Martensite transformation kinetics and microstructural evolution during quench and partitioning process of high aluminium medium carbon steel

Abstract

The quench and partition process was studied in a high aluminium (Al) medium carbon (C) steel by varying the quench temperature which is one of the process parameters The first part of the paper deals with modelling athermal martensite transformation using an empirical approach. This model is an improvement on Koiestein and Marburger's model, and it better represents the martensitic transformation. The second part of the paper deals with microstructure evolution in high Al steel when subjected to the quench and partition process. The maximum retained austenite (RA) obtained was 13% at a quenching temperature of 260°C. The addition of Al promoted the formation of bainite during the partition stage.