Evolution of structure of rail steel lamellar pearlite under compression deformation

The article presents the results of analysis of evolution of the defective substructure of rail steel pearlite with lamellar morphology under deformation by uniaxial compression. The strain hardening of the studied steel under such deformation has a multistage character. Deformation of steel is accompanied by fragmentation of pearlite grains, which intensifies as the degree of deformation increases and reaches 0.4 of the studied foil volume at ε = 50 %. Fragments formed in ferrite plates are separated by low-angle boundaries. It was established that the average sizes of ferrite plate fragments decrease from 240 nm (ε = 15 %) to 200 nm (ε = 50 %) with an increase in the deformation degree. Fragmentation of cementite plates was revealed. It was found that the size of the fragments varies within 15 – 20 nm and weakly depends on the degree of steel deformation. Fracture of cementite lamellae, proceeding by their dissolution and cutting by mobile dislocations, was discovered. Carbon atoms that have passed from the crystal lattice of cementite to dislocations are carried out into the interlamellar space and form particles of tertiary cementite, the size of which is 2 – 4 nm. In the process of steel deformation, an inhomogeneous dislocation substructure is formed, which is due to the deceleration of dislocations by cementite particles. It was found that an increase in the deformation degree is accompanied by a decrease in the scalar and excess density of dislocations, which may be due to the escape of dislocations into low-angle boundaries, as well as their annihilation. It was established that the sources of internal stress fields are the interfaces between pearlite grains and colonies, cementite plates in pearlite grains, particles of the second phase located in the volume of ferrite plates.