🔩 Microstructure of steel metallurgical products — assessment by comparison with reference images in 9 scales (pearlite, spheroidite, martensite, nitrides, carbide network and banding, proportion of pearlite, ferrite, martensite and spheroidite); PN-H-04505:1966 (withdrawn 10-11-2011, the card indicates no successor)

Materials and NDT PN-H-04505

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. The “Scope” field of the PKN card of PN-H-04505:1966, in full (in our translation): “The subject of the standard is reference images and designation of the microstructures of steel metallurgical products. The standard contains reference images (given on pp. 5—32) used to assess: — the thickness of lamellae in pearlite (scale 1), — the size of carbides in spheroidite (scale 2), — the length of needles in martensite (scale 3), — the number and size of nitrides (scale 4), — the intensity of the carbide network (scale 5), — the degree of non-uniformity of distribution and banding of carbides (scale 6), — the percentage of pearlite and ferrite in the structure (scale 7), — the percentage of martensite in the structure (scale 8), — the percentage of spheroidite and pearlite in the structure (scale 9).” The standard is therefore a set of reference images for comparative assessment in nine scales. The card gives neither the number of grades in the scales, the way of recording the result, magnifications nor the images of the reference charts.

STATUS (state of the PKN card on 06.11.2026). The card of PN-H-04505:1966 (Polish version) has the heading “Withdrawn”: published 09-12-1966, withdrawn 10-11-2011, 32 pages, price group P, Metallurgy Sector, KT 123 Testing of Properties of Metals, ICS 77.040.99 and 77.140.01. The card has no “Replaced by”, “Supersedes” or “Adopts” fields — it does not indicate a replacing standard. The PKN search for “PN-H-04505” (06.11.2026) returns only this one edition. A neighbouring standard of the same committee, PN-H-04504:1963 “Badanie mikrostruktury stalowych wyrobów hutniczych — Cementyt trzeciorzędowy — Pasmowość — Struktura Widmannstaettena” [Examination of the microstructure of steel metallurgical products — Tertiary cementite — Banding — Widmanstätten structure], cited alongside PN-H-04505 at AB 001 and AB 053, and at AB 490 in a separate item (tertiary cementite, banding, Widmanstätten structure, comparative method according to a scale of reference images), is also withdrawn: card (read on 06.11.2026) — heading “Withdrawn”, published 31-12-1963, withdrawn 05-09-2014, 13 pages, KT 123, no successor indicated; its “Scope” field speaks of examining and assessing the microstructure of steel metallurgical products by comparison with specified reference images: the amount, size and distribution of tertiary cementite precipitates, the degree of banding of the structure and the intensity of the Widmanstätten structure.

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation scope database of 02.11.2026 and current PCA documents downloaded on 06.11.2026). The number 04505 (preceded by “H”) appears in 13 records at 7 Polish laboratories: AB 053 (7 records — in the PCA document this is one item, stored in the copy separately for each methodology and language version), AB 001, AB 128, AB 193, AB 369, AB 490, AB 699 (1 each). In the current PCA documents of these 7 laboratories the standard appears in one item each. Forms: “PN-66/H-04505” (AB 001, AB 193, AB 369, AB 490, AB 699), “PN-H-04505:1966” (AB 053) and “PN-H-04505” without a year (AB 128). As the only reference document — at AB 193 and AB 369; at AB 490 alongside the in-house procedure QR-04-01-09; at AB 001, AB 053, AB 128 and AB 699 — in items with several standards, including PN-EN ISO 945-1 and the withdrawn PN-H-04661 (a separate entry in this database). There are no Czech laboratories with this number. The “Laboratories” tab (“PN-H-04505”) shows the same 7 laboratories (tab query reproduced on the database copy on 06.11.2026).

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy and PCA documents, complete items). Steel metallurgical products and structural products — microstructure, phase components of the structure, optical microscopy method (AB 193); structural metal products and materials — microstructure, optical microscopy method (AB 369); metals, metal alloys, metal products — microstructure, phase components of the structure, optical microscopy method (AB 490, with procedure QR-04-01-09 issue 4); products of metals and alloys and welded joints — microstructure, optical microscopy (AB 001, with PN-63/H-04504 — withdrawn 05-09-2014, PN-ISO 3057:2000, PN-EN ISO 945-1:2019-09, PN-75/H-04661 and instruction LW-1/IN/103); metal products in a flexible accreditation scope — microstructures of materials in the raw, cast, annealed state, after heat treatment, thermochemical treatment and plastic forming (AB 128, with BOSMAL/I-7-44, PN-EN ISO 945-1, PN-H-04661 and ASTM A247); metals, metal alloys, products of metallic materials and plastics, composites, sintered materials, ceramics — microstructure, optical microscopy (AB 699, with PB-01, PN-EN ISO 945-1:2019-09 and PN-75/H-04661); metal products and materials — in one item microstructure, quantitative and qualitative analysis of structure components and thickness measurements of metal and oxide coatings (AB 053, with PN-H-04504:1963 — withdrawn 05-09-2014, PN-H-04517:1992, PN-H-04661:1975 — withdrawn 29-11-2010, PN-EN ISO 945-1:2019-09 excluding point 8.5, PN-EN ISO 1463:2021-10 and IP-BLM-07). At AB 053 and AB 699 the item is marked as a test on the basis of which the laboratory formulates opinions and interpretations. We did not check the status of PN-H-04517, PN-ISO 3057, PN-EN ISO 1463 and ASTM A247.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — status: the standard has been withdrawn since 10-11-2011 with no successor indicated, yet 7 laboratories have it in scopes issued in 2025–2026; at AB 193 and AB 369 it is the only reference document for microstructure assessment. Second — comparative result: assessment with reference images refers to one of the nine scales — a result without the scale (1–9) is ambiguous, and a result according to another set of reference images (e.g. an in-house procedure) is not a result according to this standard. Third — subject: the card speaks of steel metallurgical products, while at AB 001, AB 053, AB 128, AB 490 and AB 699 the standard stands in broader items — covering metals and their alloys in general, welded joints, coatings, and at AB 699 also plastics, composites and ceramics; the microstructure of a material other than steel is not assessed according to this standard. Fourth — the proportion scales (7–9) give the percentage of phases from image comparison, not from quantitative measurement; in the AB 053 item “quantitative and qualitative analysis of structure components” stands alongside — the report should distinguish whether the proportion was estimated with reference images or counted. Fifth — banding: scale 6 of this standard assesses non-uniformity of distribution and banding of carbides, while the withdrawn PN-H-04504:1963 assesses the degree of banding of the structure; at AB 001 and AB 053 both stand in the same item, so “banding” without the standard and scale is ambiguous.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard — we do not give the reference images, the number of grades in the scales, magnifications, the method of specimen preparation and etching, the way of designating the result or the report. We do not know which document (if any) took over its content — the PKN card does not indicate one. We did not check citations of the standard in regulations.

Method principle

The microstructure of a steel metallurgical product is assessed under a microscope by comparison with the reference images of the standard in one of nine scales (pearlite lamellae, carbides in spheroidite, martensite needles, nitrides, carbide network and banding, proportion of pearlite and ferrite, of martensite, of spheroidite and pearlite) — “Scope” field of the PKN card. The standard is withdrawn (10-11-2011, no successor indicated); we DO NOT GIVE details — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Steel metallurgical products — assessment of microstructure with reference images in 9 scales (PKN card)
• In current scopes of 7 Polish laboratories — phase components of the structure, optical microscopy; at AB 193 and AB 369 as the only reference document

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-H-04505:1966

Title (PL)

Mikrostruktura stalowych wyrobów hutniczych — Wzorce i oznaczanie

Title (EN)

Microstructure of steel metallurgical products — Reference charts and designation

Step-by-step procedure

1. Status

   PN-H-04505:1966 withdrawn on 10-11-2011; the card indicates no successor (state of the PKN card on 06.11.2026).

2. Examination

   Observation of the specimen under an optical microscope and comparison with the reference images of the relevant scale (1–9) (“Scope” field of the PKN card); we DO NOT GIVE specimen preparation and magnifications.

3. Result

   Result of the assessment with the reference images of PN-H-04505:1966, stating the scale (1–9); we DO NOT GIVE the way of recording the result; for items with several standards — stating according to which one the assessment was made.

Required equipment and apparatus

Health and safety (OHS)

• SUBSTANTIVE NOTE: standard withdrawn on 10-11-2011 with no successor indicated
• SUBSTANTIVE NOTE: a result of assessment with reference images without the scale (1–9) is ambiguous
• Specimen preparation — safe working rules for grinding and etching

Frequently asked questions