Synthesis and Characterization of Ausformed Nanostructured Bainite

The ausforming process of plastically deforming the austenite and then isothermally holding it at a bainitic temperature helps a lot in increasing the transformation kinetics and tailoring the microstructure and mechanical properties of the material. This study aims to evaluate the influence of thermomechanical treatment, followed by isothermal treatment on the mechanical properties and phase distribution characteristics. The optical and scanning electron microscopy of the bainite will be used to analyze the effects. The process involves the plastic deformation of austenite at a temperature of approximately near to the industrial coiling temperature followed by isothermal holding in the bainitic temperature range. A long isothermal holding time was used to allow the complete transformation of the plastically deformed parent austenite phase into the final nanostructured bainitic morphology consisting of bainitic ferrite with film austenite. The final microstructure obtained after long isothermal heating was studied and correlated with the hardness of the specimen thus obtained by applying different ausforming strains. Results showed that the arrangement of microstructural constituents leads to a decrease in the hardness.