Continuous Cooling Bainite Transformation Characteristics of a Low Carbon Microalloyed Steel under the Simulated Welding Thermal Cycle Process

Continuous cooling transformation of a low carbon microalloyed steel was investigated after it was subjected to the simulation welding thermal cycle process and the interrupted cooling test. Microstructure observation was performed by optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. On the basis of the dilatometric data and microstructure observation, the continuous cooling transformation (CCT) diagram was determined, which showed that the main microstructure changes from a mixture of lath martensite and bainitic ferrite to full granular bainite with the increase in the cooling time t(8/5) from 10 to 600 s, accompanied with a decrease in the microhardness. The interrupted cooling test confirmed that the bainitic ferrite can form attached to grain boundaries at the beginning of transformation even if the final microstructure contains a mixture of granular bainite and bainitic ferrite.