ESTIMANDO A FRAÇÃO DE FASES EM UM AÇO MULTIFÁSICO ATRAVÉS DE MEDIDAS DE SATURAÇÃO MAGNÉTICA

Abstract

The increasing use of multiphase steels in order to simultaneously obtain better strength and better toughness has increased the demand for characterization techniques that are both fast and inexpensive to identify and quantify the phases present in the microstructure. A very common and accurate method for this task is X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis, which requires sophisticated equipment and specialized personnel not always available outside the academic environment. The objective of the present work is to compare the conventional XRD technique with results obtained by magnetic saturation measurements in the identification and quantification of the fractions of the phases present in samples of an experimental steel based on AISI 52100 steel. The samples were austenitized in the field intercalated and isothermally treated using a quench dilatometer. The measurements of magnetic saturation used a specially designed equipment, the MagSat, built by Globalmag Transdutores Magnéticos Ltda. The magnetic saturation was compared to the magnetic saturation value of pure iron, the difference being proportional to the fraction of paramagnetic phases.