Influence of interface mobility on the evolution of austenite–martensite grain assemblies during annealing

The quenching and partitioning (Q&P) process is a new heat treatment for the creation of advanced high-strength steels. This treatment consists of an initial partial or full austenitization, followed by a quench to form a controlled amount of martensite and an annealing step to partition carbon atoms from the martensite to the austenite. In this work, the microstructural evolution during annealing of martensite–austenite grain assemblies has been analyzed by means of a modeling approach that considers the influence of martensite–austenite interface migration on the kinetics of carbon partitioning. Carbide precipitation is precluded in the model, and three different assumptions about interface mobility are considered, ranging from a completely immobile interface to the relatively high mobility of an incoherent ferrite–austenite interface. Simulations indicate that different interface mobilities lead to profound differences in the evolution of microstructure that is predicted during annealing.