temperature

γ, austenite
1% α, 99% γ
α+γ
γ+Fe3C

α, ferrite
99% α, 1% γ
α+Fe3C

1% α+Fe3C, 99% γ 1040

50% α+Fe3C, 50% γ

100% α+Fe3C

1% martensite

α+Fe3C
alpha + cementite
100% martinsite @ about -30 C

-30 time [seconds] wieght % carbon

1050
austenite

~1.7 minutes
900

630 course pearlite

fine pearlite

austenite bainite
350

martensite
100

0
 100% Iron, α-ferrite
LIQUID
1535˚C

FERRITE (delta)
1390˚C

AUSTENITE (gamma)

910˚C γ – austenite (FCC)

FERRITE (alpha)

α – ferrite (BCC)
Cementite Fe3C
Development of microstructures in iron-carbon alloys
Hyper-eutectoid composition, wt% C > 0.76
Hypo-reutectoid composition, wt% C < 0.76
Isothermal transormation (TTT) microstructural developement
Formation of martensite
Formation of pearlite
Hypo-eutectoid composition
Hyper-eutectoid composition
Course pearlite fine pearlite
martensite
Carbon in FCC iron
Carbon in BCC iron
 δ-iron (delta-iron) exists between 2552 and 2802 oF. It may exist in combination
with the melt to about 0.50 % Carbon, in combination with austenite to about 0.18
% Carbon and in a single phase state out to about 0.10 % carbon. Delta iron has
the Body Centered Cubic (B.C.C) crystal structure and is magnetic.
Heat treatment of steel
Copper melts at 1084°C, and if copper ore is smelted together with tin the resulting bronze alloy flows easily at about 950°C. Pure
iron, however, melts only at 1537°C, which was beyond the means of the early metalworkers. At the temperatures that their furnaces
could reach, iron was reduced from the ore in the solid state, producing a solid spongy mass mixed with slag and unburnt charcoal,
called a 'bloom'. This became the raw material of the smith. By hammering on the bloom, which was kept soft by frequently re-heating
it, he could drive out the slag and other impurities, eventually producing a bar of almost pure iron - 'wrought iron'. Pure iron is,
however, inferior to bronze in many respects - it is softer, and does not hold an edge as well. Why, then, go to all that trouble? During
the hot-working process, while the bloom was being re-heated, small quantities of carbon from the charcoal in the forging furnace
would diffuse into the metal. Alloying with carbon increases the hardness and strength of iron dramatically. This improved alloy is, in
fact, a steel.
The hardness of steeled iron is increased still further if the red-hot metal is quenched - suddenly cooled by plunging it into water.
Although this technique hardens the steel, it also makes it brittle and likely to break with use. However, if the quenched steel is re-
heated for a short time, and then slowly cooled, it gives up some hardness but also becomes tough and springy. This process is known
as tempering.
These metalworking techniques make use of the fact that the atomic structure of the metal varies with temperature. These changes are
immensely important, for they enable metallurgists to vary the properties of steel according to the purpose for which it is intended. If
they did not take place, our metals technology might still be based on copper and bronze.

The role of carbon

The amount of carbon that can be dissolved in iron depends on the arrangement of atoms in the crystal lattice. At normal temperatures,
iron has a body-centred cubic (bcc) structure. This material, which is termed ferrite, can contain only a few hundredths of a per cent
carbon. At temperatures higher than about 906°C, however, the atoms rearrange themselves to form a face-centred cubic (fcc) lattice.
This structure, which can accomodate up to 1.7 per cent carbon in solid solution, is called austenite, after Sir William Roberts-Austen,
a renowned 19th-century metallurgist. What happens, then, when an iron-carbon solid solution is slowly cooled? At some temperature
above 723°C (exactly which temperature depends on the carbon content), the iron atoms start to revert to the ferrite structure. The
carbon atoms do not immediately come out of solution, but diffuse to where the lattice is still face-centred cubic, thus creating carbon-
rich zones in the carbon-free ferrite. When these areas are saturated, carbon starts to precipitate from solution. This process is
completed at 723°C, when all the austenite has been converted to ferrite.
The carbon that precipitates from solid solution is deposited in fine lamellae of 'cementite', an iron carbide with the formula Fe3C,
which alternate with layers of surplus ferrite. This structure is called 'pearlite', due to its iridescent appearance under the microscope.
Ferrite, Alpha (α α)iron, Delta iron (δ δ), BCC
Ferrite is the body-centred cubic (bcc) phase that pure iron exists as at temperatures up to 910°C. Pure iron can also exist as ferrite at high
temperatures, between 1392°C and the melting point of 1536°C. The low temperature form is known as a ferrite and the high temperature form d
ferrite, but the two forms are identical. Ferrite is soft and ductile when pure. Alpha ferrite can dissolve only 0.02% carbon, but may contain
significant levels of other alloy elements. Pure ferritic steels are rare.
Austenite, Gamma (γγ) iron, FCC
Between 910°C and 1392°C pure iron exists as austenite, which has a face-centred cubic crystal structure. Austenite, also known as γ, can
dissolve much higher levels of carbon than ferrite, up to 2% at 1146°C, so heating a carbon or low alloy steel to temperatures at which it is fully
austenitic dissolves all the carbon. This is the key to heat treating these steels. Although this phase is stable only at high temperatures in low alloy
and carbon steels, some alloy steels are austenitic at normal temperatures. Austenite is also relatively soft and ductile.
Cementite, Iron carbide, Fe3C.
Cementite is a compound of iron that can form a stable phase in steels and irons. It consists of one atom of carbon with three of iron, and has a
carbon content of 6.67%. As a pure phase, cementite is very hard (over 600 HB) and brittle. Ferritic steels contain carbon as cementite, and the
strength and ductility of steel is affected by the amount and distribution of the cementite.
Pearlite
Pearlite is a two-phase mixture of ferrite and cementite arranged as alternating parallel plates. It always contains fixed amount of carbon (0.83%
in carbon steel) and forms as a result of an eutectoid reaction when austenite is cooled. The spacing of the plates (lamellae) is very fine and is
usually not seen on a light microscope, even with high magnifications. Pearlite is hard and strong, although not as ductile as pure ferrite or
austenite, nor as strong as martensite. Its presence in steel confers strength.
Martensite, BCT
Martensite is a metastable phase formed when austenite is cooled so rapidly that carbide precipitation is suppressed. This occurs when carbon or
low alloy steel is quenched (cooled rapidly by dipping in a fluid) from high temperature. The rate of cooling is dependent on the type of
quenchant (brine, water, oil or air) and on the object’s thickness. The minimum rate of cooling to transform to martensite depends on the alloy
content of the steel, and is known as its hardenability. Martensite forms by an instantaneous process of microscopic shear. When steel is quenched
to martensite it is in its hardest and strongest condition, although the ductility and toughness is often low. The strength and hardness are
determined by the alloy content, in particular the carbon level. The ductility and toughness of martensite can be improved by tempering, which is
heating in the range 150°C to 700°C. This allows some stress relief and carbide precipitation. Higher tempering temperatures result in more
ductility at the expense of hardness.
Bainite
Bainite is a two-phase structure that can be formed in carbon steel by rapid cooling austenite to between 400°C and 550°C, followed by a time
holding at this temperature. This is generally done by quenching into a bath of liquid tin or lead and holding the steel in this bath. Transformation
to bainite is by precipitation of carbides in a very fine feathery or lath configuration. Some alloy steels can transform to bainite on continuous
cooling, rather than by the rather impractical process used for carbon steel. The properties of bainite are similar to tempered martensite. Lower
bainite (formed at lower temperatures) is extremely tough. Upper bainite (formed at higher temperatures) is a coarser structure and is not as hard
or ductile as lower bainite. The matrix is ferrite in steel which is isothermally transformed but may be martensite in alloy steel which is
continuously cooled.