Variant selection during the γ-to-αb phase transformation in hot-rolled bainitic TRIP-aided steels

The variant selection phenomenon during the austenite to bainite phase transformation in hot-rolled TRIP-aided steels was quantitatively characterized at the level of individual austenite grains. The reconstruction of the electron backscatter diffraction maps provided evidence that bainite grows by packets of laths sharing a common {1 1 1}γ plane in the austenite. The affect of hot deformation is to reduce the number of packets that form. It is suggested that slip activity is important in understanding this effect.