Effects of alloying elements on martensitic transformation behavior and damping capacity in Fe-17Mn alloy

Effect of carbon and Ti on gamma <----> epsilon martensitic transformation behavior and damping capacity is investigated in an Fe-17Mn alloy. The suppressive force of carbon against gamma <----> epsilon transformation increase linearly with an increase in its content, lowering Ms temperature and volume fraction of epsilon martensite. Carbon deteriorates damping capacity by reducing the area of gamma/epsilon boundaries and mobility of the boundaries contributing to anelastic deformation. The reduction in the mobility of the boundaries is accelerated when carbon-containing alloy is aged at higher temperatures than room temperature. The effect of Ti on damping capacity is found to be beneficial in carbon-containing alloy, which is attributed to the depletion of carbon solute due to the formation of TiC. (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier B.V.