Investigation of bainitic isothermal transformation products in unalloyed ductile cast iron

The properties of the products of isothermal transformation of undercooled austenite into bainite in unalloyed ductile cast iron were investigated using X-ray diffraction. The following parameters were investigated: the fraction of austenite in the cast iron matrix, the crystal lattice parameter, and the width of the diffraction lines of the α and γ phases. The structures were studied using a TEM. It was observed that the temperature T_A and time τ_A of the isothermal transformation significantly influence the nature of the α and γ phases. The transformations are determined by the diffusion of carbon, and the maximum carbon content is approximately twice the equilibrium carbon content at the austenitising temperature. The lattice parameter of the α phase in the range of T_A studied decreases with increasing cooling time but increases in the upper bainite range. The increase in this lattice parameter results from the typical process of bainitic transformation during the retained austenite eutectoidal reaction (stage III). The crystal structure of the γ phase in the upper bainitic region is more perfect than in the lower range. Within the investigated temperature range of T_A, bainitic ferrite continually improves its crystal structure.

MST/3104     

Analytical Investigation of Prior Austenite Grain Size Dependence of Low Temperature Toughness in Steel Weld Metal

Prior austenite grain size dependence of the low temperature impact toughness has been addressed in the bainitic weld metals by in situ observations.Usually,decreasing the grain size is the only approach by which both the strength and the toughness of a steel are increased.However,low carbon bainitic steel with small grain size shows a weakening of the low temperature impact toughness in this study.By direct tracking of the morphological evolution during phase transformation,it is found that large austenite grain size dominates the nucleation of intragranular acicular ferrite,whereas small austenite grain size leads to grain boundary nucleation of bainite.This kinetics information will contribute to meet the increasing low temperature toughness requirement of weld metals for the storage tanks and offshore structures.     

Critical assessment 20: on carbon excess in bainitic ferrite

For several decades, the question of carbon supersaturation in bainitic ferrite has attracted the attention of physical metallurgists. Originally, this was associated with excess carbon due to the displacive nature of phase transformation and its subsequent trapping at defects in bainitic ferrite. The development of advanced experimental techniques, such as atom probe tomography and in situ synchrotron and neutron X-ray diffraction, has provided new insights into carbon distribution within bainitic ferrite. Possible explanations for carbon excess in solid solution are discussed, and the pathways for the future advancement of this research question are suggested.     

Effects of vanadium addition on nucleation and growth of pearlite in high carbon steel

Abstract

The influence of vanadium addition on the microstructure of high carbon steels has been investigated. A careful examination of the initial stages of austenite decomposi~ion has been made, using a range of high resolution metallographic techniques. It has been confirmed that vanadium addition results in the formation of grain boundary ferrite films, even in the eutectoid composition range. It is argued that this ferrite is the product of eutectoid transformation, and is not proeutectoid ferrite. This is because the first event is the nucleation of carbide particles along the grain boundaries. These carbides have been identified mainly as cementite. The presence of vanadium appears to change the morphology and distribution of the grain boundary cementite, so that rather than forming a grain boundary network, the cementite occurs in the form of a high density of small discrete particles along the boundaries. It is proposed that this occurs because vanadium increases the driving force for cementite nucleation. The formation of the grain boundary cementite depletes the surrounding region of carbon and encourages the formation of ferrite, but because of their discrete and fine dispersion, the cementite particles are engulfed by the more voluminous ferrite phase. In such regions, the onset of afully cooperative growth regime is delayed. Pearliteforms later at the ferrite/austenite interfaces.

MST/1923     

Metallography of bainitic transformation in austempered ductile iron

Abstract

An unalloyed nodular cast iron has been used to investigate the development of microstructure on heat treating in the bainite temperature region. Specimens were austenitised at 900°C for 1·5 h, then austempered for 1, 2, or 3 h at 250,300, and 350°C, respectively, and examined by light, transmission electron, and scanning electron microscopy. Experimental results indicate a microstructure consisting of a stable, highly enriched, retained austenite with one of two lower bainitic ferrite morphologies. One of these morphologies is carbide free acicular ferrite for specimens austempered at 350°C for 1 h and the other is bainitic ferrite in which carbide is distributed within the ferrite produced by different heat treatment conditions. Austempering at 350°C for 2 h and at 300°C for 1 and 2 h resulted in the formation of transition carbides in bainitic ferrite platelets. The η carbide was formed at 350°C for 2 h by precipitation from a bainitic ferrite supersaturated with carbon. By contrast, ? carbide was associated with austempering at 300°C for 1 and 2 h and precipitates either on the austenite twin/bainitic ferrite boundaries or within the bainitic ferrite. The fracture mode of tensile and impact specimens in the austempered condition was fully ductile compared with as cast specimens, which had mixed fracture characteristics.

MST/1646     

Formation of ultrafine grained microstructures in steel through strain induced transformation during single pass hot rolling

Abstract

In the present study, wedge-shape sa mples were used to study the effect of strain induced transformation on the formation of ultrafine grained structures in steel by single pass rolling. The results showed two different transition strains for bainite formation and ultrafine ferrite (UFF) formation in the surface layer of strip at reductions of 40% and 70%, respectively, in a plain carbon steel. The bainitic microstructure formed by strain induced bainitic transformation during single pass rolling was also very fine. The evolution of UFF formation in the surface layer showed that ferrite coarsening is significantly reduced through strain induced transformation combined with rapid cooling in comparison with the centre of the strip. In the surface, the ferrite coarsening mostly occurred for intragranular nucleated grains (IG) rather than grain boundary (GB) ferrite grains. The results suggest that normal grain growth occurred during overall transformation in the GB ferrite grains. In the centre of the strip, there was significantly more coarsening of ferrite grains nucleated on the prior austenite grain boundaries.     

Tracking solute atoms during bainite reaction in a nanocrystalline steel

Abstract

The extremely slow transformation kinetics of a nanocrystalline bainitic steel makes this novel structure the perfect candidate to determine the carbon content of the bainitic ferrite away from any carbon enriched regions, such as dislocations and boundaries, as the bainite transformation progresses at extremely low temperatures. The purpose of this atom probe tomography study was to systematically track atom distributions during the bainite reaction in a nanocrystalline steel. The results will provide new experimental evidence on the explanation for the incomplete reaction phenomenon and the carbon supersaturation of the bainitic ferrite during transformation, subjects critically relevant to understanding the atomic mechanism controlling bainitic ferrite growth.     

Effects of Carbon on the CG HAZ Toughness and Transformation of X80 Pipeline Steel

X80 pipeline steel produced by TMCP has high strength and high toughness with ultrafine grain microstructure. The microstructure coarsens and the toughness worsens at the coarse grained (CG) HAZ apparently after weld simulation. The experimental results indicated that the bainitic ferrite and the second phases formed at cooling are differently as the variation of carbon in base metal. In low carbon steels, the bainitic ferrite laths are long and narrow, the second phases are complex including residual austenite, martensite, the M-A constituent and the Fe3C carbide. The formation of Fe3C carbide is the main reason of the poor toughness in CG HAZ. The ultralow carbon in base metal, however, can improve the CG HAZ toughness through restraining the formation of carbides, decreasing the M-A constituent, increasing the residual austenite content, which are beneficial to the CG HAZ toughness.     

Transition from bainite to acicular ferrite in reheated Fe–Cr–C weld deposits

Abstract

Factors controlling the transition from acicular ferrite to bainite in Fe–Cr–C weld metals have been investigated. It appears that the presence of allotriomorphs of ferrite at austenite grain boundaries has the effect of suppressing the formation of bainitic sheaves. This in turn allows the acicular ferrite plates to develop on intragranular nucleation sites. A theoretical analysis indicates that bainitic transformation is prevented from developing at the allotriomorphic ferrite/austenite boundaries by the carbon concentration field present in the austenite at the allotriomorphic ferrite/austenite interface. This field does not homogenise within the residual austenite during the time scale of the experiments.

MST/1217     

Si对团球状共晶体奥氏体—贝氏体钢中贝氏体相变的影响

在热力学，动力学的基础上，从贝氏体铁素体在奥氏体贫碳区切变机制出发，研究了Ｓｉ对团球状共晶体奥－贝钢中贝氏体相变的影响，并提出Ｓｉ促使奥氏体奥碳区的形成，有利于贝氏体切变的新观点。     

Microstructure evolution of Fe-based nanostructured bainite coating by laser cladding

A Fe-based coating with nano-scale bainitic microstructure was fabricated using laser cladding and subsequent isothermal heat treatment. The microstructure of the coating was observed and analyzed using optical microscope (OM), field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that nanostructured bainitic ferrite and carbon-enriched retained austenite distributed uniformly in the coating. Blocky retained austenite was confined to the prior austenite grain boundaries resulting from the elements segregation. The bainitic microstructure obtained at 250 °C had a finer scale compared with that obtained at 300 °C. The volume fraction of austenite increased with increasing transformation temperature for the fully transformed bainitic coating. The bainitic transformation was accelerated as a result of the fine prior austenite generated during the laser cladding. The evolution of the carbon contents in bainitic ferrite and retained austenite revealed the diffusionless mechanism of the bainitic transformation.     

Effect of B and B + Nb on the bainitic transformation in low carbon steels

Development of new, advanced high and ultra-high strength bainitic steels requires the selection of the optimum balance of bainite promoting elements allowing the production of the desired bainitic microstructure over a wide range of cooling rates. The addition of boron or a combined addition of boron and niobium is well known to retard strongly the polygonal ferrite formation but very little knowledge has been acquired on the bainitic transformation. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of boron and boron plus niobium on the bainite transformation kinetics, microstructural evolution and mechanical properties in a low carbon steel (Fe-0.05C-1.49Mn-0.30Si). Isothermal and continuous cooling transformation diagrams were determined and followed by a detailed quantitative characterisation of the bainite microstructure and morphology using complementary advanced metallographic techniques (FEG-SEM-EBSD, SIMS and TEM). The relationship between microstructure and hardness has been evaluated. Finally, results of SIMS and TEM analyses coupled with microstructural investigations enable to propose a mechanism to explain the effect of the synergy between boron and niobium on the bainitic transformation and the resultant microstructure.     

Effect of austenitising temperature on tensile properties of Cu–Ni austempered ductile iron

Abstract

The effect of austenitising temperature on the microstructure, mechanical properties, and dimensional stability of a spheroidal graphite iron containing copper and nickel has been investigated. It was found that as the temperature increased the amount of carbon taken into solution by the austenite increased thus reducing the driving force of the original austenite to bainitic ferrite and high carbon austenite. As a consequence, the amount of retained austenite increased, but its stability decreased. This placed an upper limit on the austenitising temperature and on the amount of retained austenite permissible. All properties other than hardness showed maximum values after austenitising at 900°C. It was also found that increasing the solution treatment temperature increased the dimensional stability.

MST/1116     

Alloy optimisation of bainitic steel for large plastic mould

Based on the phase transformation theories, especially the T₀ concept of bainite transformation, alloy optimisation of bainitic steel with carbides has been carried out aiming at the produce of plastic mould with large cross-section. The effect of manganese and silicon on proeutectoid ferrite and bainite transformation is explored by dilatometric analysis, XRD and different microscopy techniques. The results show that after the alloy optimisation, the transformation of proeutectoid ferrite is suppressed and when the cooling rate is lower than 0·1°C?s^??1, the new lower bainite transformation appears by decreasing carbon capacity of austenite and promoting carbide precipitation. Industrial production proves that the optimised alloy SDP1 can meet the demand for the plastic mould with the thickness of 1050?mm.     

Microstructure and microtexture of ultrafine ferrite formed in 0.1%C steel using new strip rolling process

Abstract

A new hot strip rolling process is discussed which is capable of producing ultrafine, equiaxed ferrite grains (i.e. less than 2 µm)in the surface region of steel strip. Both microstructural and texture analysis of low carbon steel strip that has been rolled using this method are used to show that the ferrite forms by strain induced transformation. Analysis by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) indicates that a strong ferrite microtexture exists within the individual austenite grains in which the ferrite nucleates. The results from bulk X-ray texture analysis confirm that the ferrite forms as a result of transformation from austenite that has undergone heavy shearing during rolling, with nucleation occurring on the austenite substructure. In the centre region of the strip, a bainitic microstructure forms after rolling during air cooling. In the transition region between the surface and the centre of the strip, ferrite is shown to nucleate to form closely spaced parallel ‘rafts’ of ferrite grains traversing individual austenite grains. Again, EBSD is used to show that the ferrite located within these rafts is strongly textured, which, in combination with microstructural evidence, suggests that this ferrite nucleates along intragranular shear bands that form in the austenite in this region of the strip during rolling.     

Acicular ferrite transformation in deformed austenite of an alloy-steel weld metal

The effect of different amounts (5, 10 and 15%) of compressive deformation of austenite on the isothermal transformation of acicular ferrite in an alloy-steel weld metal has been investigated. It was found that prior deformation of austenite significantly enhanced acicular ferrite transformation. At the same isothermal transformation temperature, as a higher amount of prior deformation was applied, a greater quantity of acicular ferrite could be obtained and the size of acicular ferrite plates became much finer. These results implied that the effective nucleation sites of acicular ferrite increased with increasing amount of prior deformation. The other results also emphasized that the accumulated strain (due to prior deformation of austenite) could trigger acicular ferrite to nucleate on inclusions at high temperatures, where undeformed austenite remained stable. The acicular ferrite start temperature was found to be raised continuously by increasing the amount of prior deformation of austenite. Further evidence suggests that the application of deformation can boost the driving force for acicular ferrite formation. This phenomenon is similar to the case in which martensite forms under the influence of deformation.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of C–Si–Mn(–Nb) TRIP steels after simulated thermomechanical processing

Abstract

Continuous and discontinuous cooling tests were performed using a quench deformation dilatometer to develop a comprehensive understanding of the structural and kinetic aspects of the bainite transformation in low carbon TRIP (transformation induced plasticity) steels as a function of thermomechanical processing and composition. Deformation in the unrecrystallised austenite region refined the ferrite grain size and increased the ferrite and bainite transformation temperatures for cooling rates from 10 to 90 K s^-1. The influence of niobium on the transformation kinetics was also investigated. Niobium increases the ferrite start transformation temperature, refines the ferrite microstructure, and stimulates the formation of acicular ferrite. The effect of the bainite isothermal transformation temperature on the final microstructure of steels with and without a small addition of niobium was studied. Niobium promotes the formation of stable retained austenite, which influences the mechanical properties of TRIP steels. The optimum mechanical properties were obtained after isothermal holding at 400°C in the niobium steel containing the maximum volume fraction of retained austenite with acicular ferrite as the predominant second phase.     

In situ synchrotron X-ray study of bainite transformation kinetics in a low-carbon Si-containing steel

The bainite transformation in a low-carbon Si-containing steel has been studied in situ by synchrotron X-rays. While the austenite is homogeneous prior to transformation, the carbon distribution becomes nonuniform as bainite plates form. This is because of the different degrees of physical isolation of films and blocks of residual austenite. The method for converting dilatational strain into bainite volume fraction, using lattice strain as a reference, during isothermal transformation was found to overestimate it. The bainitic and martensitic ferrite did not exhibit a tetragonal unit cell due to the low-carbon content of the steel and the high transformation temperature.     

Incomplete transformation of upper bainite in Nb bearing low carbon steels

Abstract

Kinetics and microstructure of bainite transformation in Fe–(0·15 or 0·05)C–0·2Si–1·5Mn (mass%) alloys with Nb addition of 0·03 mass%. Bainite transformation occurs at temperatures below 873 K. At 853 K, transformation rapidly proceeds by formation of bainitic ferrite without carbide precipitation, but transformation stasis appears for a certain period in the Nb added alloys leaving untransformed austenite film between neighbouring bainitic ferrites. On the other band, the Nb free alloys do not show such a stasis until the transformation is completed. By further holding, the transformation in the Nb added alloy restarts by forming the mixture of dislocation free ferrite with cementite precipitation in the austenite films. In contrast, bainite transformation accompanying cementite precipitation occurs in both Nb free and Nb added alloys at 773 K, resulting in no difference in transformation kinetics. It is proposed that the incomplete transformation is caused by suppression of ferrite nucleation at interphase boundaries between pre-existing bainitic ferrite and austenite due to Nb segregation.     

Further evidence of tetragonality in bainitic ferrite

Abstract

There is growing evidence that bainitic ferrite which retains a substantial amount of carbon in solid solution does not have cubic symmetry. We provide additional data on a different nanostructured bainitic steel to support this evidence, based on synchrotron X-ray diffraction experiments. The data are consistent only with a displacive transformation mechanism for bainite.