EXPERIMENT NO:AIM - STUDY OF IRON CARBON EQUILIBRIUM DIAGRAM AND SKETCH THE VARIOUS STRUCTURE PRESENT.

THEORYThe term phase may be defined as a chemically and structurally homogeneous region of material. A phase diagram is a graphical representation of the phases present and the ranges in composition, temperature, and pressure over which the phases are stable.

PHASES IN THE FE-FE3C SYSTEM _____________________________________________________________________ ATOMIC PHASE PACKING DESCRIPTION AND COMMENTS _____________________________________________________________________ Liquid (Also called delta iron) (Also called austenite) DRP
(Densely random packing)

Liquid solution of C (carbon) in Fe (iron) Random interstitial solid solution of C in BCC. Fe. Random interstitial solid solution of C in FCC Fe. Maximum solubility is 2 wt% at 11470C. It is normally not stable at room temperature. Random interstitial solid solution of C in BCC. Fe. Maximum solubility is 0.02 wt% at 7230C. It is the softest structure appears on the diagram.

BCC FCC

(Body- cantered cubic)

(Face- cantered cubic)

(also called ferrite)

BCC

Fe3C (also called iron orthorhombic A hard and brittle interstitial compound carbide or cementite) of Fe and C containing 25 atomic % (6.7 Wt %) C. ( + Fe3C) Pearlite It is very fine plate like or lamellar eutectoid mixture of ferrite and cementite containing 0.8 wt% C and formed at 7230C on very slow cooling _____________________________________________________________________ Martensite- It is a supersaturated solid solution of carbon in b.c.t (body-cantered tetragonal) iron. This meta-stable phase is formed under very rapid cooling. -

Pure iron is undergone polymorphic changes depending upon temperature, as indicated in Fig.1. When liquid iron first solidifies at 1539 0C, it is in form. Upon further cooling at 14000C, a phase change occurs and the atoms rearrange themselves into the form, which is nonmagnetic. When the temperature reaches 9100C, another phase change occurs from to iron (magnetic). Alloys of iron and carbon (with other elements intentionally added for special purposes) comprise the commercially important ferrous-base alloys known as steels and cast irons. These alloys, particularly the steels, are susceptible to heat-treatment, and a wide range of properties can be obtained by proper variation and timing of heating and cooling cycles.

Fig.1 Temperature ranges in which allotropic forms of iron exist under equilibrium conditions. Carbon atoms are small compared to iron atoms, and have a radius ratio (carbon to iron) of 0.63. Consequently, any solute carbon forms an interstitial solution. Since the biggest interstices in gamma (f.c.c) iron are larger (0.52 A radius) than the largest in alpha (b.c.c) iron (0.36 A radius). We expect greater solubility of carbon in than in . This does occur as indicated in Fig. 2, the so-called Iron-Carbon Equilibrium Phase Diagram which indicates that can dissolve a maximum of 2.0 wt% carbon at 11470C, while can dissolve a maximum of only 0.02 wt% carbon at 7230C.

Fig.2 the Fe-Fe3C meta-stable portion of iron-carbon equilibrium phase diagram. Plain carbon steels are generally considered to contain up to 2 wt% carbon whereas cast irons range from 2 to 5 wt% carbon. Consider in detail three alloy steels containing of 0.4% carbon, 0.8% carbon, and 1.2% carbon cooled from slightly above the upper critical temperature. At the temperature of starting cooling all three alloys are in the form of austenite. The lowest temperature for an alloy of iron and carbon to exist in the form of 100% austenite or gamma iron is 7230C and the alloy composition is austenite containing 0.8% carbon. At 7230C the austenite changes to a structure known as pearlite. The structure of pearlite consists of alternate layers of ferrite and cementite. When steel is cooled below 7230C there is a driving force for the eutectoid reaction of: (F.c.c iron + 0.8 wt% dissolved carbon) (b.c.c iron + 0.02 wt% dissolved carbon) + Fe3C (6.67 wt% carbon). Transformation of austenite to pearlite starts by formation of cementite nuclei at austenite grain boundaries (see Fig.3). Carbon diffuses from the surrounding austenite

to the cementite, and the growth of carbide begins. As carbon diffuses, the adjacent austenite is depleted in carbon and transforms to ferrite. With formation of ferrite, there is rejection of carbon from the ferrite region, i.e., effective enrichment of the adjacent austenite. This results in the formation of additional nuclei of cementite. Because of the alternate formation of cementite and ferrite, cementite can only grow away from the boundary of the original austenite grain as a platelet.

Fig. 3 Schematic representation of pearlite formation by nucleation and growth; (a) through (d) indicate successive steps in time sequence. Nucleation and growth of alternate plates of cementite and ferrite occur at several points along the austenite grain boundaries. This forms pearlite colonies, which are approximately hemispherical regions of alternate parallel plates of cementite and ferrite. These pearlite colonies grow until the entire austenite grain has been consumed and has become a pearlite structure. The process of pearlite formation is sometimes referred to as sidewise nucleation and edgewise growth. All alloys cooling from the austenite range down to room temperature are compelled to produce some pearlite as part of their final structure. Alloy 1 is a hypoeutectoid steel containing 0.4% carbon i.e. the initial carbon content of the alloy is below the 0.8% carbon value. The starts to transform as soon as the alloy enters the austenite,

+ ferrite, field (Fig.4). "Primary" nucleates at grains boundaries and grows as the steel is cooled from A3 to A1. At A1 the remaining (which is now of eutectoid composition) transforms to pearlite as usual. The room temperature microstructure is then made up of primary + pearlite.

Fig. 4 The sequences of change of phases of the three alloys cooling from the austenite region to room temperature. Alloy 2 is a eutectoid steel containing of 0.8% C. Hence no transformation takes place until the steel is cooled to eutectoid temperature (7230C), where though eutectoid reaction austenite to pearlitic transformation takes place. Hence at room temperature we get 100% pearlite in the microstructure (see Fig.4).

Alloy 3 is a hypereutectoid steel containing 1.2% carbon i.e. in excess of 0.8% carbon and therefore during cooling from the austenite range this extra carbon must be removed from the austenite. The excess carbon is precipitated out of solid solution but during the process it brings with it ferrite atoms and the final precipitate is not pure carbon but is cementite. As cooling and cementite precipitation continue the remaining austenite becomes gradually lower in carbon content until only 0.83% carbon content. Then it changes to pearlite the reaction temperature being 7230C. Finally we get a room-temperature microstructure of primary Fe3C plus pearlite (Fig.4). Under slow or moderate cooling rates, the carbon atoms are able to diffuse out of the austenite structure resulting proeutectoid ferrite, proeutectoid cementite, and/or pearlite, this transformation takes place by a process of nucleation and growth and is time dependent. With a very rapid cooling rate, insufficient time is allowed for the carbon atoms to diffuse out of solution, and although some movement of the iron atoms takes place, the structure cannot become b.c.c while the carbon is trapped in solution thus transform austenite into a metastable phase known as martensite which is a single-phase, supersaturated solution of carbon in ferrite with carbon atoms located interstitially in a body-centered tetragonal lattice; i.e., the excessive supersaturation distorts the normal b.c.c structure to body-centered tetragonal. The lattice distortion is reflected in mechanical properties of high strength and hardness and low ductility. Figure 5 shows that the hardness of martensite increases rapidly with carbon content.

Fig. 5 The hardness of martensite increases with carbon content because of the increasing distortion of the lattice. The cooling rate for martensite formation must exceed a critical value, which depends on composition and metallurgical history. Martensite will not form unless austenite is cooled below a certain critical temperature (Ms), which depends on composition. Formation continues only if temperature continues to decrease. There is a lower temperature (Mf) at which transformation to martensite is complete. Martensite formation is essentially independent of time. On the TTT (time temperature transformation), also called CCT (continuous cooling transformation) diagram (see Fig.6) curves X, Y and Z, representing different continuous cooling rates that are superimposed.
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Fig.6 The relationship between true TTT curves and those representing continuous cooling conditions. Curve X represents a rate of cooling such as might prevail during a normalising (air cooling) process. Transformation of the unstable austenite begins at K and is complete at N and product is fine pearlite. A very rapid cooling is represented by curve Y which just touches the modified transformation-begins curve so unstable austenite persists until at O (on the Ms line) transformation direct to martensite begins. It should be noted that the above discussion is mainly for 0.8% C steel. If the carbon content is either above or below this amount the curves are displaced to the left so that the CCR (critical cooling rate) required to produce a fully martensite structure will be even greater. Ms denotes the start and Mf the finish. It should be noted that if steels contain more than 0.7% C the Mf temperature lies below 00C so that there is some retained austenite unless sub-zero treatment is performed.