Eutectoid reactions

The important (3-stabilizing alloying elements are the bcc elements vanadium, molybdenum, tantalum, and niobium of the P-isomorphous type and manganese, iron, chromium, cobalt, nickel, copper, and siUcon of the P-eutectoid type. The P eutectoid elements, arranged in order of increasing tendency to form compounds, are shown in Table 7. The elements copper, siUcon, nickel, and cobalt are termed active eutectoid formers because of a rapid decomposition of P to a and a compound. The other elements in Table 7 are sluggish in their eutectoid reactions and thus it is possible to avoid compound formation by careful control of heat treatment and composition. The relative P-stabilizing effects of these elements can be expressed in the form of a molybdenum equivalency. Mo (29) ... 

The copper-antimony phase diagram contains two eutectic reactions and one eutectoid reaction. For each reaction ... 

We can find a good example of this diffusion-controlled growth in plain carbon steels. As we saw in the "Teaching Yourself Phase Diagrams" course, when steel is cooled below 723°C there is a driving force for the eutectoid reaction of... 

Fig. 6.7. How pearlite grows from undercooled y during the eutectoid reaction. The transformation is limited by diffusion of carbon in the y, and driving force must be shared between all the diffusionol energy barriers. Note that AH is in units of J kgn2 is the number of carbon atoms that diffuse from or to Fe3C when 1 kg of y is transformed. (AH/njKfT - 7]/TJ is therefore the free work done when a single carbon atom goes from or to Fe,C.

To make martensite in pure iron it has to be cooled very fast at about 10 °C s h Metals can only be cooled at such large rates if they are in the form of thin foils. How, then, can martensite be made in sizeable pieces of 0.8% carbon steel As we saw in the "Teaching Yourself Phase Diagrams" course, a 0.8% carbon steel is a "eutectoid" steel when it is cooled relatively slowly it transforms by diffusion into pearlite (the eutectoid mixture of a + FejC). The eutectoid reaction can only start when the steel has been cooled below 723°C. The nose of the C-curve occurs at = 525°C (Fig. 8.11), about 175°C lower than the nose temperature of perhaps 700°C for pure iron (Fig. 8.5). Diffusion is much slower at 525°C than it is at 700°C. As a result, a cooling rate of 200°C s misses the nose of the 1% curve and produces martensite. 

DEF. A eutectoid reaction is a three-phase reaction by which,... 

The copper-zinc system (which includes brasses) has one eutectoid reaction. Mark the eutectoid point on the phase diagram (Fig. A 1.38). 

By way of example, the Cu-Zn phase diagram shown in Fig. 20.42 exhibits a number of different intermediate phases (j8, 7, 6, etc.) and a number of peritectic reactions and a eutectoid reaction. In many instances it is not necessary to consider a complete phase diagram. Thus Fig. 20.43 illustrates the Al-rich end of the Al-Cu phase diagram and is used below in a discussion... 

The peritectic transformation generally has little effect on the structure, properties or corrosion resistance of steels at room temperature an exception to this occurs in the welding of certain steels, when 6-ferrite can be retained at room temperature and can affect corrosion resistance. Furthermore, since most steels contain less than about 1 -0 oC (and by far the greatest tonnage contains less than about 0-3%C) the eutectic reaction is of relevance only in relation to the structure and properties of cast irons, which generally contain 2-4%C. This discussion, therefore, will be limited to the eutectoid reaction that occurs when homogeneous austenite is cooled. 

In the Au-Bi system the compound Au2Bi is stable in a restricted range of temperature only it is formed by a peritectic reaction (371°C) and, at a lower temperature (116°C), it is decomposed according to the eutectoidal reaction Au2Bi — (Au) + (Bi). In the Zn-Te system, finally, we have the congruently melting compound ZnTe. In this system a miscibility gap in the liquid state may also be noticed. 

Figure 5.29. Fe-rich region of the Fe C phase diagram. Stable Fe-C (graphite) diagram solid lines metastable Fe-Fe3C diagram dashed lines. The following current names are used ferrite (solid solution in aFe), austenite (solid solution in 7Fe) and cementite (Fe3C compound). Pearlite is the name given to the two-phase microstructure which originates from the eutectoid reaction ...

The best-known eutectoid reaction is that which occurs in steel where the austenite phase, stable at high temperatures, transforms into (he eutectoid structure known as pcarlitc In this transformation, the austenite phase, containing 0.8% carbon in solid solution, transforms to a mixture of ferrite (nearly pure body-centered cubic irom anti iron-carbide (Fe-.Ct. Al atmospheric pressure, the equilibrium temperature for this reaction is 723 C. This temperature is the eutectoid temperature... 

If a substance is allotropic this will affect the shape of phase diagrams for systems involving the substance. Consider a system which involves two allotropic substances, A and B. The following figure shows one of the possible diagrams which involve allotropic substances. The point e in the diagram is called the eutectoidpoint, and the eutectoid reaction is... 

In 1966 Hyde et al., showed that the tensimetric isobaric data for the praseodymium oxides indicated a stable phase with a composition PrOi.sis at oxygen partial pressures of 30-205 torr in the temperature range 420-450 °C. This composition has not been prepared as a single phase because it easily decomposes to the e-phase, PrOi.778, during heating from the a-phase, PrOi.833, or on cooling down from PrOi.80- The eutectoid reaction of PrOi.sis always occurs and thus this phase co-exists with the other phases (Hyde et al., 1966). 

Figure 1. (a) Nb-17.2 Si, arrows indicate areas where eutectoid reaction has occurred, (b) Nb-15Si-12.5Ti. Both alloys were aged at 1200°C for 120 hrs. 

Takl] Takaki, S., Nakamura, N., Goto, H., Alloy Design for Suppressing Eutectoid Reaction in High Nitrogen Austenitic Steels , Mater. Sci. Forum, 318-320,249-254 (1999) (Experimental, Meehan. Prop., Phase Relations, 8)... 

When carbon is dissolved in iron at temperatures around 2000° F at a level of about 0.8 % C and subsequently cooled to 1333°F, a eutectoid reaction takes place, two solid phases emerging. One phase is cementite or iron carbide, with a composition of Fc3C. The other phase is ferrite, or a-iron, containing 0.025 % C. The resulting microstructure, known as pearlite, is shown in Figure 2.15. While ferrite is soft and ductile, cementite is very hard. 

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