Effects of small addition of titanium, vanadium and chromium on the kinetics of ε-carbide precipitation in high purity Fe-C alloys

Abstract

The effects of small additions of titanium, vanadium and chromium on the rate of ε-carbide precipitation is investigated in high purity alloys made from 99.99% electrolytic iron. The kinetics of the carbide precipitation was investigated by measuring at 77 K the change in the electrical resistivity due to precipitation. The number of density precipitates was investigated by TEM. The activation energy for carbon atom diffusion was determined by the slope change method. Results show that only titanium increases the rate of carbide precipitation.