Determination of retained austenite using an X-ray texture goniometer

A new X-ray technique has been developed for determining the amount of reta ined austenite in steels with preferred orientation, such as white cast iro ns and deformed steels. The technique uses an X-ray texture goniometer. The X-ray goniometer was run as ifa texture was being determined, but the raw data were collected via a special program. From analysis of the raw data fo r several austenite and martensite reflections, a very accurate value for t he retained austenite content was obtained. The technique has been evaluate d using a textured specimen with a known amount of retained austenite, and by carrying out the determination at different orientations of a single spe cimen. Compared with other methods, this technique can produce retained aus tenite values to an accuracy of +/-1.5%. As an application of this techniqu e, the relationship between the amount of retained austenite and heat-treat ment parameters in a white cast iron has been studied. (C) 2000 Elsevier Sc ience Inc. All rights reserved.