The Pearlite Reaction in Steels Mechanisms and Crystallography: Part I. From H. C. Sorby to R. F. Mehl

The mechanisms for the formation of pearlite in steels are reviewed with particular reference to the work of R. F. Mehl and colleagues. The role of crystallography in the early theories, and inherent in the mechanisms of Mehl et al., is also discussed. Certain inconsistencies are shown to exist between Mehl’s ideas and more current concepts. A description of Mehl’s pioneering work on quantifying the pearlite reaction in terms of nucleation and growth rates and of interlamellar spacings also is presented.