MATERIAL SCIENCE

CHAPTER 5
PHASE TRANSFORMATION
 SUBTOPICS
• Phase transformation
– with diffusion
– without diffusion
• Isothermal transformation diagram
• Transformation behaviour and
microstructure in Fe-C alloy
• Heat treatment
 Phase transformation

• Phase transformation– change in

microstructure
• Phase transformation can be divided
to:
– Transformation with diffusion
– Transformation without diffusion
 Transformation with
diffusion
• (i) without changes in the phase
composition or the number of phases
presence (e.g: melting, solidification
of pure metals, recrystallization)

• (ii) with changes in phase composition

and the number of phase presence
(cth: eutectic transformation)
 Transformation without
diffusion
• Metastable phase will be form by
small changes in atomic arrangement
of the structure.(e.g martensitic
transformation)
• Rate of diffusion - fast
 Phase transformation
• Depend on rate of cooling/heating – TIME
• Kinetics of phase transformation
• Two stages in phase transformation
process:
– Nucleation
– Growth
 Kinetic of Phase
transformation
• Nucleation of new phase– involves the
appearance of very small particles or
nuclei of new phase which capable of
growing.
• Growth – Nuclei increase in size
which results the disappearance of
some of the parent phase – until the
equilibrium attained.
Kinetics of Phase
transformation
TTT DIAGRAM
 Isothermal transformation diagram
TTT diagram
(Temperature, Time, % Transformation)
• Plot temperature vs the logarithm of time with
curves for beginning as well as 50% and 100%
transformation completion
• Are generated from a series of plots of
percentage transformation vs the logarithm of
time taken over a range of temperatures (S
shaped curve)
• Indicates the time necessary for transformation
begin and the time required for the
transformation completed
 Phase transformation in Fe-C alloy
(refer to TTT diagram of Fe-C alloy)
• Low temperature- transformation of phase is very
slow which depend on diffusion process

• Rate of diffusion is low at lower temperature –

finer microstructure will be – Fine Pearlite

• At higher temperature, rate of diffusion is high

which permit the grain growth and the
microstructure will be coarser– Coarse Pearlite
G/RAJAH TTT
 TTT diagram
• If trasformation temperature is low ( < 540C),
Bainite will be form
• At T ~ 300-400C, Upper bainite will be form –
consists of ferrite and cementite phases -
forms as needles or plates
• At T ~ 200-300C, Lower bainite will be form,
consist of ferrite plates and fine cementite
rods
 TTT diagram
• If austenite – rapid cooling to room
temperature, martensite phase will be
transform – show in TTT diagram
• Martensite structure – metastable
structure ( exist in room temperature and
can transform its phase when anneal at
high temperature)
• Martensite structure not exists in phase
diagram – metastable phase
TTT diagram
 Mechanical properties
• Fine pearlite is harder and higher
strength than Coarse pearlite
• Bainite is harder and higher
strength than pearlite
• Martensite is highest
strength/hardest structure but
brittle– brittleness can be modified
by tempering process and transform
to tempered martensite – more
ductile
 Heat treatment
• Heat treatment is a controlled
heating and cooling cycles intended
to adjust the microstructure and
mechanical properties of material for
a specific purpose.
 Annealling
• The process that consists of three stages:
i. Heating to the desired temperature
ii. Holding or soaking at that temperature
iii. Cooling to room temperature
• Annealing time must be long enough to allow for
necessary transformation reactions.
• Slow cooling is to avoid the cracking of the
materials because of internal stresses
 Annealling
• Purpose:
– Relieve stresses
– Increase softness, ductility, toughness
– Produce specific microstructure
 Annealling

• Types of annealling:
– Process annealling
– Stress relief
– Full annealling ( for ferrous alloys/steels)
– Normalizing (for ferrous alloys/steels)
– Spheroidizing (for ferrous alloys/steels)
 (i) Process annealing
• Purpose:
to remove the effects of cold work,
to soften and increase the ductility
of strain hardened metal.
• Surface oxidation or scaling may be
prevented or minimized by annealing
at relatively low temperature.
 (ii) Stress relief
annealing
• To remove the internal residual stresses in metal
in response to the following:
Plastic deformation processes e.g: machining,
grinding
Non uniform cooling of a piece
Phase transformation between phases that
different densities.
• Process: the piece is heated to recommended
temperature, held long enough to attain uniform
temperature and finally cooled to room
temperature.
 Annealling of Ferrous alloy
• At lower critical
temperature A1,
austenite phase do not
exist
• At upper critical temp.
A3 and Acm, austenite
phase is exist

Figure: Fe-FeCphase diagram in the

vicinity of the eutectoid, indicating heat-
treating temperature range for plain
carbon steels.
Annealling of Ferous alloy

• Heat treatments techniques include:

– Normalizing
– Full annealling
– Spheroidizing
 Normalizing

• Normalizing is accomplished by heating at approximately 55

to 85 oC (100 to 150 oF) above the upper critical
temperature
• Purpose: to refine the grains and produce more uniform and
desirable size distribution.
• After sufficient time has been allowed for the alloy to
completely transform to austenite, the treatment is
terminated by cooling in air
 Full annealling

• The steel is treated by heating to temperature

of about 50˚C above A3 or 50˚C above A1. The alloy
is then furnace cooled until room temperature.
• This microstructural product is coarse pealite that is
relatively soft and ductile.
 Spheroidizing
• Purpose
– To develop spheroidite structure – maximum
softness and ductility and easily to machine
and deform.
• Process: Heating the alloy below lower
critical temperature and cooling slowly in
the furnace.
 Heat treatment of steel
• Quenching
– The steel alloy is heated at austenite
temperature ( > 700C), the alloy is then rapidly
cooled in certain medium e.g: molten salt,
water, oil
– the specimen has been converted to high
content of martensite which is the hardest but
brittle phase.
• Tempering
– Tempering is accomplished by heating a
martensitic steel to below the eutectoid for
specified time period. Normally, tempering is
carried out at temperature between 250 and
650 oC (480 and 1200 F).
– Purpose: to modify brittleness of martensite
and increase the ductility but the strength and
hardness is decreased.
Heat treatment of steels
• Martensite is the hardest
microstructure but brittle that can
be modify by tempering process to
increase the ductility.
• The optimum properties of
quenched and tempered steel is
measured by the composition of
martensite.
Heat treatment of steel
• Martensite formation is depend on :
– Composition of the alloy
– Quenching medium ( water, oil or etc)
– Size and shape of specimen
 Heat treatment of steel
• Hardenability
– The ability of a steel alloy to transform
to martensite for a particular quenching
treatment.
– Not ‘hardness’ (resitance to indentation)
– A qualitative measure of the rate at
which hardness drops off with distance
into the interior of the specimen as a
result of diminished martensite.
– A standard is widely utilized to determing
hardenability is the Jominy end-quench
test.
Heat treatment of steels
Heat treatment of steels
• Hardenability curve
• The quenched end is
cooled most rapidly
exhibit maximum
hardness (100%
martensite)
• Cooling rate decrease
with distance from
the quenched end, the
hardness also
decreased
• Thus, a steel that is
highly hardenable will
retain large hardness
values for relatively
long distances.
 Precipitation hardening
• The strength of metal
alloys enhanced by the
formation of extremely
small uniformly
dispersed particles of
second phase within
the original phase
matrix.
• Lattice dislocation – the
presence of second
phase is prevent the
movement of
dislocation
 Precipitation Hardening
• Solution heat treatment
– At To, all solute atoms are
dissolved to form a single phase
solid solution 

• Rapid cooling (quenching)

– Quenching to temperature T1
– Formation of  + β phase, but the
formation of β phase are
prevented

• Precipitation heat treatment

(aging)
– Supersaturated solid solution is
heated to T2 within  + β two
phase region, where the diffusion
rate becomes appreciable.
– The β precipitates begins to form
as finely dispersed particles
– After appropriate time of aging,
the alloy is cooled to room
temperature.