austenite

American  

[aw-stuh-nahyt] / ˈɔ stəˌnaɪt /

noun

Metallurgy.

1. a solid solution of carbon or of carbon and other elements in gamma iron, having a face-centered cubic lattice at all temperatures.

2. an allotrope of iron, stable between 910°C and 1400°C and having a face-centered cubic lattice; gamma iron.

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austenite British  

/ ˌɔːstəˈnɪtɪk, ˈɔːstəˌnaɪt /

noun

1. a solid solution of carbon in face-centred-cubic gamma iron, usually existing above 723°C

2. the gamma phase of iron, stabilized at low temperatures by the addition of such elements as nickel

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Other Word Forms

• austenitic adjective

Etymology

Origin of austenite

1900–05; named after Sir W. C. Roberts- Austen (1843–1902), English metallurgist; -ite ¹

Example Sentences

The growth is continually destroyed by the hammering, which should consequently be continued down to the upper critical temperature when the austenite crystals break up into ferrite and cementite.

From The Working of Steel Annealing, Heat Treating and Hardening of Carbon and Alloy Steel by Colvin, Fred H. (Fred Herbert)

At that moment, in fact, the ferrite, cementite or Page 110 pearlite which previously existed has lost its identity by everything going into the solid solution called austenite.

From The Working of Steel Annealing, Heat Treating and Hardening of Carbon and Alloy Steel by Colvin, Fred H. (Fred Herbert)

It represents the complete transformation of the eutectoid austenite accomplished by slow-cooling of an iron-carbon alloy through the transformation range.

From The Working of Steel Annealing, Heat Treating and Hardening of Carbon and Alloy Steel by Colvin, Fred H. (Fred Herbert)

The size of the final grains will be much smaller and hence a more uniform structure will result if the "mother" austenite was also fine grained.

From The Working of Steel Annealing, Heat Treating and Hardening of Carbon and Alloy Steel by Colvin, Fred H. (Fred Herbert)

Subsequent cooling gives a coarse texture, or an arrangement of ferrite, cementite and pearlite grains which is greatly coarsened, reflecting the condition of the austenite crystals from which they were born.

From The Working of Steel Annealing, Heat Treating and Hardening of Carbon and Alloy Steel by Colvin, Fred H. (Fred Herbert)