Transformation of retained austenite during tempering of high carbon steel

摘要

Dilatometric, electron microscopic, and X-ray diffraction techniques have been employed to analyze transformations of the retained austenite in a 1.85 wt% C steel during tempering. The quenched steel contained 82% of retained austenite. Depending on the tempering temperature, transformations of the retained austenite in the high-carbon steel manifest themselves as the formation of bainite "fringes' around the martensite crystals, new lenticular and thin-plate crystals of isothermal martensite also surrounded with the bainite "fringes" as well as the thin-plate pearlite.