2090 – 06 – Creating Bainite

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Sometimes, manufacturers will speed up the heat treatments in order to affect the properties of a metal and the phases it goes through.
When heated above the austenite phase, and then quickly cooled, before undergoing another, slower cool, steel will form bainite. It occurs when steel reaches between 420 and 1000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bainite is similar to pearlite in make-up: They both have a ferrite and cementite phase. Bainite has pieces of cementite that form in narrow and pointed patterns, or in sheets. Pearlite, on the other hand, looks like fingerprints. Bainite is comparable to pearlite in ductility, but is much stronger.