Investigation of the morphology and topology of lamellar and grained pearlite from 1.1625 steel at the submicron level

Abstract

The paper presents the results of a study of the submicron structure of carbon eutectoid steel by the atomic force microscopy, carried out in accordance with current international standards. The study was carried out on samples obtained in two ways: complete annealing and annealing for granular perlite. The first sample had the structure of lamellar perlite, the second – granular pearlite. The presence of these structures was controlled by optical microscopy and hardness measurements by the Rockwell method. Sample preparation included cutting, grinding, polishing, and etching. The quantitative assessment of the structural components of perlite was carried out using the ImageJ application package. The volume fraction of ferrite was about 88%. The topology and morphology of the surfaces are studied by atomic force microscopy in the discontinuous-contact mode. The amplitude characteristics of the surfaces, the shape and size of the structural components of perlite are determined. It is shown that the performed analysis of the submicron structure makes it possible to uniquely identify the phase components of the steel.

Keywords

• eutectoid steel
• granular perlite
• lamellar perlite
• submicrostructure
• atomic force microscopy