Predicting the Austenite Fraction After Intercritical Annealing in Lean Steels as a Function of the Initial Microstructure

The final fractions of austenite after the isothermal austenite-to-ferrite transformation and its reverse transformations (including the martensite-to-austenite and the pearlite + ferrite-to-austenite transformations) in the intercritical annealing region have been studied using full equilibrium (FE), paraequilibrium (PE), and local equilibrium (LE) calculations and experiments. The LE model predictions are in a very good agreement with the experimental results, while the FE and PE model predictions deviate significantly. It is also found that the LEP/LENP transition for the austenite-to-ferrite transformation deviates from those of its reverse transformations. The magnitude of deviation increases with the increasing Mn concentration.