In martensitic steels, it is well known that a certain chemical driving force (about 180 MJ/m 3 ) is required to start martensitic transformation (Ms), and additional driving force has to be charged further to complete the transformation (Mf). In the case of metastable austenitic steels with Ms temperature at around room temperature, however, only the chemical driving force needed to start martensitic transformation has been stored at room temperature. Hence, the state of austenite is very unstable thermally. It has already been known that such a metastable austenite undergoes a partial martensitic transformation during isothermal holding at room temperature or cooling to a low temperature. It is very convenient to investigate the behavior of martensitic transformation of austenite. In this study, the effect of austenite grain size on martensitic transformation is introduced from the viewpoint of microstructural analysis and thermo-dynamics. The steel used in this investigation is an Fe-16 mass%Cr-10 mass%Ni ternary alloy, which has Ms temperature at around room temperature. The grain size of this steel can be controlled from 0.8 mm to 80 mm using the technique of reversion of deformation induced martensite. In the material with coarse grain size (80 mm), about 18% of martensite was detected at room temperature and the amount of martensite was increased to 50% by the following subzero treatment to 77 K. However, martensite was hardly detected in the material with ultra fine grains (0.8 mm) even after the subzero treatment. It was found that such a stabilization occurs in the materials with the grain size below 10 mm and the stabilization was reasonably explained by considering the relation between austenite grain size and elastic strain energy which is required on the single variant martensitic transformation.

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Fig. 11. Roughness profiles of tensile test pieces strained by 20 % in 12Cr-1Ni steels recrystallized after cold rolling at different reductions and JIS SUH409 steel. The roughness is expressed in micrometer.

Acetaldehyde gas‐sensing properties of SnO2 , loaded with and without a noble metal, were investigated, and the results are discussed in terms of the level of sensor resistance in air and oxidation behavior of acetaldehyde over sensor materials. Of the noble metals tested, Rh was found to be the best sensitizer, and the highest sensitivity was achieved with SnO2 loaded with 0.1 wt % Rh at 350°C. The sensitivity enhancement is explained by the increased sensor resistance in air due to the electronic interaction between Rh and SnO2 . In addition, the almost complete oxidation of acetaldehyde and its derivatives at 350°C is also found to be responsible for its high sensitivity. © 1999 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.

The feature of titanium oxide steel (Ti-O steel) is that heat affected zone (HAZ) toughness is improved due to the refinement of HAZ microstructure through the formation of intragranular ferrite (IGF). This desirable microstructure, IGF, forms radially from titanium oxide particles. Recently, it has been clarified that manganese in Ti-O steel is an indispensable element for the formation of IGF. Therefore, manganese effects on Ti-O steel have been basically studied in this work, and then a new effect has been found. In Ti-O steel, manganese has the effect of suppressing the formation of ferrite side plates (FSP), which are undesirable due to their coarseness. Consequently, HAZ microstructure of Ti-O steel with high manganese content is so refined that HAZ toughness is remarkably improved. Based on the manganese effects, steel plates with excellent HAZ toughness for offshore structures have been developed and commercially mass-produced. The welded joints exhibit excellent toughness.