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A Hexagonal Grid-Sampling Scheme for Improving X-Ray Diffraction-Retained Austenite Measurements of Sheet Steels

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Abstract

Advanced High-Strength Steels make use of retained austenite to improve mechanical properties. The benefits of the austenitic phase are directly tied to the phase fraction present in a material. However, phase characterization of retained austenite is complicated by the often metastable nature of the phase and the presence of crystallographic texture in many steel products. Diffraction-based measurements of retained austenite in particular exhibit large texture bias errors in the measurement of sheet steels. The wide availability of low-energy X-ray diffraction equipment, however, makes the method attractive for relatively rapid characterization of materials. Reducing texture bias error for X-ray measurements of retained austenite, therefore, may benefit both industry and research. A method of reducing the texture bias error using a hexagonal grid-sampling scheme has been investigated via simulations and validated experimentally. The sampling scheme consists of measuring the sample at multiple diffraction vectors of roughly even spacing on the pole figure. The diffraction vectors, which define the crystal orientations that can contribute to each measurement, are arranged in a hexagonal pattern. The hexagonal pattern averages the texture bias present at multiple orientations, and thus, reduces the overall texture bias error in the calculated retained austenite phase fraction. Simulation and experimental results agreed closely, particularly for the commonly performed normal-direction measurement. The 30 deg hex scheme simulations and experimental measurement exhibited greatly reduced texture bias error.

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Notes

  1. Certain commercial entities, equipment, or materials may be identified in this document to describe an experimental procedure or concept adequately. Such identification is not intended to imply recommendation or endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, nor is it intended to imply that the entities, materials, or equipment are necessarily the best available for the purpose.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank: industrial mentors Matt Merwin and Brian Lin; Whitney Poling and Thomas Gnaupel-Herold for providing neutron diffraction measurements; sponsors, staff, and students at the Advanced Steel Processing and Products Research Center (ASPPRC) at the Colorado School of Mines for their advice and assistance; members of the NIST Center for Automotive Lightweighting for their advice and assistance; K.S. Raghavan, Ming Shi, and the Auto/Steel Partnership for supplying the experimental material; and Surya Chandramouleeswaran for performing simulation work which greatly furthered insight into the robustness of the sampling schemes. This work was supported by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), part of the United States Department of Commerce.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Advanced Steel Processing and Products Research Center (ASPPRC), Colorado School of Mines, 920 15th St, Golden, CO, 80215, USA

    M. R. Cox III & K. O. Findley

  2. NIST Center for Automotive Lightweighting, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899, USA

    A. Creuziger

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  1. M. R. Cox III
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  2. A. Creuziger
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Correspondence to M. R. Cox III.

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Cox, M.R., Creuziger, A. & Findley, K.O. A Hexagonal Grid-Sampling Scheme for Improving X-Ray Diffraction-Retained Austenite Measurements of Sheet Steels. Metall Mater Trans A 54, 823–837 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-022-06931-8

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