A simple method to determine the complex carbonitride composition in multicomponent microalloyed austenite

A simple but comprehensive method is presented to determine the equilibrium composition of complex carbonitride precipitates and the matrix composition from the solubility products of the individual carbides and nitrides. The remarkable advantages of the present method over the thermodynamic model developed by Hillert are that the equations are much simpler and can be easily generalized to include several elements in carbide or nitride lattice. The calculated results from the present method are compared with the experimental results of Speer et al. and a good agreement between them is achieved.