SANS study of the random VC precipitation kinetics in Nanosteels

Nano-steels are a new generation of Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS), extremely suitable for lightweight automotive applications. The matrix of the steel, which provides ductility and stretch, is significantly strengthened by manometer-sized precipitates, which can increase the strength level by 30-50%. These steels contain different micro-alloying additions, such as vanadium (V) and molybdenum (Mo), which form the essential nano-precipitates. A resource-efficient use of these alloying additions requires further knowledge on the formation kinetics of these nanometer-sized vanadium carbides (VC). The formation of these nano-scale VC precipitates can be achieved by two mechanisms: (a) random precipitation from supersaturated ferrite and/or (b) interphase precipitation. Our previous studies have focused on interphase precipitation. In this experiment we want to explore random precipitation. Our aim is to measure the random VC-precipitation kinetics in NANO-steel by SANS and elucidate the effects of V addition.