Transformation of retained austenite during tempering of high carbon steel

Abstract
Dilatometric, electron microscopic, and X-ray diffraction techniques have been employed to analyze transformations of the retained austenite in a 1.85 wt % C steel during tempering. The quenched steel contained 82% of retained austenite. Depending on the tempering temperature, transformations of the retained austenite in the highcarbon steel manifest themselves as the formation of bainite "fringes" around the martensite crystals, new lenticular and thin-plate crystals of isothermal martensite also surrounded with the bainite "fringes" as well as the thin-plate pearlite.