A concise energy barrier model for predicting Widmanstätten start temperature and transformation stasis in steels

Accurate prediction of both the Widmanstätten start (W_s) temperature and the transformation stasis requires a quantitative description of the energy barrier governing the growth of Widmanstätten ferrite. In this study, a concise model is developed by explicitly distinguishing the energy barriers associated with lengthening and thickening. The model adopts the lengthening barrier attributed to curvature and strain energies, and further incorporates the thickening barrier caused by strain energy, together with the diffusional dissipation of substitutional solute. The W_s temperature is predicted by the condition under which the energy barriers for both lengthening and thickening can be overcome, while transformation stasis occurs when the thickening barrier becomes insurmountable due to progressive carbon enrichment of untransformed austenite. The new model enables accurate prediction of the W_s temperatures across Fe-xC and Fe-0.1C-xMn/Ni/Si/Cr/Mo systems and the carbon enrichment in austenite at stasis in Fe-C-Mn and Fe-C-Mn-Si alloys.