A transmission electron microscopy and atom-probe tomography study of martensite morphology and composition in a dual-phase steel

Dong An; Sung Il Baik; Qingqiang Ren; Ming Jiang; Mingfang Zhu; Dieter Isheim; Bruce W. Krakauer; David N. Seidman

doi:10.1016/j.matchar.2020.110207

A transmission electron microscopy and atom-probe tomography study of martensite morphology and composition in a dual-phase steel

Dong An, Sung Il Baik, Qingqiang Ren, Ming Jiang, Mingfang Zhu, Dieter Isheim, Bruce W. Krakauer, David N. Seidman

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

16 Scopus citations

Abstract

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and atom-probe tomography (APT) are utilized to study systematically the morphology and solute distributions in martensite formed after intercritical annealing in a dual-phase steel. The SEM observations demonstrate that the samples annealed at 760 °C for 5 min, and either water-quenched or air-cooled, contain martensite with a volume fraction of ~0.17 or ~0.10, respectively, in the vicinity of former ferrite/ferrite grain boundaries. APT measurements reveal that the levels of C and Mn in martensite are higher in the air-cooled sample than in the water-quenched sample. Combined TEM and APT analyses show that the water-quenched sample forms typical lath martensite with a high density of dislocations. In contrast, the air-cooled sample contains martensite with complex substructures, including fine twins, a mixture of laths and twins, and carbide precipitates, as well as a small portion of retained austenite that is highly enriched in C and Mn. The formation mechanisms of different martensites are discussed based on the experimental observations and thermodynamic calculations. The results provide insights into the phase transformations and corresponding microstructures formed during intercritical annealing, which are followed by either water quenching or air cooling at a moderate rate.

Original language	English
Article number	110207
Journal	Materials Characterization
Volume	162
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchar.2020.110207
State	Published - Apr 2020
Externally published	Yes

Funding

The authors wish to thank CompuTherm LLC, Middleton, Wisconsin, for providing us with the license to use Pandat software. This work was financially supported by A. O. Smith Corporation , United States, NSFC (Grant Nos. 51371051 ), China Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Advanced Metallic Materials ( BM2007204 ). Dong An is grateful for the financial support from the China Scholarship Council (CSC) and Mr. Lichu Zhou in Southeast University for the help on TEM analyses. D. Isheim and S.-I. Baik received support from the China Office of Naval Research for this research; Dr. W. Mullins, grant monitor. APT was performed at the Northwestern University Center for Atom-Probe Tomography (NUCAPT). The LEAP tomograph at NUCAPT was purchased and upgraded with grants from the NSF MRI ( DMR-0420532 ) and United States ONR - DURIP ( N00014-0400798 , N00014-0610539 , N00014-0910781 , N00014-1712870 ) programs. This work made use of the EPIC facility of Northwestern University's NUANCE Center. NUCAPT and NUANCE received support through the United States MRSEC program ( NSF DMR-1720139 ) at the Materials Research Center and the United States SHyNE Resource ( NSF ECCS-1542205 ), NUCAPT from the Initiative for Sustainability and Energy (ISEN), at Northwestern University; NUANCE from the International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN); the Keck Foundation; and the State of Illinois, through the IIN. The authors wish to thank CompuTherm LLC, Middleton, Wisconsin, for providing us with the license to use Pandat software. This work was financially supported by A. O. Smith Corporation, United States, NSFC (Grant Nos. 51371051),China Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Advanced Metallic Materials (BM2007204). Dong An is grateful for the financial support from the China Scholarship Council (CSC) and Mr. Lichu Zhou in Southeast University for the help on TEM analyses. D. Isheim and S.-I. Baik received support from the China Office of Naval Research for this research; Dr. W. Mullins, grant monitor. APT was performed at the Northwestern University Center for Atom-Probe Tomography (NUCAPT). The LEAP tomograph at NUCAPT was purchased and upgraded with grants from the NSFMRI (DMR-0420532) and United States ONR-DURIP (N00014-0400798, N00014-0610539, N00014-0910781, N00014-1712870) programs. This work made use of the EPIC facility of Northwestern University's NUANCE Center. NUCAPT and NUANCE received support through the United States MRSEC program (NSF DMR-1720139) at the Materials Research Center and the United States SHyNE Resource (NSF ECCS-1542205), NUCAPT from the Initiative for Sustainability and Energy (ISEN), at Northwestern University; NUANCE from the International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN); the Keck Foundation; and the State of Illinois, through the IIN.

Funders	Funder number
China Office of Naval Research
Computherm LLC
NSF MRI	DMR-0420532
NSFMRI
United States ONR	N00014-0610539, N00014-0910781, N00014-1712870, N00014-0400798
United States ONR-DURIP
United States SHyNE Resource	ECCS-1542205
W. M. Keck Foundation
Northwestern University
Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, Harvard University	NSF DMR-1720139
National Natural Science Foundation of China	51371051
China Scholarship Council
Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Advanced Metallic Materials	BM2007204

Keywords

Atom-probe tomography
Dual-phase steel
Intercritical annealing
Martensite
Transmission electron microscopy

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10.1016/j.matchar.2020.110207

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title = "A transmission electron microscopy and atom-probe tomography study of martensite morphology and composition in a dual-phase steel",

abstract = "Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and atom-probe tomography (APT) are utilized to study systematically the morphology and solute distributions in martensite formed after intercritical annealing in a dual-phase steel. The SEM observations demonstrate that the samples annealed at 760 °C for 5 min, and either water-quenched or air-cooled, contain martensite with a volume fraction of ~0.17 or ~0.10, respectively, in the vicinity of former ferrite/ferrite grain boundaries. APT measurements reveal that the levels of C and Mn in martensite are higher in the air-cooled sample than in the water-quenched sample. Combined TEM and APT analyses show that the water-quenched sample forms typical lath martensite with a high density of dislocations. In contrast, the air-cooled sample contains martensite with complex substructures, including fine twins, a mixture of laths and twins, and carbide precipitates, as well as a small portion of retained austenite that is highly enriched in C and Mn. The formation mechanisms of different martensites are discussed based on the experimental observations and thermodynamic calculations. The results provide insights into the phase transformations and corresponding microstructures formed during intercritical annealing, which are followed by either water quenching or air cooling at a moderate rate.",

keywords = "Atom-probe tomography, Dual-phase steel, Intercritical annealing, Martensite, Transmission electron microscopy",

author = "Dong An and Baik, {Sung Il} and Qingqiang Ren and Ming Jiang and Mingfang Zhu and Dieter Isheim and Krakauer, {Bruce W.} and Seidman, {David N.}",

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T1 - A transmission electron microscopy and atom-probe tomography study of martensite morphology and composition in a dual-phase steel

AU - An, Dong

AU - Baik, Sung Il

AU - Ren, Qingqiang

AU - Jiang, Ming

AU - Zhu, Mingfang

AU - Isheim, Dieter

AU - Krakauer, Bruce W.

AU - Seidman, David N.

PY - 2020/4

Y1 - 2020/4

N2 - Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and atom-probe tomography (APT) are utilized to study systematically the morphology and solute distributions in martensite formed after intercritical annealing in a dual-phase steel. The SEM observations demonstrate that the samples annealed at 760 °C for 5 min, and either water-quenched or air-cooled, contain martensite with a volume fraction of ~0.17 or ~0.10, respectively, in the vicinity of former ferrite/ferrite grain boundaries. APT measurements reveal that the levels of C and Mn in martensite are higher in the air-cooled sample than in the water-quenched sample. Combined TEM and APT analyses show that the water-quenched sample forms typical lath martensite with a high density of dislocations. In contrast, the air-cooled sample contains martensite with complex substructures, including fine twins, a mixture of laths and twins, and carbide precipitates, as well as a small portion of retained austenite that is highly enriched in C and Mn. The formation mechanisms of different martensites are discussed based on the experimental observations and thermodynamic calculations. The results provide insights into the phase transformations and corresponding microstructures formed during intercritical annealing, which are followed by either water quenching or air cooling at a moderate rate.

AB - Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and atom-probe tomography (APT) are utilized to study systematically the morphology and solute distributions in martensite formed after intercritical annealing in a dual-phase steel. The SEM observations demonstrate that the samples annealed at 760 °C for 5 min, and either water-quenched or air-cooled, contain martensite with a volume fraction of ~0.17 or ~0.10, respectively, in the vicinity of former ferrite/ferrite grain boundaries. APT measurements reveal that the levels of C and Mn in martensite are higher in the air-cooled sample than in the water-quenched sample. Combined TEM and APT analyses show that the water-quenched sample forms typical lath martensite with a high density of dislocations. In contrast, the air-cooled sample contains martensite with complex substructures, including fine twins, a mixture of laths and twins, and carbide precipitates, as well as a small portion of retained austenite that is highly enriched in C and Mn. The formation mechanisms of different martensites are discussed based on the experimental observations and thermodynamic calculations. The results provide insights into the phase transformations and corresponding microstructures formed during intercritical annealing, which are followed by either water quenching or air cooling at a moderate rate.

KW - Atom-probe tomography

KW - Dual-phase steel

KW - Intercritical annealing

KW - Martensite

KW - Transmission electron microscopy

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A transmission electron microscopy and atom-probe tomography study of martensite morphology and composition in a dual-phase steel

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