The Effect of Different Annealing Strategies on the Microstructure Development and Mechanical Response of Austempered Steels

This study focuses on the effect of non-conventional annealing strategies on the microstructure and related mechanical properties of austempered steels. Multistep thermo-cycling (TC) and ultrafast heating (UFH) annealing were carried out and compared with the outcome obtained from a conventionally annealed (CA) 0.3C-2Mn-1.5Si steel. After the annealing path, steel samples were fast cooled and isothermally treated at 400 °C employing the same parameters. It was found that TC and UFH strategies produce an equivalent level of microstructural refinement. Nevertheless, the obtained microstructure via TC has not led to an improvement in the mechanical properties in comparison with the CA steel. On the other hand, the steel grade produced via a combination of ultrafast heating annealing and austempering exhibits enhanced ductility without decreasing the strength level with respect to TC and CA, giving the best strength–ductility balance among the studied steels. The outstanding mechanical response exhibited by the UFH steel is related to the formation of heterogeneous distribution of ferrite, bainite and retained austenite in proportions 0.09–0.78–0.14. The microstructural formation after UFH is discussed in terms of chemical heterogeneities in the parent austenite.

An Accurate Method for Crystallographic Reconstruction of Parent Austenite from Inherited Martensite in a Low-Alloy Steel

The microstructure of austenite at high temperatures, which cannot be reserved at room temperatures, determines the properties of its transformed phase in low-alloy steels. Consequently, an accurate method is herein developed to reconstruct local orientations of the parent austenite ( γ ) phase from electron backscatter diffraction maps of the martensite ( α ′ ) microstructure. The orientation map of α ′ is cropped into a grid of data squares as the reconstruction unit. The cropped square is then divided into the square inherited from only one γ grain and the square inherited from more than one γ grain. The local orientations around parent γ grain boundaries are more accurately determined using a newly proposed reconstruction criterion. Furthermore, the solution spaces for the orientation relationship and the parent γ orientation are refined, which simultaneously improves the calculation accuracy and efficiency of reconstruction procedure. The validated reconstruction method is applied to obtain local orientations of the deformed γ microstructure accurately.

Tnr Dependent Hot Rolling Microstructure and Texture Development in C-Mn Dual Phase and HSLA Steels

No recrystallization of austenite, Tnr, has an important influence on the transformed phase fractions and the final crystallographic texture after hot deformation. This paper investigates the evolution of microstructure and texture components during hot-rolling in two austenitic region based on Tnr along with three different cooling trajectory and coiling in dual-phase steels and high strength low alloys steel. The recrystallization of the austenite, the austenite deformation followed by the austenite-to-ferrite transformation influence the final microstructure and texture in dual phase steels, have been examined by means of optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. Recrystallized and deformed austenite have clearly different texture components and, due to the specific lattice correspondence relations between the parent austenite phase and its transformation products, the resulting ferrite textures are different as well.

Measuring stress-induced martensite microstructures using far-field high-energy diffraction microscopy

Modern X-ray diffraction techniques are now allowing researchers to collect long-desired experimental verification data sets that are in situ, three-dimensional, on the same length scales as critical microstructures, and using bulk samples. These techniques need to be adapted for advanced material systems that undergo combinations of phase transformation, twinning and plasticity. One particular challenge addressed in this article is direct analysis of martensite phases in far-field high-energy diffraction microscopy experiments. Specifically, an algorithmic forward model approach is presented to analyze phase transformation and twinning data sets of shape memory alloys. In the present implementation of the algorithm, the crystallographic theory of martensite (CTM) is used to predict possible martensite microstructures (i.e. martensite orientations, twin mode, habit plane, twin plane and twin phase fractions) that could form from the parent austenite structure. This approach is successfully demonstrated on three single- and near-single-crystal NiTi samples where the fundamental assumptions of the CTM are not upheld. That is, the samples have elastically strained lattices, inclusions, precipitates, subgrains, R-phase transformation and/or are not an infinite plate. The results indicate that the CTM still provides structural solutions that match the experiments. However, the widely accepted maximum work criterion for predicting which solution of the CTM should be preferred by the material does not work in these cases. Hence, a more accurate model that can simulate these additional structural complexities can be used within the algorithm in the future to improve its performance for non-ideal materials.

On the Formation of Micro-Shrinkage Porosities in Ductile Iron Cast Components

A combination of direct austempering after solidification (DAAS) treatment and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) method was used to study the formation of micro-shrinkage porosities in ductile iron. Analyzing the aus-ferritic microstructure revealed that most of micro-shrinkage porosities are formed at the retained austenite grain boundaries. There was no obvious correlation between the ferrite grains or graphite nodules and micro-shrinkage porosities. Due to the absolute pressure change at the (purely) shrinkage porosities, the dendrite fragmentation rate during the DAAS process would be altered locally, which caused a relatively finer parent-austenite grain structure near such porosities.

Analysis of Recrystallization Behavior of Hot-Deformed Austenite Reconstructed from EBSD Orientation Maps of Lath Martensite

The recrystallization behavior of hot-deformed austenite of 0.55% C low alloy steels at 900, 850 and 800°C was investigated by a conventional double-hit compression test and a new method which reconstructs the parent austenite orientation map from an EBSD (electron backscattering diffraction) orientation map of daughter lath martensite. The new method can clearly reconstruct the parent austenite structure at high temperature from the daughter lath martensite structure and we can obtain the information on crystal orientation of the work-hardened austenite. It was revealed that recrystallization of austenite at 800 °C is significantly retarded by the addition of 0.1% V. The strong texture of <110> parallel to the compression direction develops just after the hot-deformation, but this texture becomes weaker as the recrystallization progresses. By applying the reconstruction method, it becomes possible to evaluate various phenomena related to the hot-deformation of austenite