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; see -ite ¹

Example Sentences

If a piece of steel could be cooled instantly, doubtless austenite could be preserved and examined.

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

The structure is then austenite and the air-cooled structure of this steel is martensite.

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

He is then able to pick out its component minerals, ferrite, austenite, martensite, pearlite, graphite, cementite, and to show how their abundance, shape and arrangement contribute to the strength or weakness of the specimen.

From Creative Chemistry Descriptive of Recent Achievements in the Chemical Industries by Slosson, Edwin E.

In order to produce quick and intense carburization the iron should preferably be above its upper critical temperature or 1,600°F.,—therefore the carbon absorbed immediately goes into austenite, or solid solution.

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)