Dependence of solute carbon concentration on electrical resistivity of retained austenite

Abstract

The relationship of solid solution carbon and electrical resistivity in retained austenite was investigated by using as-quenched martensitic specimens of Fe-10mass%Ni alloys with added carbon up to 0.9 mass%. With increasing carbon content, the volume fraction of retained austenite increased, and simultaneously, the electrical resistivity of the bulk specimen also increased. Four-types of multi-phase models were applied to evaluate the electrical resistivity of each phase. As a result, the electrical resistivity of retained austenite was found to be increased with the increment of solute carbon concentration monotonously. The dependence of the solute carbon concentration (Csol) on the electrical resistivity of retained austenite (Δργ) could be formulated as Δργ [mΩ•mm] = 0.26 × Csol [mass%].