| Abstract Scope |
In recent years, many researches are being conducted for the development and commercialization of lightweight steels. Generally, lightweight steels are based on the Fe-Mn-Al-C system and it has been reported that they have excellent mechanical properties by the precipitation of nano-sized κ-carbides within the austenitic matrix.
In this study, we investigated the changes in the microstructure and mechanical properties of lightweight steels according to variations in cooling patterns after solution treatment. For this purpose, we prepared lightweight steel plates containing different Al, C, Mo, and Cr contents and then carried out solution heat treatment quenched by three cooling patterns of water quenching, air cooling, and furnace cooling. Microstructures of the samples were characterized using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, electron backscattered diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy analyses and their mechanical properties were measured by Vickers hardness, tensile, and impact tests. |