Abstract
When a nucleus of ferrite crystal is formed in cast-and-rolled or sintered iron, either of which contains less than approximately 50 ppm interstitial elements, namely, carbon and nitrogen, the ferrite crystal may grow into a coarse crystal joining many austenite crystals. Furthermore, such coarse ferrite crystals may compose a columnar macrostructure by unidirectional phase transformation under the condition accompanying a gradient of temperature. The formation of the macrostructure gives a maximum linear expansion of the sample that is numerically equal to the volume expansion at the same time. Even a small amount of carbon in pure iron can cause the condensation of carbon atoms or the formation of a fairly large number of minute cementite precipitates at ferrite/austenite phase boundaries. Both the condensation of carbon and the precipitation of cementite may cause the nucleation of new ferrite crystals, leading to the development of a fine-grained macrostructure.
