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Microstructure analysis and quantitative strengthening evaluation of medium carbon bainitic multiphase steel

  • Metals & corrosion
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Abstract

The microstructure and properties of bainitic multiphase steels with bainitic ferrite as the main phase are the focus of the current research. In the work, multiphase microstructures of pre-formed martensite (PM), bainitic ferrite (BF), and retained austenite (RA) was obtained via austempering processes in medium carbon bainitic steel. The relationship between the multiphase characteristics and mechanical properties was analyzed quantitatively. The results show that the thickness of bainitic ferrite laths and the size of blocky retained austenite of the PM-BF-RA samples are smaller than those of the BF-RA samples. The dislocation density of bainitic ferrite and carbon content in retained austenite of the PM-BF-RA samples are higher. The PM-BF-RA samples obtain higher strength. The yield strength that was calculated by measured microstructural parameters is similar to the tested value. The dominant strengthening phases of PM-BF-RA samples are pre-formed martensite and bainitic ferrite dual phases, while those of the BF-RA samples are the bainitic ferrite. The main of the strengthening mechanism of bainitic ferrite is grain boundary strengthening, while it is solid solution strengthening for martensite and retained austenite. Small and stable retained austenite with high carbon content effectively ensures the high plasticity of PM-BF-RA samples. Moreover, the high toughness of PM-BF-RA samples can be attributed to fine bainitic ferrite and small blocky retained austenite. This study demonstrates that medium carbon bainitic multiphase steel with PM-BF-RA microstructure exhibits excellent combination of strength, plasticity, and toughness.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51471147) and Innovation Ability Promotion Program of Hebei (22567609H).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Metastable Materials Science and Technology, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao, 066004, China

    Xiaowen Sun, Dongyun Sun, Yuefeng Wang, Fucheng Zhang & Tiansheng Wang

  2. National Engineering Research Center for Equipment and Technology of Cold Rolled Strip, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao, 066004, China

    Tiansheng Wang

  3. Materials Research Center, CITIC Dicastal Co. Ltd, Qinhuangdao, 066004, China

    Guoliang Sheng & Yanming He

  4. Hebei Key Lab for Optimizing Metal Product Technology and Performance, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao, 066004, People’s Republic of China

    Tiansheng Wang

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  1. Xiaowen Sun
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Contributions

XS and TW were involved in conceptualization; YW and GS helped in methodology; XS contributed to formal analysis; XS and YW were involved in investigation; TW helped in resources; XS and DS contributed to data curation; XS and DS were involved in writing—original draft preparation; XS and DS were involved in writing—review and editing; XS and YH helped in visualization; TW contributed to supervision; TW helped in funding support.

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Correspondence to Tiansheng Wang.

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Sun, X., Sun, D., Wang, Y. et al. Microstructure analysis and quantitative strengthening evaluation of medium carbon bainitic multiphase steel. J Mater Sci 57, 17462–17480 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-022-07712-9

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