The Solidification Mode of Fe-Mn-Al-C Lightweight Steel

Solidification behavior and solid-state transformation were investigated in Fe-Mn-Al-C lightweight steel. The solidification mode of the Fe-9.3Mn-5.6Al-0.2C (wt.%) lightweight steel was predicted to be the F mode (liquid → liquid + δ-ferrite → δ-ferrite → δ-ferrite + γ-austenite), according to the classification of the solidification modes of stainless steels. However, the microstructures of an ingot of the lightweight steel showed that the solidification occurred by the FA mode (liquid → liquid + δ-ferrite → liquid + δ-ferrite + γ-austenite → δ-ferrite + γ-austenite). To examine the difference between predicted and actual solidification modes, some specimens were annealed at various temperatures ranging from 1200°C to 1450°C for 10 min and then quenched. The microstructures of the annealed specimens exhibited that there were the narrow ranges of single δ-ferrite and solidification sections. This result indicates that the solidification mode of the present steel was the F mode, matching well with the predicted solidification mode. The reason for the FA mode, which was observed in the ingot, was because the liquid passed by a narrow solidification section and a single δ-ferrite region, and it directly entered the dual-phase region of δ-ferrite and γ-austenite during cooling.