TEM Microscopical Examination of the Stepped Bainite Reaction in Silicon Steels.

Abstract The bainitic reaction in steels has been extensively studied, however it is still controversial whether it proceeds by a diffusional or a shear mechanism. In a previous investigation of the bainite reaction in a Fe-3.9Si-0.9C steel the transformation was considered to be the result of two competing elementary mechanisms, i.e., the shear transformation of the α-iron lattice and the diffusion of interstitial carbon away from the transformation interface. In this paper, the microstructural and crystallographic characteristics of the bainite products obtained through the step quenching experiments are examined, using TEM and Electron diffraction. The results are compared to those obtained by the corresponding bainitic transformation in a single step. The results obtained here support the proposed model in and the shear character of the bainitic transformation. The same steel as in, an alloy with 3.9 w.t.% silicon and 0.9 w.t.% carbon, was used. After austenitizing at 1130°C for 30 minutes a number of samples were transformed at 420°C for 30 minutes and subsequently quenched in a second bath where they were kept for times increasing from one to thirty days at temperatures of either 360,340 or 290°C.