Lecture 41

Phase transformations

Announcement
Doubts/questions session today from 5:00-6:30 PM in
LH202
Will also be available on 19th Nov. Thursday from 2:00-4:00
PM in Block-III-236

Recap
TTT diagram of eutectoid steel
Austenite to Pearlite transformation: Normalising and
Annealing
Austenite to Bainite transformation: Austempering

Austenite to Martensite transformation: Quenching

How to control the grain structure

Mechanism of martensitic transformation: How do we obtain

BCT structure

Martensitic transformation
Amount of martensite formed does not
depend upon time, only on temperature.
Atoms move only a fraction of atomic
distance during the transformation:

1. Diffusionless
(no long-range diffusion)

BCT

2. Shear
(one-to-one correspondence
between and atoms)
3. No composition change

Tempering of Martensite
The hard and brittle martensite is of little
commercial importance, so what to do???
Tempering of martensite

Heating of quenched martensite to some

intermediate temperature to allow the trapped
C to come out and increase the toughness of
steel

TEMPERING
Heating of quenched steel below the eutectoid
temperature, holding for a specified time followed by air
cooling.

tempering
Fe C
3
T<TE

Tempering (contd.)
+Fe3C

PEARLITE

A distribution of fine particles of Fe3C in matrix

known as TEMPERED MARTENSITE.

Hardness more than fine pearlite, ductility more

than martensite.
Hardness and ductility controlled by tempering
temperature and time.
Higher T or t -> higher ductility, lower strength

Tempered Martensite

Ferrite

Cementite

Callister

Summary

holding

AT
Q

time
Annealing

Furnace cooling

Coarse pearlite

Normalizing

Air cooling

Fine pearlite

Quenching

Water cooling

Martensite

Tempering

Heating after quench

Tempered Martensite

Austempering

Quench to an intermediate temp and hold

Bainite

Recovery, Recrystallization
and Grain growth: Occurs in
Sequence in one of the kind of
Phase transformations

Plastic deformation in the temperature range above (0.3 0.4)

Tm COLD WORK
point defect density
Cold work
dislocation density

Consequence of deformation
Point defects and dislocations have strain energy associated with them

Annealed material

dislocation ~ (10 10 )
6

Cold work

Strongermaterial

dislocation ~ (1012 1014 )

Annealing: Heating of cold worked material

On heating imperfections try to go out from the material
using available thermal energy: Excess free energy will be
lowered
Cold work Anneal

3 steps process

Recovery

Recrystallization

Grain growth

Recovery, Recrystallization and

Grain Growth
During recovery
1. Point Defects come to Equilibrium
(surface, boundary or dislocations)
2. Dislocations of opposite sign lying
on a slip plane annihilate each other
(This does not lead to substantial
decrease in the dislocation density)

POLYGONIZATION

Bent crystal

Low angle tilt grain boundaries

Rearrangement of dislocations in lower energy configuration

Recrystallization
Strained grains
Strain-free grains
Driving force for the Process = Stored strain energy
of dislocations
More dislocations

Less dislocations

Factors that affect the recrystallization

temperature:
1. Degree of cold work
2. Initial Grain Size
3. Temperature of cold working
4. Purity or composition of metal
Solute Drag Effect
Pinning Action of Second Phase Particle

Solute Drag Effect

Unpinned (higher energy) state to pinned (lower energy) state

Grain Boundary Pinning

Grain Growth
Increase in average grain size following
recrystallization
Driving Force

reduction in grain
boundary energy

Impurities retard the process

Bonded to
4 atoms

Bonded to
3 atoms

Direction of grain
boundary migration

Boundary moves towards its

centre of curvature

JUMP

Effect of Annealing on
Properties
Electical conductivity

Ductility

Tensile strength

Cold work

%CW

Recovery

Recrystallization

Grain growth

Annealing Temperature