Discussion

Coarse pearlite- Briefly describe why fine pearlite is harder and stronger than coarse

pearlite, which in turn is harder and stronger than spheroidite.

Fine pearlite is stronger and harder than coarse pearlite because as we make the
layers of the eutectoid microstructure thinner, we have to make more layers to get
the same volume fraction of Fe3C and ferrite. This in turn means that we have more
interfaces between the phases, which act as pinning centers for the dislocation
motion. More pinning centers per unit volume means less mobile dislocations,
which gives higher yield strength.
The same basic mechanism is involved in explaining why coarse pearlite is stronger
than spheroidite. By heating the pearlitic microstructure, the Fe 3C wants to reduce
the surface energy due to the thin layers of the eutectoid microstructure. It reduces
the amount of surface area by changing from sheets to balls of Fe 3C, giving the
spheroidite microstructure. The new microstructure has much less surface area per
unit volume to act as pinning centers and therefore is less able to prevent
dislocation motion, leading to a lower yield strength and hardness.