ThepurposeofthisstudywastodeterminetheinffuenceofheattreatmentcycleongraphitephaseformationonCK45steel.Thepresenceofwelldistributedgraphiteinthematrixisresponsibleforthegoodmechanicalandthermalpropertiesofthiskindofalloy.Suchpropertiesincludeexcellentwearresistance,higherresistancetothermalshock,andhigherresistancetooxidationathightemperature.Anumberofspecimensweremadeupofappropriatedesigntoprovidetheexperimentalmaterials.Thetransformationphasetoafreecarbonmicrostructureduringgraphitizationunderdifferentconditionswasthenexaminedforthemostsuccessfulexperimentalsteels.Austenitisingtemperatureof920°Candthefollowingisothermalheattreatmentof750°Catdifferentholdingtimeswereused.MicrostructureswereexaminedbyOM(opticalmicroscopy)andSEM(scanningelectronmicroscopy).Furthermore,itwasfoundthatisothermaltransformationat750°Cfordifferentsoakingtimesproducedatypicalmicrostructure.Also,theamountofgraphiteincreasedwithincreasingisothermalheattreatmenttime.Heattreatmentleadingtosupersaturationofironwithcarbonwasdescribedandsomeoftheconsequencesofthesupersaturationwerepresented.Finally,theformationofthethermodynamicallystablestateofthegraphitetakenfromthesupersaturatedsolidsolutionwasdiscussed.
