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Acta Materialia 59 (2011) 364–374

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Chemical gradients across phase boundaries between martensite

and austenite in steel studied by atom probe tomography and simulation
O. Dmitrieva a, D. Ponge a, G. Inden a, J. Millán a, P. Choi a, J. Sietsma b, D. Raabe a,⇑
a
Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung, Max-Planck-Str. 1, 40237 Düsseldorf, Germany
b
Delft University of Technology, Faculty 3mE, Dept. MSE, 2628 CD Delft, The Netherlands

Received 14 June 2010; received in revised form 2 September 2010; accepted 22 September 2010
Available online 18 October 2010

Abstract

Partitioning at phase boundaries of complex steels is important for their properties. We present atom probe tomography results across
martensite/austenite interfaces in a precipitation-hardened maraging-TRIP steel (12.2 Mn, 1.9 Ni, 0.6 Mo, 1.2 Ti, 0.3 Al; at.%). The sys-
tem reveals compositional changes at the phase boundaries: Mn and Ni are enriched while Ti, Al, Mo and Fe are depleted. More specific,
we observe up to 27 at.% Mn in a 20 nm layer at the phase boundary. This is explained by the large difference in diffusivity between
martensite and austenite. The high diffusivity in martensite leads to a Mn flux towards the retained austenite. The low diffusivity in
the austenite does not allow accommodation of this flux. Consequently, the austenite grows with a Mn composition given by local equi-
librium. The interpretation is based on DICTRA and mixed-mode diffusion calculations (using a finite interface mobility).
Ó 2010 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Precipitation hardening; High-strength steels; TRIP; Aging; Atom probe tomography

1. Introduction with the maraging (i.e. martensite aging) effect [12,13]. The
TRIP effect exploits the deformation-stimulated transfor-
Mn is among the most important alloying elements for mation of metastable retained austenite into martensite
the design of advanced high-strength steels, as it affects and the resulting plasticity required to accommodate
the stabilization of the austenite, the stacking fault energy the transformation misfit [1–7]. The maraging effect uses
and the transformation kinetics [1–11]. Besides these global the hardening of the heavily strained martensite through
mechanisms which are exploited particularly in designing the formation of nanosized intermetallic precipitates
steels with transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) and during aging heat treatment. The maraging-TRIP steels
twinning-induced plasticity (TWIP) effects, Mn has very used in this work reveal the surprising property that both
low diffusion rates in the austenite and a high segregation strength and total elongation increase upon aging, reaching
or respectively partitioning tendency at interfaces. This an ultimate tensile strength of nearly 1.3 GPa at an elonga-
context makes Mn (as well as the other elements discussed tion above 20% [12–14].
in this paper) a very interesting candidate for an atomic- The studied alloy contains 12.2 at.% Mn, low carbon
scale study of compositional changes across austenite/ content (0.05 at.%) and minor additions of Ni, Ti, Al and
martensite interfaces. Mo. Its microstructure after aging is characterized by the
The specific material studied in this work is a precipita- presence of up to 15–20 vol.% austenite, a fine martensite
tion-hardened alloy that we refer to as maraging-TRIP matrix, and dispersed nanoscaled Ni–Al–Mn-enriched
steel. It was developed by combining the TRIP mechanism zones [12–14]. Besides the increase in strength, a simulta-
neous increase of ductility was found upon aging. This
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +49 2116792325; fax: +49 2116792333. effect is interpreted in terms of sluggish reaustenitization
E-mail address: [email protected] (D. Raabe). during aging and the effect of tempering of the as-quenched

1359-6454/$36.00 Ó 2010 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.actamat.2010.09.042
 O. Dmitrieva et al. / Acta Materialia 59 (2011) 364–374 365

martensite [14]. Partial retransformation into austenite 3. Results

(besides the existing retained austenite) by a reconstructive
mechanism involving Mn partitioning might be responsible 3.1. Analysis of the 3-D atom probe reconstruction
for this process.
In order to elucidate this transformation phenomenon, 3.1.1. Manganese distribution
particularly the role of Mn, we focus in this work on the Fig. 1a gives a microstructure overview of the maraging-
analysis of nanoscale elemental diffusion gradients across TRIP steel after quenching and subsequent aging (48 h at
abutting martensite/retained austenite phase areas. Atom 450 °C). The upper micrograph is an electron backscatter
probe tomography (APT) is a characterization technique diffraction (EBSD) image where the cubic martensite is
that provides three-dimensional elemental mapping with plotted green and the retained austenite red (the retained
nearly atomic resolution and gives information on the austenite was already present in the as-quenched state
topology of interfaces and local chemical gradients [15– before aging [12–14]). The middle image shows a transmis-
27]. We conducted APT using an advanced local electrode sion electron microscopy (TEM) micrograph with precipi-
atom probe device (Imago LEAP 3000X HR). Both the tate-containing martensite and precipitate-free austenite.
two phases (austenite, martensite) and the interfaces The bottom image shows an APT reproduction which
between them were chemically analyzed at the atomic scale. includes both martensitic and austenitic zones. Ni atoms
Additionally, statistical thermodynamic and kinetic calcu- are shown in cyan and Mn atoms in blue. The yellow iso-
lations were conducted for the given initial and boundary surfaces indicate 18 at.% Mn. Note that the three images
values using Thermo-Calc [28,29] in conjunction with the reveal the hierarchy of the microstructure but the individ-
kinetic simulation software DICTRA [30–32] and with a ual images were not taken at precisely the positions indi-
mixed-mode kinetic approach that considers finite interface cated. Fig. 1b gives a local overview of the distribution of
mobility [33,34]. the Ni and Mn atoms in the center of the APT data set pre-
sented in Fig. 1a. For clarity, only a longitudinal section of
2. Experimental 20 nm thickness is shown, in which only 7.8% of all
detected Ni (cyan) and 1.5% of all Mn (dark blue) atoms
The investigated maraging-TRIP steel with a composi- are displayed. The whole analysis volume is about
tion of 12.2 Mn, 1.9 Ni, 0.6 Mo, 1.2 Ti, 0.1 Si, 0.3 Al and 4  105 nm3. Fig. 1a and b show three main zones that
0.05 C (at.%) was melted and cast in a vacuum induction fur- are separated by inclined plate-like Mn accumulations.
nace. Before final age hardening, a solution treatment was Ni-rich nanoprecipitates are dispersed in the left- and
performed in Ar atmosphere at 1050 °C for 0.5 h followed right-hand areas. Besides the Ni atoms, higher amounts
by water quenching. This led to a microstructure consisting of Al, Mn, and Ti were also detected in these clusters
of martensite and retained austenite. Final aging was con- (Table 1). In the center part between the Mn-enriched
ducted for 48 h at 450 °C. After aging the sample was plates, no precipitates appear. This observation strongly
quenched in water. Details of the alloy preparation have suggests that this zone corresponds to austenite, whereas
been published elsewhere [12–14]. the abutting areas containing precipitates are martensitic.
APT samples were prepared by electrochemical polish- Correlative TEM investigations conducted on this alloy
ing and subsequent sharpening using a focused ion beam in the same aging state (48 h, 450 °C) support the sugges-
device. Pulsed-laser APT was performed using a local elec- tion that the nanoparticles that are enriched in Ni, Al
trode atom probe (LEAPe 3000X HR, Imago Scientific and Mn formed in the martensitic microstructure while
Instruments) tomograph at a specimen temperature of the retained austenite (total volume fraction about 15–20
54 K. An ultrafast pulsed laser of 10 ps pulse width and vol.%) was precipitate-free [13,14] (Fig. 1a). From these
532 nm wavelength was applied at a frequency of observations we conclude that the present volume probed
250 kHz. The laser pulse energy was set to 0.4 nJ. The by APT contains an austenitic grain enclosed between
detection rate (target evaporation rate) amounted to 5 two martensitic grains. Quantitative chemical analysis of
atoms per 1000 pulses. Data analysis was performed using the interfaces between austenite and martensite was per-
the IVASÒ software from Imago Scientific Instruments. formed using 1-D concentration profiles computed over
The specific APT data set analyzed in this work contains the region of interest (transparent cylindrical units)
about 70 million ions. We used an evaporation field con- (Fig. 2a). We calculated the Mn content averaged over
stant of 26 V nm–1 for the atomic reconstruction. the 0.5 nm thick cross-sections of the cylinders at a profile
Phase fractions and the elemental compositions in ther- step size of 0.5 nm. For both interfaces, a strong increase in
modynamic equilibrium were calculated using the software the Mn content up to 27 at.% was observed (Fig. 2b). Away
Thermo-Calc [28]. The software DICTRA [30–32] and a from the interface, the content of Mn within the austenite
mixed-mode kinetic approach including finite interface amounts to about 12 at.% which is close to the average
mobility [33,34] were applied to simulate diffusion-con- chemical composition of the alloy. Within the bulk mar-
trolled phase transformations. The simulations were per- tensite the Mn content amounts to about 10 at.%. Mn
formed using the thermodynamic database TCFE6 [29] depletion in the martensite down to 6 at.% was observed
and the mobility database MOB2. close to the interface.
366 O. Dmitrieva et al. / Acta Materialia 59 (2011) 364–374

In order to exclude the contribution of the precipitates

from the chemical profile within the martensitic area, we
separately measured the 1-D concentration profiles within
the martensitic matrix after removing the precipitate zones
from the analysis volume (described in detail below). The
reason for this procedure is that the martensitic area is in
itself a two-phase region consisting of martensite and pre-
cipitates. Hence, we aim with this method at the separation
of the martensite elemental composition and the precipitate
elemental composition. These two corrected profiles, con-
taining only the martensite composition, are included in
Fig. 2b on the left-hand side in the martensitic area marked
“M”. The curves are separated from the profile across the
interface and in the austenite (“A”).

3.1.2. Distribution of other alloying elements

Fig. 3 shows the concentration profiles for the other
alloying elements across one of the martensite/austenite
phase boundary zones. The area selected is indicated by
“Mn layer 2” in Fig. 2a. In addition to Mn (which is
studied here in more detail owing to its relevance for
high-strength steels), all other elements also reveal a strong
partitioning between the two phases. While Mn is enriched
by about 2.1 times within the interface boundary layer rel-
ative to its average content in the alloy, Ni is accumulated
1.2 times in the same zone. All other elements are depleted
in the interface zone: Ti decays by a factor of about 6.9
times relative to the average content, Al by a factor of
6.6, Mo 2.0 and Fe 1.2. Another important observation
is the large chemical width of the phase boundary zone:
the enrichment zone associated with the austenite/martens-
ite interface extends over a length of about 20 nm normal
to the boundary segment studied.

3.1.3. Chemical analysis of the nanoparticles and of the alloy

matrix
The nanoparticles detected in the martensite were ana-
lyzed using a cluster search algorithm implemented in the

3
Fig. 1. (a) Microstructure overview of the maraging-TRIP steel after
quenching and subsequent aging (48 h at 450 °C). The upper micrograph
is an EBSD image where the cubic martensite is plotted green and the
retained austenite red (the retained austenite was already present in the as-
quenched state before aging). The middle image shows a TEM micrograph
with precipitate-containing martensite and precipitate-free austenite. The
bottom image shows an APT reproduction which includes both martens-
itic and austenitic zones. Ni atoms are given in cyan and Mn atoms in
blue. The yellow isosurfaces indicate 18 at.% Mn. Note that the three
images correctly reveal the hierarchy of the microstructure but the
individual images were not taken at precisely the positions indicated. (b)
20 nm thick middle layer slice through the APT reconstruction of the
maraging-TRIP steel shown in (a). Ni atoms (cyan symbols) are
accumulated in precipitates in the martensitic grains (left- and right-hand
side). The precipitate-free austenite (right-hand center) is bordered by
plate-like zones that are characterized by strong Mn enrichment (blue
symbols). Red dotted lines illustrate the suggested crystallographic
positions of the phase boundaries between martensite and austenite.
 O. Dmitrieva et al. / Acta Materialia 59 (2011) 364–374 367

Fig. 1 (continued)

Table 1
(Experimental results) Elemental composition of the alloy measured globally on the as-cast sample using wet chemical analysis (total content melt) and
obtained locally from the APT measurement on the specimen volume containing a martensite/austenite phase boundary of 450 °C/48 h aged steel (total
content APT; martensite; austenite). Enrichment factors are calculated as the relation between the elemental content within the particles to the total
content of element in the alloy.
Chemical content, at.% Total content (melt) Total content (in APT) Martensite Austenite
Total Matrix Particles Enrichment factor
Fe 83.71 83.21 84.38 86.82 40.32 0.48 83.53
Mn 12.19 12.34 11.10 10.29 26.07 2.35 12.17
Ni 1.90 2.26 2.32 0.99 25.79 11.12 2.01
Ti 1.17 1.10 1.09 0.98 3.23 2.96 1.14
Mo 0.58 0.60 0.60 0.62 0.27 0.45 0.60
Al 0.31 0.33 0.34 0.14 4.08 12.0 0.38
Si 0.10 0.16 0.15 0.14 0.24 1.6 0.16
C 0.046 0.006 0.001 0.001 0 0.006

Fig. 2. Quantitative chemical analysis of the interface regions between martensite and austenite (APT results). (a) Atomic map section showing both phase
boundaries. Isoconcentration surfaces for the chemical distribution of Mn atoms (blue) were plotted at 18 at.% (yellow). 1-D profiles along the cylindrical
units (cyan) provide chemical gradients of elements across the phase boundaries. (b) Gradients in Mn content across the phase boundaries (martensite to
austenite).

IVASÒ software. For cluster identification, the following chemical composition of the clusters is summarized in
parameters as identified by the optimization procedure per- Table 1. The calculation of the enrichment factors that
formed within the cluster search algorithm were used: were determined as a relation between the content within
dmax = 0.6 nm (maximal distance between the solute atoms the particles relative to the total content of the same ele-
belonging to a cluster), Nmin = 50 (minimal number of sol- ments in the entire alloy reveals a strong precipitation char-
ute atoms in the cluster), L = 0.57 nm (envelope distance: acter of Ni and Al atoms within the clusters. Enrichment in
all non-solute ions within a distance L of solute ions are Mn and Ti was also detected in the particles. For estimat-
included in the cluster), de = 0.55 nm (erosion distance: ing the chemical composition of the surrounding matrix
all clustered non-solute ions within a spacing de of any (without the precipitates), the detected clusters were
ion outside of its assigned cluster are removed from the removed from the overall reconstruction, and the composi-
particle). The cluster search was conducted for the distribu- tion of the residual matrix volume was calculated again.
tion of the Ni atoms that are enriched in the particles. The For this purpose, different cluster search parameters were
368 O. Dmitrieva et al. / Acta Materialia 59 (2011) 364–374

Fig. 3. Experimental APT results. (a) Concentration profiles for all elements across one of the martensite/austenite phase boundaries (see interface
referred to as “Mn layer 2” in Fig. 2a). (b) Quantitative characterization of the enrichment or depletion of the elements within the chemical phase
boundary.

Fig. 4. Compositional changes in the austenite/martensite interface region (APT results). (a) Atomic map section showing a phase boundary between
austenite (left) and martensite (right). Isoconcentration surfaces plotted at 18 at.% Mn (dark yellow) correspond to the highest Mn gradient and indicates
the positions of the original and the final phase boundaries (PB) (see text). The compositional changes at the final PB are revealed by plotting
isoconcentration surfaces for Ti (at 8 at.%), Mo (at 5 at.%), and Si (at 3 at.%). (b) Chemical composition of the Ti–Mo–Si-rich partitioning estimated from
the APT data.

used (dmax = 1.0 nm, Nmin = 50, L = 0.97 nm, de = 0.95 nm) same content and element distribution was also observed
which allow inclusion of more material in the clusters and at the other martensite/austenite interface (not shown in
ensure that after exclusion of the clusters no residual material Fig. 4a). The average chemical composition within the
remains. The composition of the matrix without the particles region is summarized in the table in Fig. 4b. The enrich-
is presented in Table 1. ment factors reveal strong compositional increase of Ti,
Mo and Si, and strong depletion of Al. The relative concen-
3.1.4. Observation of compositional changes within the trations of Fe, Ti and Mo within that region are 75:17:8,
martensite/austenite interface region suggesting the formation of a Laves phase, which accord-
By computing the isoconcentration surfaces for all sol- ing to Thermo-Calc should be formed at a composition
ute elements from the experimental data we detected of Fe 67 at.%, Ti 23 at.%, and Mo 10 at.%.
changes in composition of Mo, Ti and Si in the martens-
ite/austenite interface region. Fig. 4a shows isosurfaces 3.2. Thermodynamic calculations
for Mo, Ti and Si concentrations of 5, 8 and 3 at.%, respec-
tively. The position of this region overlaps with the posi- 3.2.1. Prediction of the phase equilibrium composition
tion of the isoconcentration surface plotted at 18 at.% Using Thermo-Calc, the equilibrium compositions of sta-
Mn and, more specifically, corresponds to the range of ble phases at 450 °C were calculated taking into account the
the highest Mn gradient. A similar region with nearly the total nominal composition of the alloy and all possible
 O. Dmitrieva et al. / Acta Materialia 59 (2011) 364–374 369

Table 2
Equilibrium phases at 450 °C in the investigated maraging-TRIP steel as obtained by Thermo-Calc calculations quantified in terms of molar fractions
(TCFE6 database).
Phase Mole fraction Fe Mn Ni Ti Mo Al Si C
bcc 0.576 95.972 3.064 0.098 0.165 0.113 0.494 0.094 –
fcc 0.377 67.251 27.569 4.887 0.053 0.077 0.041 0.122 –
Laves 0.046 65.911 0.763 – 22.321 11.005 – – –
TiC 0.001 – – – 54.046 – – – 45.954

competing phases available in the database [28,29]. The most of the nanoprecipitates were indeed associated with
results of the Gibbs energy minimization technique predicts dislocations, which supports the assumption that the pipe
four phases in thermodynamic equilibrium: body-centered mechanism may strongly assist diffusion within the mar-
cubic (bcc: ferrite/martensite), face-centered cubic (fcc: aus- tensite. In order to take into account the variation of com-
tenite), TiC and a Laves phase. The calculated molar frac- position in the ferrite due to the precipitation of particles,
tions for each phase and their chemical compositions are an average composition was used for the ferrite phase
listed in Table 2. It is important to point out that such calcu- (see Fig. 5b). Martensite is not included as a separate phase
lation does not predict the presence of the nanosized parti- in the thermodynamic and kinetic databases as the thermo-
cles due to the limited availability of thermodynamic data dynamic properties of martensite are very much the same
related to various other possible intermetallic phases in com- as those of ferrite. Therefore, in the thermodynamic calcu-
plex maraging steels. At a temperature of 450 °C, a Mn con- lations, martensite is represented as ferrite. The kinetic
tent of about 26.7 and 3.3 at.% is expected in the retained parameters, however, may deviate between the two phases
austenite and in the ferrite (martensite), respectively. owing to the defect structure and distortion of the martens-
ite. To date, no detailed information is available on the
3.2.2. Diffusion simulations using DICTRA effect of these conditions on possible changes in the kinetic
For simulation of the kinetic behavior in the vicinity of parameters between ferrite and martensite.
the martensite/austenite interface, linear cell geometry is The size of the cell is fixed during the simulation
appropriate [30]. The kinetic effects to be studied are con- (20 lm), whereas the interface between the two regions is
fined to very small spatial ranges. Within this scale the mobile. The conditions at the moving interface are deter-
interfaces are planar in shape and their movement is verti- mined by the local equilibrium assumption, i.e. the chemi-
cal to the plane. The size of the cell was chosen as 20 lm cal potentials of all diffusing elements assume the same
(see Fig. 5a). The cell was divided into two regions, one value in ferrite and austenite. The value of the potentials
corresponding to ferrite, the other to austenite. The space is controlled by the mass balance condition. Diffusion of
in each region is discretized as a linear grid. The distribu- Mn, Mo, Ni, Si and Ti atoms was considered in the calcu-
tion of the grid points is chosen with a high density close lation. The simulation was performed for an aging temper-
to the interface. The grid is defined in terms of geometric ature 450 °C and stopped at 180,000 s (50 h).
series. The compositions of ferrite and austenite were taken The composition profile of Mn between ferrite and aus-
according to the values determined via the APT character- tenite after an annealing time of 50 h at 450 °C is presented
ization for the austenitic and martensitic matrices, respec- in Fig. 6. The interface has moved towards the ferrite side,
tively. In the martensitic matrix we detected a slight Mn leaving behind an austenite layer with drastically changed
depletion down to 10.3 at.%. This can be attributed to composition. This result is in qualitative agreement with
the formation of nanoprecipitates. Within martensite, a the experimental data presented in Fig. 2b. However, the
large number of lattice defects, particularly dislocations, width of the predicted Mn-rich interfacial layer is too small
enhance the atomic diffusion in this phase. Our previous and, correspondingly, the extent of the Mn depletion zone
TEM-based studies on this material [12,13] revealed that in ferrite is also relatively small. This discrepancy indicates

Fig. 5. (a) Linear cell model set-up with ferrite and austenite as used in the DICTRA simulation. The spatial grid is defined in terms of a geometric series
with a high density of grid points close to the interface. (b) Composition of the austenite and ferrite phases used as input for the DICTRA simulation.
370 O. Dmitrieva et al. / Acta Materialia 59 (2011) 364–374

that the mobility of Mn in the martensitic matrix must be

higher than it is in ferrite. Therefore, the simulations were
repeated with increased mobilities of the elements in the
ferrite. The results of the simulations with a factor 12
and 45, respectively, for the enhanced mobilities in mar-
tensite are shown in Fig. 7. The result in Fig. 7b (45 times
enhanced Mn mobility in martensite) is in excellent agree-
ment with the experimental results in Fig. 2b. This applies
for the depletion profile of Mn in the martensite and also
for the Mn-enriched interface zone.
In view of this good agreement, the profiles of the other
elements should also be analyzed. Fig. 8a shows the com-
position profiles of some of the elements for a mobility fac-
tor of 45. Fig. 8b presents the predicted enrichment or
depletion of the other elements, respectively, in the same
way as for the experimental results. The partitioning ten-
Fig. 6. DICTRA calculation of the Mn distribution at the martensite/
austenite phase boundary. Martensite is thermodynamically and kineti- dencies of the elements are the same as observed in the
cally treated as ferrite. The calculation was done for 450 °C (aging experiment (compare Figs. 3a and b and 8a and b). The
temperature). The result is shown for the 180,000 s time step (50 h). predicted enrichment of Mn and Ni and the depletion of
Mo within the interfacial austenite layer are in good quan-
titative agreement with the experiments. For Ti and Si, the
decrease is less pronounced in the simulation than in the
experiment.
We estimated the mean diffusion paths of Mn atoms in
both phases using the diffusion coefficients obtained for
450 °C using DICTRA (Mob2 database). The diffusion con-
stant of Mn atoms in a bcc iron matrix (ferrite) was
Dbcc = 1.75  1022 m2 s–1 and in the fcc iron matrix
Dfcc = 5.86  1024 m2 s–1. The mean diffusion path k of
Mn atoms for an aging time of t = 48 h was calculated using
the volume diffusion equation for cubic metals: k = (6tD)½.
The mean diffusion path of Mn atoms in the bcc lattice was
about 13 nm and in the fcc lattice only about 2.5 nm. Thus,
the diffusion length of Mn in bcc is significantly larger than in
the fcc lattice. When correcting the mobility of the atoms by
a factor of 45, as explained above, the diffusion constant in
ferrite (which can be then treated as martensite) is
7.56  1021 m2 s–1. For this case, the mean diffusion path
of Mn in bcc increases from 13 to about 90 nm.

4. Discussion

4.1. Phase boundary motion with infinite interface mobility in

the DICTRA approach

The global equilibrium calculated with Thermo-Calc

(see Table 2) predicts a high amount of Mn in the retained
austenite (27.6 at.%) and a low value (3 at.%) in ferrite.
Hence, during aging a redistribution of Mn is expected.
However, the global equilibrium only indicates the long
term trends. The actual situation at the phase boundary
is controlled by a local equilibrium.
It is not possible to visualize graphically equilibria in
multicomponent systems. Therefore, the following discus-
Fig. 7. DICTRA calculation of the Mn distribution at the martensite/
austenite interface. Martensite is thermodynamically and kinetically sion will be done considering only three components: Fe,
treated as ferrite, but the mobility of the elements is increased by a factor Mn and Ni. Fig. 9 shows the ternary phase diagram at
of 12 (a) and 45 (b), respectively. 450 °C. The initial compositions of martensite (filled
 O. Dmitrieva et al. / Acta Materialia 59 (2011) 364–374 371

Fig. 8. Results of DICTRA calculations. (a) Composition profiles of all elements included in the DICTRA simulation. (b) Quantitative characterization of
the calculated profiles. (c) Element contents at the new interface between martensite and austenite at 450 °C for the given global composition.

than in the matrix. The range of possible local equilibrium

tie-lines is thus confined to those originating from Ni con-
centrations in martensite below the value in the a-matrix,
a=c
i.e. xNi < xaNi . This composition range is marked in Fig. 9
by a bold phase boundary. The operating local equilibrium
tie-line is defined by the fluxes of Ni and Mn. The interface
displacement caused by these fluxes must be the same for
every diffusing element. The resulting operating local tie-
line is indicated in Fig. 9, showing the difference to that
of global equilibrium.
Due to the low diffusivity in austenite, the fluxes lead to
an interface displacement towards martensite. The layer of
increased Mn is the result of the partitioning imposed by
the local equilibrium tie-line during the formation of aus-
tenite. Epitaxial formation of this aging-induced austenite
at the phase boundary of the existing austenite is likely.
The overall agreement between experiment and simula-
tion is very good. There is a slight difference in the Mn
composition at the martensite boundary though. The
experiments yield a value of about 5–6 at.% Mn, while
Fig. 9. Isothermal section of the Fe–Mn–Ni ternary system. The starting the simulation gives a value of 3 at.%. There are two pos-
composition of austenite (filled circle) and martensite (filled square) are sibilities to explain this difference. (i) It could be an effect of
indicated. The global equilibrium tie-line is shown as a broken line. The the resolution of the experiment. The transition from the
bold part of the ferrite phase boundary indicates the range of possible
local equilibrium tie-lines.
low concentration at the martensite boundary to the very
high concentration at the austenite interface occurs shar-
ply. It is, therefore, plausible that close to this abrupt tran-
square) and austenite (filled circle) are within the two-phase sition the Mn signal is slightly contaminated by the
region a + c. The global equilibrium tie-line is shown by a elevated Mn concentration, leading to a slightly increased
dotted line. The slope of the tie-lines indicates that at the composition close to the boundary. (ii) It could be due to
austenite phase boundary the level of both Mn and Ni the finite mobility of the interface. The local equilibrium
must be higher than in the matrix. Conversely, the level approach implies that the interface can move freely. A
of Mn and Ni at the martensite boundary must be lower finite mobility of the interface (see details in the next
372 O. Dmitrieva et al. / Acta Materialia 59 (2011) 364–374

velocity, can be simulated for binary Fe–Mn on the basis

of two assumptions [33]. The first one is that the driving
force is proportional to the deviation from equilibrium:
DG ¼ vðxac a
Mn Þ  xMn ð2Þ
where the indices ac denote the equilibrium concentration
in the a-phase (martensite) in equilibrium with c (austen-
ite), and xaMn is the Mn concentration in martensite at the
interface. In the case of partitioning Mn, the proportional-
ity factor v is negative. The second assumption is that the
diffusion in the parent martensitic a-phase leads to a con-
centration profile that can be described by an exponential
function:
 
z
xMn ¼ x0 þ ðxaMn  x0 Þ exp  ð3Þ
z0
Fig. 10. Velocity of the interface a/c as a function of time. with the spatial coordinate z = 0 at the interface. The width
parameter z0 follows from the values of M and D and the
section) leads to a slower interface velocity than that given equilibrium and overall (x0) concentrations [33]. Diffusion
by the local equilibrium. Consequently, the boundary con- of Mn in the austenite is so slow that it can be neglected.
dition has to be adapted such that the mass balance is in The experimental profile in Fig. 2b shows a Mn concen-
accordance with the velocity. This effect, however, should tration in the a-phase at the interface of 5–6 at.%, which is
become more relevant at rather high interface velocities. slightly larger than the equilibrium value of 3.3 at.%. This
In the present case of low temperature the interface velocity would imply a deviation from local equilibrium. Using the
is small (see Fig. 10). This velocity range is more than six value of the interface mobility M as an adaptable parame-
orders of magnitude smaller than usual velocities occurring ter and the same enhanced Mn diffusivity (factor 45) as
during the transition between austenite and ferrite at tem- used in the DICTRA simulations above, the Mn profile
peratures of about 700 °C or higher. We anticipate, there- in the martensitic phase can be adequately reproduced
fore, that the finite interface mobility effect might play a (Fig. 11). The final profile (t = 180,000 s) is given, but also
second-order role in the current case as discussed in more an intermediate stage, after 28,000 s. It is revealed that the
detail in the next section. deviation from equilibrium is larger in the earlier stages of
the transformation. The calculations were conducted for a
4.2. Phase boundary motion with finite interface mobility in value of v = –12.8 kJ mol–1, determined with Thermo-
the mixed-mode approach Calc, and a mobility of M = 2  10–21 m4 J–1 s–1 at
T = 450 °C. The simulated results reveal an excellent
The simulation of a partitioning phase transformation
with DICTRA as outlined above is based on the assump-
tion that Mn diffusion is controlling the transformation
kinetics. In a more generalized mixed-mode approach
[33,34] the motion of the interface during the transforma-
tion is defined by its velocity, v, given by:
v ¼ MDG ð1Þ
where DG is the free-energy difference between the phases,
acting as the driving force for transformation, and M is the
interface mobility. In the purely diffusion-controlled trans-
formation, such as discussed above, M is assumed to be
infinite, which means that the interface instantaneously re-
acts to any deviation of the local concentration from equi-
librium, thus restoring the local equilibrium. If M is finite,
however, a certain balance is established between diffusion
(in the case of Mn in a increasing the interface concentra-
tion, which increases the driving force) and interface mo- Fig. 11. Results of the mixed-mode predictions of the Mn profile across
the austenite/martensite interfaces. In contrast to the DICTRA simula-
tion (decreasing the Mn concentration at the interface,
tion, here the interface mobility is taken into account [33]. The mixed-
which decreases the driving force). For given values of M mode simulation results for two aging times (red points: 28,000 s; yellow
and the diffusivity D, the resulting value of the interface points: 180,000 s) are plotted together with the experimental data (red and
concentration, and thus of the driving force and the black lines, see Fig. 2b).
 O. Dmitrieva et al. / Acta Materialia 59 (2011) 364–374 373

agreement with the experiments (Fig. 11). The mobility The partitioning at the martensite/austenite interface
value, however, is distinctly smaller than the mobility data leads to the formation and growth of a new austenite layer
for the standard c ? a transformation around T = 800 °C, on the existing retained austenite with drastically changed
when extrapolating with the commonly used activation composition compared to the bulk. It is to be expected that
energy for the mobility of 140 kJ mol–1. such a layer will have an effect on the mechanical properties.
The mixed-mode approach uses the interface mobility as In the present case, this layer is likely to be one of the micro-
an adaptable parameter. This approach is particularly use- structural changes during aging that might be responsible
ful in cases where the transition is not fully controlled by for the unexpected increase in ductility after the annealing
diffusion. In such cases the local chemical equilibrium con- treatment [12]. The other contribution for increasing the
dition cannot be fulfilled. Instead, a difference in chemical ductility stems from the tempering of the martensitic matrix
potentials exists at the interface which provides the Gibbs during annealing and was reported elsewhere [36].
energy required for the motion of the interface. If the inter- By using the advanced APT technique we gained deep
face mobility is known and does act as a limiting kinetic insights into the chemical nature and dynamics of the mar-
factor, it may play an essential role in the formation of tensite/austenite phase boundary during aging. The theory-
the overall microstructure and hence should be included assisted 3-D chemical analysis at the nanoscale provides
in the corresponding predictions. significant enhancement of our understanding of partition-
ing affects and their relationship to phase transformation
4.3. Comparison and conclusions from the two simulation kinetics in multiphase steels.
methods
Appendix A. Supplementary material
The Mn distributions predicted by the calculations
revealed diffusion of Mn from the ferritic phase towards
Supplementary data associated with this article can be
the austenitic matrix and the accumulation of Mn at the
found, in the online version, at doi:10.1016/j.actamat.2010.
interface between these two regions. The composition pro-
09.042.
files obtained experimentally agree with the simulations pro-
vided that the mobilities of all alloying elements in
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