Covalence of the Fe-C interatomic bond and the hardness of martensite of carbon and alloyed steels
A technique for determining the generalized degree of covalence of the interatomic Fe – C bond is proposed by the addition rule taking into account the fractions of Fe2C, Fe4C and Fe6C clusters and cementite in steel. The correlation dependence of the generalized degree of covalence of the interatomic Fe – C bond with the hardness of microstructures observed in eutectoid carbon steel, as well as the hardness of ferrite and cementite, is revealed. A functional relationship between the generalized degree of covalence of the Fe-C interatomic bond and the martensite hardness at different mass content of carbon is established, which ensures the correspondence of the
calculated and experimental data.