Phase Transformation and Microstructural Development in High Carbon Steel Following Quenching and Partitioning Heat Treatment

This study comprises a comprehensive investigation of the microstructural development in industrially produced high-carbon steel. A combination of numerical, analytical, and experimental techniques was employed. A wide range of heat treatment procedures was studied: isothermal transformation (TT), continuous cooling (CCT) and quench-and partitioning (Q&P) heat treatments. An ABAQUS finite-element model was used to simulate the industrial manufacturing route subject to the industrial operational conditions of a two-step quenching heat treatment. The findings provided new insights, which would be helpful in developing finite element analysis and simulations of different heat treatments on an industrial scale.