Physicochemical mechanics of structural transformations in nitrided steel

It is shown that the orientational anisotropy of intergranular cementite precipitates formed in alloyed steels upon nitriding is due to the presence of an internal stress field which affects the rate of cementite precipitation, predominantly at the nucleation stage. The calculation of the formation work of a new phase with account of both the thermodynamic parameters and stress state makes it possible to estimate the probability of the formation of precipitates on grain boundaries depending on their orientation. The results of calculation are in a good agreement with the experimental data.Translated from Kolloidnyi Zhurnal, Vol. 67, No. 1, 2005, pp. 106–112. Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Traskine, Bochenkov, Skvortsova, Barrallier.