In situ neutron diffraction of heavily drawn steel wires with ultra-high strength under tensile loading

To make clear the strengthening mechanism of heavily drawn steel wires exhibiting ultra-high strength, in situ neutron diffraction during tensile loading was performed. A ferrite steel (FK) subjected to a true strain of 6.6 and a pearlite steel (PS) subjected to 4.0 were extended on a tensile tester and (1 1 0) diffraction profiles were measured at various holding stresses. Tensile strengths of steel FK and PS are 1.7 and 3.7 GPa, respectively. The change in (1 1 0) spacing with tensile stress is reversible, i.e., elastic, close to the relevant tensile strength. A stress versus (1 1 0) lattice plane strain is linear for steel FK while evidently nonlinear at higher stresses for steel PS. In steel PS in which cementite peaks were hardly observed, the strengthening mechanism is postulated to be different from that for as-patented pearlite steels.