Chernov obtained his major result in 1866-1868 after studying the rejects of heavy guns production as well as during analysis of practical works by
Pavel Anosov, P. Obukhov,
Alexander Lavrov,
Nikolay Kalkutsky. • Point
a at around 700 °C is the minimum temperature the steel should be heated to so it can be
quenched. By the modern theory it is the temperature of
austenite eutectoid transformation (see the picture on the right). • Point
b at around 900 °C is the temperature the steel should be heated to so to correct its crystalline structure. By the modern theory it is the maximal temperature when the
ferrite is stable. • Point
c corresponds to the melting point of steel • Point
d at around 200 °C is the temperature needed to cool the steel to quench it. In modern theory it is known as the
martensite transformation. Chernov was able to correctly identify the reason for these points as polymorphic transformations in the steel and even draw the first sketch of what the
phase diagram for the carbon-iron system may look like. Chernov published his results in the
Notes of the Russian Technical Society of 1868. His article was named "Критический обзор статей гг. Лаврова и Калакуцкого о стали и стальных орудиях и собственные Д. К. Чернова исследования по этому же предмету" (''Critical review of articles by Mr. Lavrov and Mr Kalkutzky about the steel and steel guns as well as D.K. Chernov's own research on this subject''). Many authors consider the publication of this article as the date of transformation of
metallurgy from an art into a science. Ten years later in 1879 Chernov published a
monograph named
Research into the structure of the steel slabs where he described the major crystalline structures in steel and their effect on the properties of the slab. One type of steel crystal (dendrite) was named after Chernov. Chernov contributed to the theory of the
Siemens-Martin process. He was one of the first to suggest usage of pure
oxygen in
steel-making. He also conducted research into the usage of
direct reduced iron as well as contributed to the development of steel
gun barrels,
armor-piercing shells and emerging
aviation. He was one of the recognized leaders of
steel manufacturing at the time. He was Chairman of the
Russian Metallurgical Society, vice-president of the
British Institute for Iron and Steel, an honorary member of the
American Society of Mining Engineers, etc. ==References==