Effects of TiC on the microstructure and formation of acicular ferrite in ferritic stainless steel

The formation mechanism of acicular ferrite and its microstructural characteristics in 430 ferrite stainless steel with TiC additions were studied by theory and experiment. Using an "edge-to-edge matching" model, a 5.25 mismatch between TiC (FCC structure) and ferritic stainless steel (BCC structure) was identified, which met the mismatch requirement for the heterogeneous nucleation of 430 ferritic stainless steel. TiC was found to be an effective nucleation site for the formation of acicular ferrite in a smelting experiment, as analyzed by metallographic examination, Image-Pro Plus 6.0 analysis software, and SEM-EDS. Furthermore, small inclusions in the size of 2-4 μm increased the probability of acicular ferrite nucleation, and the secondary acicular ferrite would grow sympathetically from the initial acicular ferrite to produce multi-dimensional acicular ferrites. Moreover, the addition of TiC can increase the average microstrain and dislocation density of 430 ferrite stainless steel, as calculated by Williamson-Hall (WH) method, which could play some role in strengthening the dislocation.

Effects of TiC on the microstructure and formation of acicular ferrite in ferritic stainless steel