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Nucleation and Growth of Precipitates in a V-Microalloyed Steel According to Physical Theory and Experimental Results

  • STRUCTURE, PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS, AND DIFFUSION
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Abstract—

Using a theoretical model, the nucleus number and nucleation time were determined for a V‑microalloyed steel. The calculated data has made it possible to plot the nucleus number vs. temperature, nucleation critical time vs. temperature, and precipitate critical radius vs. temperature. The nucleus number was calculated by integration of the nucleation rate expression. On the other hand, an experimental study was performed and the nucleation time vs. temperature was plotted (PTT diagram), thus allowing a comparison between the theoretical values and experimental results. It has been found that the growth of precipitates during precipitation obeys a quadratic growth equation and not a cubic coalescence equation. The experimentally determined growth rate coincides with the theoretically predicted growth rate. The experimental nucleation time is longer than the calculated time due to conceptual differences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Centre for Metallurgical Research (CENIM-CSIC), Madrid, Spain

    S. F. Medina

  2. National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA), Madrid, Torrejón de Ardoz, Spain

    P. Valles

  3. Technical University of Catalonia (ETSEIB – UPC), Barcelona, Spain

    J. Calvo & Jose M. Cabrera

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  1. S. F. Medina
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  2. P. Valles
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  3. J. Calvo
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  4. Jose M. Cabrera
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Correspondence to S. F. Medina.

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The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the project ref. MAT2011-29039-C02-02.

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Medina, S.F., Valles, P., Calvo, J. et al. Nucleation and Growth of Precipitates in a V-Microalloyed Steel According to Physical Theory and Experimental Results. Phys. Metals Metallogr. 121, 32–40 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031918X2001010X

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031918X2001010X

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