Influence of cooling rates on the precipitation behavior and microstructure of Nb-Ti microalloyed steel

Influence of different cooling rates on the microstructure and the precipitation behavior of Nb-Ti microalloyed steel was investigated by CSLM,OM,SEM and EDS. The results show that the precipitation process of carbonitrides can be in-situ observed by CSLM,and with the increase of the cooling rate,the distribution of precipitates changes from along the austenitic grain boundaries to within the grains. With the increase of the cooling rate,the proeutectoid ferritic film becomes smaller and smaller and then disappears,and the original austenitic grains become finer and finer. In order to obtain non-film like proeutectoid ferrites or non-chain like precipitates along the austenitic grain boundaries and finer austenitic grains,the cooling rate should be at least 5℃/s.