Basic Iron/Carbon Phase Graph

This graph shows the basic relationship of carbon content in steel when hardening with heat treatment, as the graph shows high carbon steels can become very hard at the cost of ductility.

Iron carbon phase graph

Ferrite Phase
-High ductility
-Poor tensile strength
-Low hardness

Pearlite Phase
-High tensile strength
-Increasing hardness
-Less ductility

Cementite Phase
-Brittle
-Low ductility
-Lower tensile strength

Low Carbon	Mild Steel	Medium Carbon	High Carbon
Applications: -Car body panels -Filing cabinets Properties: -Malleable -Very ductile -Soft	Applications: -Automotive parts -Brackets Properties: -Low hardness -Medium tensile strength -Good ductility	Applications: -Hammers -Chisels Properties: -Medium hardness -Good tensile strength -Medium ductility	Applications: -High speed tooling Properties: -Hard -Brittle -Low ductility

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