Analysis of retained austenite in TRIP590 steel by electron backscattered diffraction method

Abstract

The retained austenite content in TRIP590 steel was first measured by X-ray diffraction (XRD) method. Then, the effect of different test parameters (indexing rate, step size, field number, etc.) on the measured results of retained austenite content in TRIP590 steel by electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) method was studied. By comparing the measured results between XRD and EBSD method, the optimal test parameters for the analysis of retained austenite content using EBSD were determined. Finally, the total content of retained austenite and the retained austenite contents with different aspect ratios in TRIP590 steel were analyzed, respectively. The results showed that the test parameters have a great influence on the measured results of retained austenite content in TRIP590 steel. In order to improve the test accuracy, high indexing rates, small step sizes and more field number are necessary for the analysis of retained austenite content in TRIP590 steel by EBSD method.