cooled in a particular manner to alter its internal structure for obtaining desired degree of physical and mechanical properties such as brittleness, hardness, and softness. Iron has three allotropic forms of crystal at different temperature. It undergoes all the allotropic forms when it is heated from normal temperature to high temperature (molten state). Alpha Gamma Delta Beta Alpha Iron. It occurs from normal temperature to 910 degree centigrade and has got body-centered cubic (b.c.c.)lattice crystals. (i) Ferromagnetic alpha iron which occurs from normal temperature to 770 degree centigrade. (ii) Paramagnetic alpha iron which occurs from 770 degree centigrade to 910 degree centigrade. Gamma Iron. This occurs from 910 degree centigrade to 1400 degree centigrade, and has got crystal structure of face-centered cubic (f.c.c.) lattice. Delta Iron. This occurs from 1400 degree centigrade to 1539 degree centigrade (molten state), and has got crystal structure of body-centered lattice. Pure Iron is soft and has got silvery white color.It is strongly magnetic in presence of a magnetic field or electric current. When inducing field is removed the induced magnetism is not retained by pure iron. This power of retentivity of magnetism of pure iron is improved by the addition of other elements such as carbon, cobalt, or nickel. Iron loses its magnetic propertieswhen heated to 770 degree centigrade. The nonmagnetic form of iron that exists between 768° and 910° C and that is identical with alpha iron except that alpha is magnetic — compare ALPHA IRON GAMMA IRON Microstructure is the very small scale structure of a steel or other materials. Austenite Ferrite Cementite Pearlite Leduburite Martensite a liquid mixture in which the minor component (the solute) is uniformly distributed within the major component (the solvent) solute. ... A substance dissolved in another substance, usually the component of a solution present in the lesser amount. solvent A substance that can dissolve another substanceor in which anothersubstance is dissolved, forming a solution. The technique works by adding atoms of one element (the alloying element) to the crystalline lattice of another element (the base metal), forming a solid solution. Ex ( iron + carbon = steel ) Austenite, also known as gamma-phase iron (γ- Fe), is a metallic, non-magnetic allotrope of iron or a solid solution of iron, with an alloying element.[1] In plain-carbon steel, austenite exists above the critical eutectoid temperature of 1000 K (727°C); other alloys of steel have different eutectoid temperatures. The austenite allotrope exists at room temperature in stainless steel. Ferrite is a body-centered cubic (BCC, alpha iron) form of iron. It is this crystallinestructure which gives steel and cast iron their magnetic properties, and is the classic example of a ferromagnetic material. Cementite (or iron carbide) is an intermetallic compound of iron and carbon, more precisely an intermediate transition metal carbidewith the formula Fe3C. By weight, it is 6.67% carbon and 93.3% iron. Pearlite is a two-phased, lamellar (or layered) structure composed of alternating layers of ferrite (88 wt%) and cementite (12 wt%) that occurs in some steels and cast irons. During slow cooling of an iron-carbon alloy, pearlite forms by a eutectoid reaction as austenitecools below 727 °C (1,341 °F) (the eutectoid temperature). Pearlite is a microstructure occurring in many common grades of steels. ledeburite is a mixture of 4.3% carbon in iron and is a eutectic mixture of austenite and cementite. Ledeburite is not a type of steel as the carbon level is too high although it may occur as a separate constituent in some high carbon steels. It is mostly found with cementite or pearlite in a range of cast irons. Martensite, named after the German metallurgist Adolf Martens (1850– 1914), most commonly refers to a very hard form of steel crystalline structure, but it can also refer to any crystal structure that is formed by diffusionless transformation.[1] It includes a class of hard minerals occurring as lath- or plate- shaped crystal grains In their simplest form, steels are alloys of Iron (Fe) and Carbon (C). The Fe-C phase diagram is a fairly complex one, but we will only consider the steel part of the diagram. Liquidus line Solidus line Critical temperature Euetectoid steel has 0.8% C. Eutectic is a mixture of 4.3% carbon in iron Hypo-eutectoid steel has less than 0,8% of C in its composition. It is composed by pearlite and α-ferrite. Hyper-eutectoid steel has between 0.8% and 2% of C, composed by pearlite and cementite. Definition of hypoeutec tic. : containing the minor component in an amount less than in the eutectic mixture. Annealing, in metallurgy and materials science, is a heat treatment that alters the physical and sometimes chemical properties of a material to increase its ductility and reduce its hardness, making it more workable. It involves heating a material to above its recrystallization temperature, maintaining a suitable temperature, and then cooling. Stress Relief Annealing - Large castings or welded structures tend to possess internal stresses caused mainly during their manufacture and uneven cooling. Spherodise Annealing - This is a process for high carbon and alloy steel in order to improve their machinability. The process tends to improve the internal structure of the steel. This can be done by two methods Normalizing is a heat treatment used on steel so as to refine its crystal structure and produces a more uniform and desired grain size distribution Definition of hardening: Process by which a material acquires greater hardness, such as cold forming or heat treatment. Austempering is a form of heat treatment used on ferrous metals, such as iron and steel, to improve the metal's mechanical properties. In this process, steel is heated above the upper critical point and then quenched in a salt bath kept at a temperature of 150-300° C