Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology

School of Innovative Design Engineering

Materials Science and Engineering Department

MSE 502
IRON-CARBON PHASE DIAGRAM

By: Awad Elaraby

ID:052022009
Instructor: Prof. Mohamed
Gepreel
 How to read the Fe-C phase diagram
Eutectic

eutectoid
Ledoporite
Austenite

Ferrite

Pearlite

Steel Cast iron

 Why phase diagrams

There are major uses of alloy phase

diagrams:
• Development of new alloys based on
application requirements.
• Production of these alloys.
• Development and control of appropriate heat
treatment procedures, such as tempering,
annealing, normalising, etc, to improve the
chemical, physical, and mechanical
properties of these new alloys.
 Definition of structures
Various phases that appear on the
Iron-Carbon equilibrium phase
diagram are as under:
•Austenite
•Ferrite
•Pearlite
•Cementite
•Martensite*
•Ledeburite
Definition of structures
 Ferrite: is known as α solid solution.
 It is an interstitial solid solution of a small
amount of carbon dissolved in α (BCC) iron.
 Stable form of iron below 912 C
 The maximum solubility is 0.022 % C at
727C and it dissolves only 0.008 % C at
room temperature.
 It is the softest structure that appears on the
diagram.
Definition of structures

Ferrite
 Magnetic below 768 C
 Has a density of 7.88 g/cm
 The limited solubility is
explained by the shape and
size of the BCC interstitial
positions
Definition of structures
 Austenite is an interstitial solid solution of
Carbon dissolved in  (F.C.C.) iron.
 Maximum solubility is 2.0 % C at 1130°C.
 High formability, most of heat treatments
begin with this single phase.
 It is normally not stable at room
temperature. But, under certain conditions it
is possible to obtain austenite at room
temperature.
Definition of structures

Austenite :
 Non magnetic.
 very important in the heat
treating of steels.

Ferrite δ:
the same as α ferrite.
is stable only at relatively high
temperatures.
Definition of structures
 Cementite is formed when the solubility
limit is exceeded.
 is very hard, brittle intermetallic compound of
iron & carbon, as Fe3C, contains 6.67 % C.
 It is the hardest structure that appears on the
diagram, exact melting point unknown.
 Its crystal structure is orthorhombic.
 It is only metastable.
 Very slow decomposition.
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 matrix contains
thin plates of (dark) cementite.
 pearlite has properties
intermediate between the soft,
ductile ferrite and the hard,
brittle cementite
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
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
 the type of alloys formed under very slow

cooling.
 proper heat-treatment temperature.

 how the properties of steels and cast irons

can be radically changed by heat-treatment.

 Various Features of Fe-C diagram
Phases present
L
a ferrite
d BCC structure
BCC structure Ferromagnetic
Paramagnetic Fairly ductile

 austenite Fe3C cementite

FCC structure Orthorhombic
Reactions Non-magnetic Hard
ductile brittle
Peritectic L + d = 
Max. solubility of C in ferrite=0.022%
Eutectic L =  + Fe3C

Eutectoid  = a + Fe3C Max. solubility of C in austenite=2.11%

 How to read the Fe-C phase diagram
Eutectic

eutectoid
Ledoporite
Austenite

Ferrite

Pearlite

Steel Cast iron

 The Iron-Iron Carbide Diagram
The diagram shows three horizontal lines which
indicate isothermal reactions (on cooling /
heating):
 First horizontal line is at 1493°C, where
peritectic reaction takes place:
Liquid + d ↔ austenite
 Second horizontal line is at 1147°C, where
eutectic reaction takes place:
liquid ↔ austenite + cementite
 Third horizontal line is at 727°C, where
eutectoid reaction takes place:
austenite ↔ pearlite (mixture of ferrite &
cementite)
Delta region (peritectic)
Liquid + d ↔ austenite
 Simplified Iron-Carbon phase diagram
austenite ↔ pearlite (mixture of ferrite & cementite)
The eutectoid reaction
 The eutectoid reaction

In order to understand the transformation

processes, consider a steel of the eutectoid
composition. 0.77% carbon, being slow cooled
along line x-x‘.
 At the upper temperatures, only austenite is
present, with the 0.77% carbon being dissolved
in solid solution within the FCC. When the steel
cools through 727°C, several changes occur
simultaneously.
 The eutectoid reaction
 The iron wants to change
crystal structure from the
FCC austenite to the BCC
ferrite, but the ferrite can
only contain 0.02%
carbon in solid solution.
 The excess carbon is
rejected and forms the
carbon-rich intermetallic
known as cementite.
Nucleation and growth of pearlite

Cementite
Ferrite

Austenite
boundary
Nucleation and growth of pearlite
 Pearlitic structure

 The net reaction at the

eutectoid is the formation
of pearlitic structure.
 Since the chemical
separation occurs entirely
within crystalline solids,
the resultant structure is a
fine mixture of ferrite and
cementite.
 The eutectoid reaction
 Hypo-eutectoid steels: Steels having less than
0.77% carbon are called hypo-eutectoid steels
(hypo means "less than").
 Consider the cooling of a typical hypo-eutectoid
alloy along line y-y‘.
 At high temperatures the material is entirely
austenite.
 Upon cooling it enters a region where the stable
phases are ferrite and austenite.
 The low-carbon ferrite nucleates and grows,
leaving the remaining austenite richer in carbon.
 The eutectoid reaction
 Hypo-eutectoid steels-
At 727°C, the remaining
austenite will reach the
eutectoid composition
(0.77% carbon), and further
cooling transforms it to
pearlite.
 The resulting structure, is a
mixture of primary or pro-
eutectoid ferrite (ferrite that
forms before the eutectoid
reaction) and regions of
pearlite.
 The eutectoid reaction

 Hyper-eutectoid steels (hyper means

"greater than") are those that contain more
than the eutectoid amount of Carbon.
 When such a steel cools, as along line z-z' ,
the process is similar to the hypo-eutectoid
steel, except that the primary or pro-eutectoid
phase is now cementite instead of ferrite.
 The eutectoid reaction

 As the carbon-rich phase nucleates and grows,

the remaining austenite decreases in carbon
content, again reaching the eutectoid
composition at 727°C.
 This austenite transforms to pearlite upon slow
cooling through the eutectoid temperature.
 The resulting structure consists of primary
cementite and pearlite.
 The continuous network of primary cementite
will cause the material to be extremely brittle.
 The eutectoid reaction

Hyper-eutectoid steel showing primary cementite along grain

boundaries pearlite
 It should be noted that the transitions as discussed, are for
equilibrium conditions, as a result of slow cooling.

 Upon slow heating the transitions will occur in the reverse

manner.
 When the alloys are cooled rapidly, entirely different
results are obtained, since sufficient time may not be
provided for the normal phase reactions to occur.
 In these cases, the equilibrium phase diagram is no longer
a valid tool for engineering analysis.
 Rapid-cool processes are important in the heat treatment
of steels and other metals.
 When the alloys are cooled rapidly, entirely
different results are obtained, since sufficient
time may not be provided for the normal phase
reactions to occur.
 In these cases, the equilibrium phase diagram
is no longer a valid tool for engineering
analysis.
 Rapid-cool processes are important in the heat
treatment of steels and other metals.
 Principal phases of steel and their
Characteristics
Crystal
Phase Characteristics
structure
Ferrite BCC Soft, ductile, magnetic

Soft, moderate
Austenite FCC strength, non-
magnetic

Compound of Iron
Cementite Hard &brittle
& Carbon Fe3C
Thanks