Iron-carbon phase diagram, showing the eutectoid temperature and composition, at which bainite can form.

Bainite is a mostly metallic substance that exists in steel after certain heat treatments. First described by Davenport E. S. and Edgar Bain, it forms when austenite (a solution of carbon in iron) is rapidly cooled past a critical temperature of 1333°F (about 723°C). Image File history File links An English version of Diag phase fer carbone. ... Image File history File links An English version of Diag phase fer carbone. ... In physical chemistry and materials science, a phase diagram is a type of graph used to show the equilibrium conditions between the thermodynamically-distinct phases. ... Eutectoid transformation occurs when a solid solution decomposes into a fixed two solid constituents at a fixed temperature. ... Hot metal work from a blacksmith In chemistry, a metal (Greek: Metallon) is an element that readily forms ions (cations) and has metallic bonds, and metals are sometimes described as a lattice of positive ions (cations) in a cloud of electrons. ... Jump to: navigation, search The old steel cable of a colliery winding tower Steel is a metal alloy whose major component is iron, with carbon being the primary alloying material. ... Heat Treatment is a group of manufacturing techniques used to alter the hardness and toughness of a material. ... Edgar C. Bain (September 14, 1891 - November 27, 1971) was a pioneering metallurgist and member of the National Academy of Sciences, who worked for the US Steel Corporation of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. ... Iron-carbon phase diagram, showing the conditions under which austenite (γ) is stable in carbon steel. ... Jump to: navigation, search General Name, Symbol, Number carbon, C, 6 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 14, 2, p Appearance black (graphite) colorless (diamond) Atomic mass 12. ... Jump to: navigation, search General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Atomic mass 55. ...

A fine non-lamellar structure, bainite commonly consists of ferrite and cementite. It is similar in constitution to pearlite, but with the ferrite forming by a displacive mechanism similar to martensite formation, followed by precipitation of carbides from the supersaturated ferrite or austenite. Ferrite may refer to: (1) ferromagnetic ceramic materials, used in magnetic applications; (2) iron or iron alloys with a body centred cubic crystal structure. ... Cementite or iron carbide is a chemical compound with the formula Fe3C, and an orthorhombic crystal structure. ... Pearlite is a two-phased, lamellar structure composed of alternating layers of ferrite (88 wt%) and cementite (12%) that occurs in steel. ... Martensite, named after the German metallurgist Adolf Martens, is a class of hard minerals occurring as lathe- or plate-shaped crystals. ...

When formed during continuously cooling, the cooling rate to form bainite is higher than that required to form pearlite, but lower than that to form martensite, in steel of the same composition.

Bainite is generally stronger and more ductile than pearlite. Ductility is the physical property of being capable of sustaining large plastic deformations without fracture (in metals, such as being drawn into a wire). ...

External link

• Free online textbook devoted to bainite, from Cambridge University Press and the Institute of Materials