INME-211 Eng. Material Technology. Done By: Moetassem Billah Saraya. ID:201902035. DATE:27-12 - 2019. Cementite and Ferrite Comparison

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Department of Mechanical Engineering.

INME-211

Eng. Material Technology.

Done by:

MOETASSEM BILLAH SARAYA.

ID:201902035.

DATE:27-12 -2019.

CEMENTITE AND FERRITE


COMPARISON.
Cementite:
 is a compound of iron and carbon, more precisely an intermediate transition
metal carbide with the formula Fe3C. By weight, it is 6.67% carbon and 93.3%
iron. It has an orthorhombic crystal structure. It is a hard, brittle material,
normally classified as a ceramic in its pure form, and is a frequently found and
important constituent in ferrous metallurgy. While cementite is present in most
steels and cast irons, it is produced as a raw material in the iron carbide
process, which belongs to the family of alternative ironmaking technologies.
Structure of cementite:

Cementite has an orthorhombic unit cell and the common convention is to set
the order of the lattice parameters as a=0.50837 nm, b=0.67475 nm and
c=0.45165 nm. Note that the order in which the lattice parameters are
presented here is consistent with the space group Pnma. There are twelve
atoms of iron in the unit cell and four of carbon, as illustrated below. Four of
the iron atoms are located on mirror planes whereas the other eight are at
general positions.

The crystal structure of cementite, consisting of twelve iron atoms (large) and
four carbon atoms (small, hatched pattern). The fractional z coordinates of the
atoms are marked. Notice that four of the iron atoms are located on mirror
planes, whereas the others are at general locations where the only point
symmetry is a monad. The pleated layers parallel to (100) are in ...ABABAB...
stacking with carbon atoms occupying interstitial positions at the folds within
the pleats, with all carbon atoms located on the mirror planes. There are four
Fe3C formula units within a given cell.

Cementite properties:
 Intermetallic compound of carbon combined with
iron…. Fe3C.
 Max solubility of carbon is of 6.67%.
 Orthorhombic crystal structure.
 Hardest and most brittle phase among all Fe3C
phases.
Ferrite
Ferrite is a body-centered cubic (BCC) form of iron, in which a very small
amount (a maximum of 0.02% at 1333°F / 723°C) of carbon is dissolved. This
is far less carbon than can be dissolved in either austenite or martensite,
because the BCC structure has much less interstitial space than the FCC
structure. Ferrite is the component which gives steel and cast iron their
magnetic properties, and is the classic example of a ferromagnetic material.
This is also the reason that tool steel becomes non-magnetic above the
hardening temperature - all of the ferrite has been converted to austenite.
Most "mild" steels (plain carbon steels with up to about 0.2 wt.% C) consist
mostly of ferrite, with increasing amounts of cementite as the carbon content
is increased, which together with ferrite, form the mechanical mixture pearlite.
Any iron-carbon alloy will contain some amount of ferrite if it is allowed to
reach equilibrium at room temperature.

Body Centered Cubic Unit


Photomicrograph of Ferrite Structure
Cell
Structure of ferrite:
The ferrites with spinel structure are technologically important
class of magnetic oxides’ due to their magnetic properties, high
electrical resistivity and low eddy current and dielectric loss.
These properties of ferrites are strongly depending on their
chemical composition, cation distribution, various additives and
method of preparation in general and structure in particular nature
of material. The spinel crystal structure is determined primarily by
the oxygen ions lattice. The radii of the oxygen ions are several
times larger than the radii of the metallic ions in the compound.
Chemistry is insufficient to define 2 Crystal structure of ferrite 25
the properties of ferrites; the distribution of the cations and point
defects among the crystal lattice sites is of most importance.

PROPERTIES OF FERRITES:
The structural, electrical and magnetic properties of ferrite are very much
important from the point of view of their application. The electrical and
magnetic properties of ferrites can be modified by using proper method of
preparation, choosing appropriate type and amount of dopant and sintering
temperature etc.
 Magnetic properties: The magnetic properties of ferrite mainly
depend upon the distributions of metal cations over the available
sites. The magnetic properties of ferrite are divided into two
groups; intrinsic or structure-insensitive and extrinsic or
structure-sensitive. Saturation magnetization and Curie
temperature are the two prominent structure-insensitive
properties. On the other hand, structure-sensitive properties are
numerous and may be classified further as static or dynamic,
according to whether or not the property displays frequency
dependence. Induction, permeability, hysteresis loop and
associated energy loss, coercive force and remanence are
structure- 36 sensitive, static properties. Eddy current loss,
resonance of spin and domain walls are structure sensitive
dynamic properties
 The susceptibility: is very large and positive. It’s represented
by, x=C/(T±ᴓ), when T>TN.
 Mechanically: they have pure iron character. They have low
tensile strength and are brittle and soft.
 Ferrite: are manufactured by powder metallurgical process by
mixing, compacting and then sintering at high temperatures
followed by age hardening in magnetic fields.
 They are soft magnetic materials and so they have low eddy
current losses and hysteresis losses.
Cementite vs Ferrite - What's the difference?

As nouns the difference between cementite and ferrite


 is that cementite being (inorganic compound) a form of iron carbide, fe3c, that
is a component of steel while ferrite is.

Ferrite: is the interstitial solid solution of carbon in alpha iron. It has B.C.C.
structure. It has very limited solubility for carbon (maximum 0.022% at 727ºC
and 0.008% at room temperature). Ferrite I soft and ductile.

Cementite: or iron carbide (Fe3C) is an intermetallic compound of iron and


carbon. It contains 6.67% carbon. It is very hard and brittle. This intermetallic
compound is a metastable phase and it remains as a compound indefinitely at
room temperature.
 Mechanical properties:
I. Cementite is very hard and brittle –can strengthen steels.
II. Mechanical properties depend on the microstructure, that is, how
ferrite and cementite are distributed.

 Magnetic properties: α-ferrite is magnetic below 768ºC, austenite is non-


magnetic.

Conclusion:
Ferrite and cementite are various equilibrium phases of iron steel. Their crystal
structure and formation temperature is different. Ferrite is simple iron having
very small carbon concentration of 0.02%. cementite is with higher carbon
concentration. Ferrite is the softest structure the appears on the iron-carbon
equilibrium diagram.  Cementite is the hardest structure that appears on the
iron-carbon equilibrium diagram. It has a low tensile strength (approximately
350 kg/cm2) but high compressive strengths.

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