Effect of Austenitization and Cooling Rate on Pearlite Morphology and Kinetics of Near Eutectoid Steel: A Combined Experimental–Simulation Approach
摘要
The effect of austenitization temperature (TA) and cooling rate (CR) on microstructure and transformation kinetics of near eutectoid steel after continuous cooling transformation have been studied by dilatometry. The samples were austenitized at 800, 900, and 1000 °C for 20 min, and then cooled to room temperature at CR of 0.5, 1, and 2 °C/s. Increasing CR resulted in the lowering of interlamellar spacing (S), producing finer pearlite. Similarly, at a constant CR, S decreased with higher TA. The nature of pearlite nucleation indicating site saturation was predicted through kinetic analysis, where the Kamamoto equation was applied to the dilatometric data of the fully pearlitic steels. The DICTRA simulations using the MobFe2 database confirmed the increased time for completion of transformation and decreased S with increased TA at a CR of 2 °C/s, aligning well with the experimental data. Both experimental and simulated results also showed consistent trends in time for completion of transformation and S values across constant TA of 1000 °C with varying CR conditions.