Numerical Investigations of the Effects of Substitutional Elements on the Interface Conditions During Partitioning in Quenching and Partitioning Steels

In quenched and partitioned steels, carbon partitioning is considered to be driven by a constraint para-equilibrium at the martensite/austenite interface. Using Thermo-Calc calculations, we investigated the effect of non-partitioned elements on the resulting interface condition. Among all tested elements, only aluminum and chromium have significant effects. From this numerical study, a practical composition- and temperature-dependent relationship describing interface tie lines was derived and calibrated for Fe-C-2.5Mn-1.5Si-X wt pct alloys (X = Cr or Al).