Contribution to The Knowledge of The Action of Boron in The Dual Structure of a Steel 30MnB5 by Means of X-Ray Diffraction

Abstract

The new thermal treatment of subcritical annealing and water quenching, applied to boron steels (30MnB5), which we propose in our research, achieve excellent variability in mechanical properties, as a result of obtaining a very versatile dual structure. In addition, there is a significant reduction in energy consumption and process time, which results in the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and process costs. The presence of boron favours the success of the thermal treatment. The explanation of the process has been investigated by means of a metallographic study, mechanical characterization and in this work the results obtained by means of the study of the treated and untreated samples by means of X-Ray diffraction are presented. The presence of very small FeB crystals in the structure are the cause of the dual structure and its good characteristics. They have only been detected by X-Ray Diffraction, although we have also tried Transmission Electron Microscopy with unclear results.