STEEL

• The iron-carbon phase diagram is widely used to understand


the different phases of steel and cast iron.

• The graph is quite complex but since we are limiting our


exploration to Fe3C,we will only be focusing up to 6.67
weight percent of carbon.

• This iron carbon phase diagram is plotted with the carbon


concentrations by weight on the X-axis and the temperature
scale on the Y-axis.
TYPES OF FERROUS ALLOYS ON THE
PHASE DIAGRAM

• The weight percentage scale on the X-axis of the iron carbon


phase diagram goes from 0% up to 6.67% Carbon.

• Up to a maximum carbon content of 0.008% weight of Carbon,


the metal is simply called iron or pure iron.

• It exists in the α-ferrite form at room temperature.


TYPES OF FERROUS ALLOYS ON THE
PHASE DIAGRAM
• From 0.008% up to 2.14% carbon content, the iron carbon
alloy is called steel.

• When the carbon content increases beyond 2.14%, we reach


the stage of cast iron.

• Cast iron is very hard but its brittleness severely limits its
applications and methods for forming.
TYPES OF BOUNDARIES
ON THE PHASE DIAGRAM
• Multiple lines can be seen in the diagram titled A1, A2, A3, A4,
and ACM. The A in their name stands for the word ‘arrest’.

• Phase change occurs at these boundaries when the temperature


reaches the value on the boundary.

• Heating an alloy, its temperature increases. But along these lines


the temperature stops increasing until the phase has changed
completely.

• This is known as thermal arrest as the temperature stays


constant.
MICROSTRUCTURE OF DIFFERENT PHASES
OF STEEL
DIFFERENT PHASES OF STEEL
α-ferrite
• Existing at low temperatures and low carbon content, α-ferrite is a solid
solution of carbon in BCC Fe.

• This phase is stable at room temperature.


• This phase is magnetic below 768°C.
• It has a maximum carbon content of 0.022 %.
• It is the softest structure that appears on the diagram.
γ-austenite
• This phase is a solid solution of carbon in FCC Fe with a maximum
solubility of 2.14% C.
• γ-austenite is unstable at temperatures below eutectic temperature (727°C)
unless cooled rapidly.

• This phase is non-magnetic.


• High formability, most of heat treatments begin with this single phase.
DIFFERENT PHASES OF STEEL

The micrograph below shows soft iron (αα-iron) in an almost carbon-free state.
The iron grains (white areas) and silicate inclusions (dark spots) can be seen.
DIFFERENT PHASES OF STEEL

δ-ferrite
• This phase has a similar structure as that of α-ferrite but exists only at
high temperatures.

• The phase can be spotted at the top left corner in the graph.
• It has a melting point of 1538°C.

Fe3C or cementite
• Very hard, brittle intermetallic compound of iron & carbon, as Fe3C,
contains 6.67 % C.

• It is the hardest structure that appears on the diagram

• It is has low tensile strength (approx. 5,000 psi), but high compressive
strength
DIFFERENT PHASES OF STEEL
Fe-C liquid solution:

• Marked on the diagram as ‘L’, it can be seen in the upper region in the
diagram.

• As the name suggests, it is a liquid solution of carbon in iron.

• As we know that δ-ferrite melts at 1538°C, it is evident that melting


temperature of iron decreases with increasing carbon content.
DEFINITION OF STRUCTURES
 Pearlite is the eutectoid mixture containing
0.80 % C and is formed at 723°C on very
slow cooling.

 It is a very fine platelike or lamellar


mixture of ferrite and cementite.

 The white ferritic background or matrix


contains thin plates of cementite (dark).
DEFINITION OF STRUCTURES

• Ledeburite is the eutectic mixture of austenite


and cementite.
• It contains 4.3 percent C and is formed at 1130°C.
DEFINITION OF STRUCTURES
 Martensite - a super-saturated solid solution of carbon in
ferrite.

 It is formed when steel is cooled so rapidly that the change


from austenite to pearlite is suppressed.

 The interstitial carbon atoms distort the BCC ferrite into a


BC-tetragonal structure (BCT).; responsible for the
hardness of quenched steel
Steel Cast iron
MICROSTRUCTURE OF DIFFERENT PHASES
OF STEEL
MICROSTRUCTURE OF DIFFERENT PHASES
OF STEEL
THREE PHASE REACTIONS
 Peritectic, at 1490 deg.C, with low wt% C alloys (almost
no engineering importance).

 Eutectic, at 1130 deg.C, with 4.3wt% C, alloys


called cast irons.

 Eutectoid, at 723 deg.C with eutectoid composition of


0.8wt% C, two-phase mixture (ferrite & cementite).
 They are steels.
THREE PHASE REACTIONS
 The diagram shows three horizontal lines which
Indicate isothermal reactions(on cooling/heating):

 First horizontal line is at 1490°C,


where peritectic reaction takes place:
Liquid +  ↔ Austenite
 Second horizontal line is at 1130°C,
where eutectic reaction takes place:
Liquid ↔ Austenite + Cementite
 Third horizontal line is at 723°C,
where eutectoid reaction takes place:

Austenite↔ Pearlite (mixture of Ferrite & Cementite)


THE FE-C PHASE DIAGRAM
Eutectic
eutectoid
Pearlite and
Cementine

Austenite

Ferrite
Pearlite and
Carbide
Pearlite

Steel Cast iron


Principal Phases of steel and their
Characteristics

Phase Crystal Characteristics


Structure

Ferrite BCC Soft, ductile, magnetic

Soft, moderate
Austenite FCC strength, non-
magnetic

Compound of Iron
Cementite Hard &brittle
& Carbon (Fe3C)

You might also like