A model for interphase precipitation, with a predictive capacity, is presented. This article deals with its application to V-microalloyed steels. The model rests on an analysis of the growth of the Vdepleted zone ahead of a sheet of V(C,N) particles and the simultaneous advance of the ␥ /␣ interface in which it was nucleated. It is shown that volume diffusion of V cannot explain the observed intersheet spacings and that a faster diffusion process is required. It is postulated that the ␥ /␣ boundary will bow out some time after a sheet of V(C,N) particles has formed in it. Part of the V in the ␥ will then be fed to V(C,N) particles in the sheet by boundary diffusion as the ␥ transforms to ␣. The V content at the front will, thus, be lower than the initial content in the austenite. However, the reduction will be less the further the interface has moved away from the sheet of V(C,N) particles. At a sufficient distance, the V content is again high enough to allow new V(C,N) particles to nucleate, and a new sheet of particles will form. Between the two sheets, there will be a ledge (or superledge) that will advance along the first sheet. The height of the ledge will, thus, be determined by the distance in which V(C,N) particles can again be nucleated. The model exhibits reasonably good agreement with observed values of intersheet spacing, with its temperature dependence and transition from interphase to general precipitation, and with its dependence on C, V, and N content. It also provides physically sound explanations of these dependencies.
I. BACKGROUNDsome high-temperature region where the chemical driving force for precipitation is low, nature chooses the sites where THE precipitation of V carbonitrides in V-microalloyed nucleation is energetically most favored, viz., the interface. steels can occur either randomly in ferrite in the wake of At lower temperatures where the driving force is large, we the migrating austenite-ferrite (␥ /␣) interface (general premight expect general nucleation in the ferrite matrix to occur. cipitation) or by interphase precipitation characterized by At high transformation temperatures, ϳ800 ЊC, for typical the development of sheets of particles parallel to the ␥ /␣ compositions of V-microalloyed structural steels, the interface formed repeatedly, with rather regular spacing.interphase precipitation consists of irregularly spaced and Many investigations have shown that, for compositions typioften curved sheets of V(C,N) particles. With decreasing cal of V-alloyed structural steels, the general precipitation temperatures, the occurrence of curved rows of precipitates takes place at lower temperatures, typically below 700 ЊC, diminishes and the dominant mode is regularly spaced, plaand the interphase precipitation takes place at higher nar sheets of particles (Figure 1). Below about 700 ЊC, temperatures.the interphase precipitation is commonly found to be less Figure 1 shows the typical morphology of interphase prefrequent, and random precipitation from supersaturated fercipitation of V...