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Relation of martensite-retained austenite and its effect on microstructure and mechanical properties of the quenched and partitioned steels

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Abstract

A two-step quenching and partitioning (Q&P) treatment was applied to low-carbon alloy steels. The relation of initial martensite - retained austenite - fresh martensite and its effect on microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated by experiments. The results reveal that the volume fraction of retained austenite can reach the peak value of 17%, and the corresponding volume fractions of initial martensite and fresh martensite are 40% and 43%, respectively, when the tested steel is treated by initial quenching at 330°C, partitioning at 500°C for 60s and final quenching to room temperature. Moreover, the micromorphologies of austenite and martensite become finer with the increasing of initial martensite fraction. The elongation is the highest when the volume fractions of initial martensite and retained austenite are 70% and 11%, respectively, meanwhile, the yield strength increases and tensile strength decreases gradually with the increase of initial martensite fraction, which proves that the mechanical properties including elongation, yield strength and tensile strength are based on the comprehensive effect of the retained austenite fraction, the finer microstructure and austenite stability.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. East China Branch, Central Iron & Steel Research Institute, Beijing, 100081, China

    CunYu Wang & Han Dong

  2. State Key Laboratory of Structural Analysis for Industrial Equipment, School of Automotive Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China

    Ying Chang, XiaoDong Li & KunMin Zhao

  3. Institute of Industrial and Equipment Technology, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, 2300601, China

    KunMin Zhao

Authors
  1. CunYu Wang
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  2. Ying Chang
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  3. XiaoDong Li
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  4. KunMin Zhao
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  5. Han Dong
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Correspondence to Ying Chang or XiaoDong Li.

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Wang, C., Chang, Y., Li, X. et al. Relation of martensite-retained austenite and its effect on microstructure and mechanical properties of the quenched and partitioned steels. Sci. China Technol. Sci. 59, 832–838 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-016-6045-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-016-6045-y

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