The influence of silicon on carbon redistribution in steel weldments

Carbon redistribution was measured in ST1/ST2 Fe-2.5Si-0.8C/Fe-0.32Si-0.49C steel weldments in the temperature range 500–1000 °C. At the temperatures where austenite exists, carbon diffuses from ST1 into ST2; when ferrite is present, the diffusion flow reverses from ST2 into ST1. This effect is attributed to the degree of the silicon influence on the graphite precipitation and carbon activity in ST1 and ST2 steels. The opposite signs of the activity gradients in austenite and ferrite cause the reversal of the carbon diffusion when the annealing temperature is changed from the austenite to the ferrite temperature region. The carbon diffusion coefficients D_C and the thermodynamic interaction coefficients ε_C^Si in austenite have been assessed from the experimental data for ST1 and ST2 steels.