Phase Transformations in Metals

This video is a companion to this article https://www.imetllc.com/phase-transformations-in-metals/ Phases are physically distinct materials within metals. They have distinct properties and are comprised of the elements in a metal. Depending on its composition and how it was heat treated, a metal can be comprised of one phase or multiple phases. For many alloys, heat treating is used to alter the phases present, as one or more phase transformations occur. A phase transformation is a change of the phases when a metal is heated or when it is cooled from an elevated temperature. An example of the phases in a metal is ferrite and cementite in a carbon steel alloy,. Common phase transformations that can occur in a metal during heat treating are Allotropic Eutectoid Precipitation Martensitic These phase transformations occur when a metal is cooled from an elevated temperature. However, phase transformations also occur during heating. In fact, heat treatments that involve eutectoid, precipitation, and martensitic transformations start with heating an alloy causing at least one of the phases present in the alloy at room temperature to transform to an elevated temperature phase. Controlling phase transformations Phase transformations are crucial in various manufacturing processes, such as stock metal production, casting, forging, and heat treating. By controlling the factors that influence phase transformations, engineers can tailor the microstructure of metals to obtain a wide variety of properties needed to meet the requirement of specific applications. Learn more about phase transformations and how they affect metal properties in these online courses https://www.imetllc.com/product/principles-of-metallurgy-course/ https://www.imetllc.com/product/aluminum-metallurgy-course/ https://www.imetllc.com/product/steel-metallurgy-course/ Industrial Metallurgists provides metallurgy training and metallurgical engineering consulting and failure analysis https://www.imetllc.com/metallurgy-training/ https://www.imetllc.com/failure-analysis/ https://www.imetllc.com/metallurgy-consulting/