Abstract
This study focuses on the formation, quantification and morphology of retained austenite in the heat-affected zone (HAZ) of a thermomechanically controlled processed high-strength steel. Physical simulation using dilatometry combined with high-energy X-ray diffraction was employed for in situ phase quantification, while various electron microscopy methods were used for microstructural investigation. Compared to the initial state, which contained approximately 1% retained austenite, the content increased by 1.9% in the coarse-grained HAZ and by 3.9% in the intercritically reheated coarse-grained HAZ. Some of the formed retained austenite appears as stand-alone phase in both zones. However, the majority seems to be present within various types of martensite–austenite constituents.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 128-135 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Science and Technology of Welding and Joining |
| Volume | 2026 |
| Issue number | Volume 31, Issue 2 |
| Early online date | 16 Feb 2026 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2026 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2026. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).UN SDGs
This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
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SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
Keywords
- heat-affected zone
- high-energy X-ray diffraction
- high-strength steel
- in situphase quantification
- martensite-austenite constituents
- microstructure
- retained austenite
- Rietveld refinement
- TMCP steel
- Welding
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