Bainitic transformation in austempered ductile iron with reference to untransformed austenite volume phenomenon

Abstract

Much interest has been focused on austempered ductile iron (ADI) because of its superior mechanical properties, which might be improved by further control of microstructure. It has so far been assumed that segregation of alloying elements in the intercellular region just delays bainitic reaction in these regions. However, the existence of bainite-free regions (UAV) even after 10,000 minutes at test temperature, e.g., 375 C, indicates something intrinsic to the mechanism of bainitic transformation. The bainitic transformation start (B{sub s}) temperature is a function of alloying elements; segregation of alloying elements can also alter the B{sub s} temperature. In other words, B{sub s} temperature in the region near graphite should be different from the intercellular region. Therefore, the intercellular region with higher concentration of alloying elements such as Mn should have a lower B{sub s} temperature, which leads to formation of UAV even after a long high-temperature austempering time (hereafter, this stable UAV will be named as the minimum UAV value). To examine this concept, theoretical and experimental procedures were employed.