Determination of the Fe-rich portion of the Fe-Ni-C phase diagram

The iron-enriched section of the phase diagram for the ternary alloy Fe-Ni-C of various compositions is determined at 773, 873, 923, and 1003 C. The two-phase tie lines and three-phase tie triangles are measured by electron microprobe analyses. Tie lines in samples without bulk equilibrium are obtained by extrapolated interface compositions under the assumption of local equilibrium at the interface. It is shown that Ni addition somewhat reduces carbon solubility in austenite while decreasing the stability of the carbide phase. In particular, the carbide is always poor in Ni relative to the coexisting metal phase(s).