martensite

American  

[mahr-tn-zahyt] / ˈmɑr tnˌzaɪt /

noun

Metallurgy.

1. a metastable microconstituent of any of various forms of carbon steel, produced by undercooling sufficiently below the normal transformation temperature, especially a hard, brittle product of the decomposition of austenite, produced in this way.

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martensite British  

/ ˌmɑːtɪnˈzɪtɪk, ˈmɑːtɪnˌzaɪt /

noun

1. a constituent formed in steels by rapid quenching, consisting of a supersaturated solid solution of carbon in iron. It is formed by the breakdown of austenite when the rate of cooling is large enough to prevent pearlite forming

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• martensitic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of martensite

1895–1900; named after Adolf Martens (died 1914), German metallurgist; see -ite ¹

Example Sentences

In the most quickly quenched high carbon steels, austenite commonly forms the ground mass which is interspersed with martensite, a large field of which is illustrated in Fig.

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

When cooled rapidly, however, as in the tempering of steel, martensite remains a homogeneous solid solution, or hard steel.

From Popular Science Monthly Oct, Nov, Dec, 1915 — Volume 86 by Anonymous

Austenite is not nearly as hard as martensite, owing to its content of the soft gamma iron.

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

Troostite is of doubtful composition, but possibly is an unstable mixture of untransformed martensite with sorbite.

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

Moderate reheating or annealing changes this structure largely into troostite, which is a partly transformed martensite, possessing much of the hardness of martensite, but with a largely increased toughness and shock resistance.

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