Institute of Metals Division - The Growth and Shrinkage Rates of Second-Phase Particles of Various Size Distributions, II Spheroidization of a Eutectoid Steel

The DeHoff method of determining the size distribution of ellipsoid-shaped, second-phase particles has been applied to the spheroidization of cementite in a eutectoid steel. The surface area of Precipitates determined from the various size fractions in the distribution was correlated with surface-area measurements based on the number of intersected interfaces on a random lest line. The precipitate particles were found to be oblate ellipsoids with an axial ratio of about 0.90. The size distributions were found to be log-normal. A method is proposed whereby the shrinkage of small particles and growth of large ones can be determined from the experimental data. The experimental data are compared to previously proposed mathematical models describing diffusion-controlled kinetics and various types of interface-controlled kinetics. The experimental growth and shrinkage rates are considerably slower than those predicted by diffusion-controlled kinetics. The best fit is obtained for a model describing interface-controlled kinetics limited by the rate of formation of cementite at the growing interfaces where the interfacial reaction rate is proportional to the solute thermodynamic activity gradient across the surface. THE subject of spheroidization of second-phase particles has been considered previously by other investigators. Livingston1 has studied the precipitation of the cobalt-rich phase from copper alloys containing 0.7 to 3.2 wt pet Co. His results indicate that the average particle size increases as the cube root of the heat treatment time in accord with diffusion-controlled kinetics.'-' Komatsu and rant' in their studies of the growth of SiO2 in a dispersion-strengthened copper-silica alloy found that the initial growth of SiO2 proceeded by diffusion-controlled growth and later stages were limited by interface-controlled growth. The values of the activation energy obtained for the interface- controlled process led them to the conclusion that the process was limited by the dissociation of SiO2 at the shrinking interface. The transition from diffusion-controlled growth to interface-controlled growth was characterized by a particle size which varied with the heat-treatment temperature. It is also interesting to note that the particle-size distribution as found by Komatsu and Grant exhibits log-normal behavior when replotted on log-probability coordinates. Dromsky, Lenel, and Ansell9 have observed the growth of Al2O3 particles having a mean free path of about 1.5 to 13 µ. Their photomicrographs indicate that the Al2O3 particle sizes were larger than those observed by Komatsu and Grant. Dromsky, Lenel, and Ansell concluded that the Al2O3 coarsened by an interface-controlled growth mechanism limited by the solution of A12O3 at the shrinking interfaces. Bannyh, Modin, and Modin10 have studied the spheroidization of a eutectoid steel (0.83 wt pet C). Their spheroidization (tempering) treatments were carried out in the range from 210o to 700°C for times between 1.5 sec and 20 hr. Measurements of mean particle size as a function of time indicated a cube root of time dependence of size at 700°C, in agreement with previous analyses of diffusion-controlled kinetics.2°7 At lower temperatures, the time dependence was less than the one-third power. It is important to note that, although mathematical models of growth* considering particle-size distribution have been available, measurements of only mean particle size have been carried out. DeHoff11 has presented a quantitative metallography technique which is applicable to the determination of the size distribution of ellipsoids of constant shape. This method is applicable to both oblate and prolate ellipsoids of all ratios of minor to major axis and is based upon an extension of Saltykov's analysis12 of the distribution of spheres of varying size. DeHoff's analysis is based upon measurements of the minor axis of the particles on a random plane of polish in a unit area. This method provides a measure of the number of ellipsoids in various size ranges per unit area. As pointed out by DeHoff, such measurements may be used to obtain surface area and total precipitate volume data. Thus, the accuracy of the distribution analysis may be checked by comparison of the surface and volume