“…This could be attributed to the precipitation of second phase particles possessing ferromagnetism. The precipitating ferromagnetic phase is an Fe-rich bcc formed within the miscibility gap between ordered (B2) and disordered bcc a-Fe phases [23,35,36] which strengthens the alloy via precipitation hardening through dislocation pinning effect [21,22,37]. Annealing at 873 K causes softening of the b-phase by coarsening of a-phase precipitates, and, annealing at 1073 K decreases the microhardness to values similar to those in the as-cast state which can be explained by the dissolution of precipitates above the miscibility gap.…”