Atom Probe and Mössbauer Spectroscopy Investigations of Cementite Dissolution in a Cold Drawn Eutectoid Steel

Mössbauer spectrum and three dimensional atom probes (3DAP) were combined to investigate the mechanism of cementite dissolution in a cold-drawn eutectoid steel at a true strain of 2.89. The experimental results suggest that the dislocations play an important role in the dissolution of the cementite by sweeping across the nano-scaled cementite, and transferring carbon from cementite to ferrite inducing cementite decomposition. The mechanism of cementite dissolution in the steel is discussed in association with the investigation of nonstoichiometric cementite structure after heavy deformation.