Autocatalytic mechanism of pearlite transformation in steel

A model of pearlite colony formation in carbon steels with ab-initio parameterization is proposed. The model describes the process of decomposition of austenite and cementite formation through a metastable intermediate structure by taking into account the increase of the magnetic order under the cooling. Autocatalytic mechanism of pearlite colony formation and the conditions for its implementation have been analyzed. We demonstrate that pearlite with lamellar structure is formed by autocatalytic mechanism when thermodynamic equilibrium between the initial phase (austenite) and the products of its decomposition (cementite and ferrite) does not take place. By using model expression for free energy with first-principles parameterization we find conditions of formation of both lamellar and globular structures, in agreement with experiment. The transformation diagram is suggested and different scenarios in the kinetics of decomposition are investigated by phase field simulations.