Measurement of pearlite interlamellar spacing in hypereutectoid steels

In hypereutectoid steels, determination of interlamellar spacing is essential to microstructural characterization, since both static and dynamic properties have been related to the pearlitic structure. Generally, quantitative analysis of the size of a pearlite colony and its interlamellar spacing is performed using optical and electron microscopy techniques. In this work, laser scanning confocal and field emission scanning electron microscopes were used to examine interlamellar spacing in isothermally transformed hypereutectoid steels to benefit from increased resolving power and statistical significance capabilities as compared to light optical and transmission electron microscopes, respectively.