Thermal imaging of quenched microstructural evolution in steel alloys

Abstract

A method was devised for quenching undercooled samples of Fe-12Cr-16Ni. The samples were levitated in a magnetic field as a way of containerless processing. They were dropped onto a nucleation trigger and then into a quenching bath. This process was successful in producing quenched samples , but the layer of In-Ga wetting their surface showed problematic in the analysis of the samples. Data shows that double recalescence was observed in a few cases. SEM proved inconclusive and was not sensitive enough to detect the small chemical variations expected in the dendrites. Also, across the entirety of the sample there was no significant partitioning of Cr or Ni.