AN INVESTIGATION TO BAINITE FORMATION MORPHOLOGIES IN Ni-Cr BEARING LOW CARBON STEELS THROUGH THERMOMECHANICAL PROCESSING

The presence ofbainite in the microstructure ofsteels to obtain a proper combination ofstrength and toughness has always been desired. the previous works however have shown thatthe presence ofpreferred bainite morphologies in the microstructure of any steel would not bereadily accessible. in addition, the appearance of different bainite morphologies in themicrostructure ofany steel is dictated by different factors including the steel initial microstructure,austenitization characteristics, thermomechanical processing parameters and so on. accordingly,in the present work, the effect of prior austenite grain size and the amount of austenite hotdeformation on the bainite formation characteristics were investigated in 0.12c-2.5ni-i.2crsteels. the results indicated that the prior austenite grain size and the amount ofdeformation inthe austenite no-recrystallization region resulted in significant changes of the bainite formationkinetics and morphology.