CEMENTITE - 2 reference results
Cementite or iron carbide is a chemical compound with the formula Fe3C (or Fe2C:Fe), and an orthorhombic crystal structure. It is a hard, brittle material, normally classified as a ceramic in its pure form, though it is more important in metallurgy.
It forms directly from the melt in the case of white cast iron. In carbon steel, it either forms from austenite during cooling or from martensite during tempering. It mixes with ferrite, the other product of austenite, to form lamellar structures called pearlite and bainite. Much larger lamellae, visible to the naked eye, make up the structure of Damascus steel, though the process has been lost to history.
Fe3C is also known as cohenite, particularly when found mixed with nickel and cobalt carbides in meteorites. This forms a hard, shiny, silver mineral which was first described by E. Weinschenk in 1889.
External links
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia © 2001-2006 Wikipedia contributors (Disclaimer)
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Sunday August 24, 2008 at 21:13:21 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Sunday August 24, 2008 at 21:13:21 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation
Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.