Effect of deformation temperature in the bainitic transformation during ausforming treatments

Abstract

The so-called ausformin thermomechanical treatment consists in plastically deforming a fully austenitized steel prior to either a martensitic o a bainitic transformation. This treatment could be an alternative to obtain nanoestructured bainite in medium carbon steels. However, befores this alternative is implemented, it is important to study the effect of the plastic deformation on the transformation, especially when steels are deformed at medium ol low temperatures. In this paper, the effect of the plastic deformation on the bainitic transformation has been studied in a medium carbon steel (0.4 mass content in %) by means of high-resolution dilatometry, scanning electron microscopy and X-Ray diffraction.