Prediction of phase distribution and chemical composition during gas carburizing of stainless steels

Abstract
This article reports a theoretical and experimental study aiming at reducing gas carburizing experiments on stainless steels. This work was carried out to show the advantages of numerical calculations to simulate phase transformations during the gas carburizing process of high alloyed steels. The use of Thermo-Calc and Dictra software allows the metallurgist to predict the optimum thermochemical and heat treatments which are necessary to obtain an accurate carbon profile in a stainless steel. Moreover, the phase distribution and chemical composition can be followed as a function of time and/or distance to gas-solid interface.