Intragranular ferrite nucleation in medium-carbon vanadium steels

Abstract

In this study, the mechanism of intragranular ferrite nucleation is investigated. It is found that “intragranular ferrite idiomorphs” nucleate at vanadium nitrides which precipitate at manganese sulfide particles during cooling in the austenite region. It is observed that intragranular ferrite has the Baker-Nutting orientation relationship with vanadium nitride which precipitated at manganese sulfide. According to classical nucleation theory, the proeutectoid ferrite nucleation rate depends on the following factors: (1) the driving free energy for ferrite nucleation, (2) the diffusivity of carbon atoms in austenite, and (3) the increase in the interfacial energy associated with ferrite nucleation. In the Baker-Nutting orientation relationship, the lattice mismatch across the habit planes is likely to be very small. Depleted zones of solute atoms such as vanadium are assumed to be formed in the austenite matrix around precipitates. The effect of the depleted zones on factors (1) and (2) is estimated thermodynamically and it is proved that those effects are negligibly small. Thus, we conclude that the most important factor in nucleation kinetics of intragranular ferrite is the formation of precipitates which can develop coherent, low energy interfaces with ferrite.