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Pearlite is a two-phased, lamellar (or layered) structure composed of alternating layers of ferrite (87.5 wt%) and cementite (12.5 wt%) that occurs in some steels and cast irons. During slow cooling of an iron-carbon alloy, pearlite forms by a eutectoid reaction as austenite cools below 723 °C (1,333 °F) (the eutectoid temperature). Pearlite ...
For a eutectoid steel (0.76% C), between 6 and 10% of austenite, called retained austenite, will remain. The percentage of retained austenite increases from insignificant for less than 0.6% C steel, to 13% retained austenite at 0.95% C and 30–47% retained austenite for a 1.4% carbon steel. A very rapid quench is essential to create martensite.
This occurs as long needles of ferrite within the pearlite. [16] Widmanstätten structures form in many other metals as well. They will form in brass, especially if the alloy has a very high zinc content, becoming needles of zinc in the copper matrix.
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.
Perlite vs. Vermiculite. Perlite Perlite is a lightweight, granular material made from ground volcanic rock that is usually white in color. It is used to aerate compost and improve soil drainage ...
The pearlite takes on longer, deeper scratches, and either appears shiny and bright, or sometimes dark depending on the viewing angle. The martensite is harder to scratch, so the microscopic abrasions are smaller. The martensite usually appears brighter yet flatter than the pearlite, and this is less dependent on the viewing angle. [12]
In carbon steel, cementite precipitates from austenite as austenite transforms to ferrite on slow cooling, or from martensite during tempering. An intimate mixture with ferrite, the other product of austenite, forms a lamellar structure called pearlite. The iron-carbon phase diagram
After heating the steel to the austenite phase and then quenching it in water, the microstructure will be in the martensitic phase. This is due to the fact that the steel will change from the austenite phase to the martensite phase after quenching. Some pearlite or ferrite may be present if the quench did not rapidly cool off all the steel. [4]