Modeling of dissolution, growth, and coarsening of aluminum nitride in low-carbon steels

A theoretically based model was developed by using numerical integration methods on a multiparticle system to predict the dissolution and growth kinetics of nitrides and carbides in steels undergoing heat treatment. This model takes fully into account the equilibrium thermodynamic properties of the systems, the local equilibrium at the interface, curvature effects, and diffusion along the grain boundary. Dissolution and coarsening are being treated as one continuous, simultaneous process. In the present work, the model is applied to study the dissolution and coarsening behavior of aluminum nitride (AlN) in Al-killed low-carbon steels. Theoretically predicted particle-size distributions are in good agreement with the experimental measurements.