Influence of the austempering temperature on the microstructure and crystallography of a carbide-free bainitic steel

摘要

We elaborated two carbide-free bainitic steels with different microstructures through specific heat treatments and alloy design. EBSD analysis was used to point out major differences in these microstructures. In-situ characterizations of the bainitic transformation were performed by high energy synchrotron diffraction to go further into the study of each phase characteristics. The elaborated microstructures exhibited various phase fractions of bainitic ferrite, retained austenite and blocks of martensite and retained austenite. Moreover, the volume fraction of retained austenite increased with higher austempering temperatures. On the other hand, the austempering temperatures showed a strong influence on the kinetics of the bainitic transformation. Isothermal transformation under Ms showed a two stage transformation which led first to the formation of self-tempered martensite and then to bainitic ferrite. Furthermore, the evolution of the austenitic cell parameter showed enrichment in carbon ruled by diffusional mechanisms.