Formation of fine cementite precipitates in an ultra-fine grained low carbon steel

Abstract

Low-carbon steel containing 0.06 wt.% vanadium was deformed by a severe plastic deformation technique and annealed in a temperature range from 420 to 600 °C. The treatment resulted in a formation of nano-sized cementite precipitates as well as refinement of ferrite grains to a submicrometer size. This phenomenon is discussed based on dislocation-cementite interactions.