LAUSR

Abstract The phase transformation behavior of crack-arrest steel during continuous cooling either with or without deformation at high temperatures was investigated. By carefully examining the microstructures of continuous cooled samples, we found that pearlite, quasi-polygonal ferrite (QPF), acicular ferrite (AF), granular bainite (GB), upper bainite, lath-like bainite and martensite/austenite will exist depending on cooling rates and transformation temperatures in both conditions of deformation and without deformation after austenization. The transformation curves of AF and GB moved toward the left in deformation condition in comparison with that of without deformation condition, which indicated that deformation promoted the formation of QPF and AF; meanwhile, deformation inhibited the formation of bainite. Finer bainite and the accompanying M/A could be obtained by reducing the bainite nucleation activation energy as follows: (i) increasing the undercooling by increasing the cooling rate; (ii) increasing the stored energy by deformation of the austenite.