MARTENSITE AND BAINITE IN STEELS - TRANSFORMATION MECHANISM AND MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES

Many essential properties of iron alloys depend on what actually happe ns when one allotropic form gives way to another, i.e. on the mechanis m of phase change. The dependence of the mechanical properties on the atomic mechanism by which bainite and martensite grow is the focus of this paper. The discussion is illustrated in the context of some commo n engineering design parameters, and with a brief example of the inver se problem in which the mechanism may be a function of the mechanical properties.