Characterization of Transformation Stasis in Low-Carbon Steels Microalloyed with B and Mo

In the present study, bainite transformation kinetics was examined in low C-Mn steels with the addition of small amounts of B and Mo. This addition delays the onset of the bainite transformation. Mo addition causes transformation stasis at temperatures between 873 K and 823 K (600 °C and 550 °C) just below the bainite-start (B_s) temperature, resulting from an incomplete bainite transformation. Post-stasis transformation after a prolonged hold proceeds by the formation of ferrite with a low dislocation density, and in Mo-containing alloys, often the formation of carbides. The volume fraction at which the transformation stops is higher for lower carbon contents and lower transformation temperatures. By contrast, at 773 K (500 °C), the bainite transformation accompanying cementite precipitation occurs regardless of microalloying and is completed after shorter hold times. EDX measurement performed on the Mo-added 0.15 pct C alloy with aberration-corrected STEM revealed that segregation at the bainite/austenite interphase boundary is small for Mn and negligible for Mo in the early stages of stasis, which does not support the incomplete transformation mechanism based on the solute drag theory for the alloys used.