Polarized neutron transmission spectroscopy on carbon steel

Mamiya, Hiroaki*; Oba, Yojiro  ; Terada, Noriki*; Hiroi, Kosuke  ; Shinohara, Takenao   

Neutron transmission spectroscopy is a promising characterization method. In addition, polarized neutrons provide further information via the detailed analysis of magnetic scattering contributions. In this study, we have investigated the contributions of ferrite, cementite, and retained austenite in an ultra-fine grained high carbon steel using the polarized neutron transmission spectroscopy. The polarized neutron transmission spectrum of the sample is well explained by the combination of ferrite and cementite and the amount of austenite can be ignored. This indicates that the polarized neutrons are helpful to evaluation of the complicated microstructures in carbon steels.