Neutron diffraction study of the kinetics of low-temperature martensite decomposition in medium-carbon steel

Abstract

It is found that the low-temperature decomposition of martensite in quenched medium-carbon steel occurs in two stages. In the first stage, the rate of decomposition is higher than that in the subsequent stage. Application of the neutron diffraction method allows the identification of two stages of transformation in the first stage of martensite decomposition. It is shown that the first stage is associated predominantly with carbon segregation at dislocations, and the second, with the outdiffusion of carbon from the supersaturated solid solution with the formation of dispersed particles of metastable carbides.