Automated Workflow for Phase‐Field Simulations: Unveiling the Impact of Heat‐Treatment Parameters on Bainitic Microstructure in Steel

Abstract

Bainitic steels are extensively utilized across various sectors, such as the automotive and railway industries, owing to their impressive mechanical properties, including strength, hardness, and fatigue resistance. However, the pursuit of achieving the desired optimal mechanical properties presents considerable challenges due to the intricate bainitic microstructures consisting of multiple phases. To tackle these challenges, an automated workflow is used for extracting 2D and 3D microstructural features. The proposed method allows for a detailed examination of the correlations between microstructure characteristics and the processing parameters, specifically the holding temperature during transformation. In these findings, it is revealed that as the holding temperature decreases, there is a notable reduction in microstructural element size and carbon partitioning. Some of the observations are microstructural features such as area, perimeter, and thickness of the bainitic ferrite grains under two different holding temperatures. Phase‐field simulations results show that the microstructures at lower holding temperatures have finer grains. The distributions of grain areas and perimeters are uniform, with smaller grains dominating at low and high isothermal holding temperatures. While the grain thickness measurements from simulations and experiments at high temperature are qualitatively aligned, data from low temperatures show discrepancies.