Ab initio studies of the short-range atomic structure of liquid iron-carbon alloys

► We performed AIMD simulation of liquid Fe-C for 6 carbon concentrations at T = 1833 K. ► Short-range atomic structure around carbon changes as C concentration increases. ► There are 3 concentration regions with different short-range structure around carbon. ► Short-range atomic order in liquid Fe-C is similar to that of solid. ► At high C concentrations short-range order resembles prismatic pores in cementite.