Austenite Grain Refinement by Reverse α′→γ Transformation in Metastable Austenitic Manganese Steel

Microstructure of metastable austenitic manganese steel after reverse transformation treatment was investi gated using optical microscopy, X ray diffraction （XRD）, electrical resistivity and hardness testing. Austenite grain refinement was successfully achieved by a two-step heat treatment. First, martensite was produced by cooling the so- lution-treated samples to --196 ℃. Then, the deep cryogenic treated samples were heated to 850 ℃ upon slow or rapid heating. The mean size of original austenite grain was about 400 fire. But the mean size of equiaxed reversion austenite was refined to 50 μm. Microstructure evolution and electrical resistivity change showed that martensite plates underwent tempering action upon slow heating, and the residual austenite was decomposed, resulting in the formation of pearlite nodules at the austenite grains boundaries. The refinement mechanism upon slow heating is the diffusion-controlled nucleation and growth of austenite. However, the reverse transformation upon rapid heating was predominated by displacive manner. The residual austenite was not decomposed. The plate α-phase was carbon-super- saturated until the starting of reverse transformation. The reverse transformation was accompanied by surface effect, resulting in the formation of plate austenite with high density dislocations. The refinement mechanism upon rapid heating is the recrystallization of displacive reversed austenite.

Microstructure Refinement and Property Improvement of Metastable Austenitic Manganese Steel Induced by Electropulsing

Grain refinement efficiency of electropulsing treatment （EPT） for metastable austenitic manganese steel was investigated. The mean grain size of original austenite is 300 ptm. However, after EPT, the microstructure ex hibits a bimodal grain size distribution, and nearly 70vol. % grains are less than 60 /Lm. The refined austenite results in ultrafine martensitic microstrncture. The tensile strengths of refined austenitic and martensitic microstructures were improved from 495 to 670, and 794 to 900 MPa respectively. The fine grained materials possess better fracture toughness. The work hardening capacity and wear resistance of the refined austenitic microstructure are improved. The reasonable mechanism of grain refinement is the combination of accelerating new phase nucleation and restraining the growth of neonatal austenitic grain during reverse transformation and rapid recrystallization induced by electropulsing.