Studying the Hall-Petch effect regarding sub-micrometer steel (0.6% C)

Abstract

This paper study the synthesis and mechanical characterisation of steel (0.6% C) having lower than 1 micron grain size. There was severe plastic deformation in high pressure planetary ball milling and consolidation for obtaining bulk samples at temperatures between 350°C and 500°C. Studying grain size evolution showed that samples without subsequent heat treatment retained their nanocrystalline structure. Grain growth was controlled in heat-treated samples due to many nucleation points and the presence of cementite precipitates. The results obtained regarding hardness and grain size satisfactory agreed with the Hall Petch ratio. The influence of the synthesis and mechanical characterisation techniques used in this work were compared to results mentioned in several references.