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An investigation of the generality of incomplete transformation to bainite in Fe-C-X alloys

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Abstract

The overall kinetics of the isothermal transformation of austenite to bainite and to pearlite in high-purity Fe-C-3 at. pct X alloys (X = Mn, Si, Ni, or Cu) containing 0.1 wt pct C and 0.4 wt pct C were investigated with quantitative metallography and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to ascertain the presence or absence of the incomplete reaction phenomenon. The incomplete transformation of austenite to bainite was not observed in the Fe-C-Si, Fe-C-Ni, Fe-C-Cu, or Fe-0.4C-Mn alloys. It was found, however, in the Fe-0.1C-Mn alloy. Transmission electron microscopy results indicate that sympathetic nucleation of ferrite without carbide precipitation is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for the development of the incomplete reaction phenomenon. Transformation resumes following stasis in the low-carbon Fe-C-Mn alloy with the formation of a nodular bainite. The results support the view that the incomplete transformation of austenite to bainite is a characteristic of specific alloying elements and is not an inherent trait of the bainite reaction.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 24061-0237, Blacksburg, VA

    W. T. Reynolds (Assistant Professor)

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Southwestern Jiaotong University, Emei, Sichuan, People's Republic of China

    S. K. Liu (Professor and Head)

  3. Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, Carnegie Mellon University, USA

    F. Z. Li (Visiting Professor)

  4. Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, University of Michigan, 48109, Ann Arbor, MI

    S. Hartfield (Graduate Student)

  5. Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, Carnegie Mellon University, 15213-3890, Pittsburgh, PA

    H. I. Aaronson (R.F. Mehl Professor)

Authors
  1. W. T. Reynolds
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  2. S. K. Liu
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  3. F. Z. Li
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  4. S. Hartfield
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  5. H. I. Aaronson
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Additional information

Formerly Graduate Student, Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, Carnegie Mellon University.

Formerly Visiting Professor, Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, Carnegie Mellon University.

Formerly Undergraduate Student, Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, Carnegie Mellon University.

This paper is based on a presentation made in the symposium “International Conference on Bainite” presented at the 1988 World Materials Congress in Chicago, IL, on September 26 and 27, 1988, under the auspices of the ASM INTERNATIONAL Phase Transformations Committee and the TMS Ferrous Metallurgy Committee.

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Reynolds, W.T., Liu, S.K., Li, F.Z. et al. An investigation of the generality of incomplete transformation to bainite in Fe-C-X alloys. Metall Trans A 21, 1479–1491 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02672563

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