Pearlite growth kinetics in Fe-C-Mn eutectoid steels; Quantitative evaluation of energy dissipation at pearlite growth front via experimental approaches

Zhang, Y.-J.*; Umeda, Takemasa*; Morooka, Satoshi  ; Harjo, S.   ; Miyamoto, Goro*; Furuhara, Tadashi*

In this study, a series of eutectoid steels with Mn addition up to 2 mass% were isothermally transformed at various temperatures from 873 K to 973 K to clarify the pearlite growth kinetics and the underlying thermodynamics at its growth front. The microscopic observation indicates the acceleration in pearlite growth rate and refinement in lamellar spacing by decreasing the transformation temperature or the amount of Mn addition. After analyzing the solute distribution at pearlite growth front via three-dimensional atom probe, no macroscopic Mn partitioning across pearlite/austenite interface is detected, whereas Mn segregation is only observed at ferrite/austenite interface. Furthermore, in-situ neutron diffraction measurements performed at elevated temperatures reveals that the magnitude of elastic strain generated during pearlite transformation is very small.