MARTENSITE AND ITS
MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR
NAME:UMAIR TAYYAB
ROLL NO.:ME-150
SECTION:D
WHAT IS MARTENSITE
A hard and very brittle solid solution of carbon in iron that is the main
constituent of hardened steel. The term most commonly refers to a very hard
form of steel crystalline structure, but can also refer to any crystal structure
that is formed by diffusion less transformation. Martensite is formed when
austenitized
iron–carbon alloys are rapidly cooled (or quenched) to a relatively low
temperature.
HOW MATENSITE ARE FORMED
Martensite is a nonequilibrium single-phase structure that
results from a diffusion less transformation of austenite. It may be thought of
as a transformation product that is competitive with pearlite and bainite The
martensitic transformation is not well understood. However, large numbers
of atoms experience cooperative movements, in that there is only a slight
displacement of each atom relative to its neighbors. This occurs in such a
way that the FCC austenite experiences a polymorphic transformation to a
body-centered tetragonal (BCT) martensite
UNIT CELL FOR
MARTENSITE
The body-centered tetragonal unit cell for
martensitic steel showing iron atoms (circles)
and sites that may be occupied by carbon
atoms (s). For this tetragonal unit cell, c a.
MICROGRAPHIC VIEW
Photomicrograph showing the martensitic
microstructure. The needle shaped grains are
the martensite phase, and the white regions are
austenite that failed to transform during the
rapid quench.
a body-centered cube that has been elongated along one of its
dimensions; this structure is distinctly different from that for BCC
ferrite. All the carbon atoms remain as interstitial impurities in
martensite; as such, they constitute a supersaturated solid solution
that is capable of rapidly transforming to other structures if heated
to temperatures at which diffusion rates become appreciable.
Many steels, however, retain their martensitic structure almost
indefinitely at room temperature. The martensitic transformation
is not, however, unique to iron–carbon alloys. It is found in other MICROGRAPHIC VIEW
systems and is characterized, in part, by the diffusion less
transformation.
ISOTHERMAL
TRANSFORMATION DIAGRAM
Being a nonequilibrium phase, martensite does not appear on the
iron–iron carbide phase diagram .The austenite-to-martensite
transformation is, however, represented on the isothermal
transformation diagram. Because the martensitic transformation is
diffusion less and instantaneous, it is not depicted in this diagrams
the pearlitic and bainitic reactions are. transformation. The
temperatures at which these lines are located vary with alloy
composition but, nevertheless, must be relatively low because carbon
diffusion must be virtually nonexistent. The horizontal and linear
character of these lines indicates that the martensitic transformation
is independent of time; it is a function only of the temperature to
which the alloy is quenched or rapidly cooled. A transformation of
this type is termed an athermal transformation.
Consider an alloy of eutectoid composition that is very rapidly cooled from a
temperature above 727C (1341F) to, say, 165C (330F). From the isothermal
transformation diagram it may be noted that 50% of the austenite will
immediately transform to martensite; as long as this temperature is maintained,
there will be no further transformation.
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