Three-dimensional analysis and classification of grain-boundary-nucleated proeutectoid ferrite precipitates

Abstract

The three-dimensional (3-D) shapes and distributions of grain-boundary-nucleated proeutectoid ferrite precipitates have been obtained by computer-aided 3-D reconstruction of serial sections of an Fe-0.12 wt pct C-3.28 wt pct Ni alloy. Isothermal transformation for short times at 650 °C was used to produce a low volume fraction of ferrite, which appeared as both Widmanstatten shapes and more-equiaxed grain-boundary precipitates. While the two-dimensional (2-D) cross sections of these precipitates appeared to fit into the previously accepted categories of precipitate morphologies, 3-D reconstructions revealed important aspects of connectivity and shape that were not observed earlier. A partially revised morphological classification based on these 3-D observations is provided here. Significant differences between the 3-D morphology of proeutectoid ferrite and that of proeutectoid cementite are also discussed, indicating (among other things) that the 3-D morphological classifications of ferrite are generally more complex than those of proeutectoid cementite.