Effect of rare earth and alloying elements on the thermal conductivity of austenitic medium manganese steel

The influence of different contents of Cr, Mo, and rare earth element (RE) additives on the thermal conductivity of austenitic me-dium manganese steel was studied and discussed. The results show that the addition of Cr in medium manganese steel can improved the or-dering of C–Mn atomic clusters, so as to improve the steel's thermal conductivity. However, Cr will lead to precipitation of a great deal of carbides in medium manganese steel when its content is greater than 4wt%. These carbides would aggregate around the grain boundary, and as a result, the thermal conductivity is decreased. By the addition of Mo whose content is about 2wt%, spherical carbides will be formed, thus improving the thermal conductivity of the medium manganese steel. The interaction between rare earth elements and alloying elements will raise both the thermal conductivity and the wear-resisting property of medium manganese steel.