Austenite is the name of a phase in steel alloys. Austenite is the name given to the gamma phase of steel. It is a phase which, in simple steels, only occurs at fairly high temperatures - above 723°C. It is a Face Centred Cubic (FCC) structure of Iron with Carbon in solid solution. More generally Austenitic Steel can be defined as steel with a Face Centred Cubic Structure.
Carbon atoms sit in interstitial sites within the iron FCC lattice. As Carbon is too large to fit into the site the Iron atoms around it are distorted. This gives rise to solid soution strengthening.
Associated terms: Face Centred Cubic, Ferrite, Cementite, Pearlite, Phase, Solid Solution
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