The influence of martensite on line broadening in neutron diffraction spectra of a DP steel

Neutron diffraction experiments were performed on dual-phase steels to determine the feasibility of measuring the martensite volume fraction through ferrite peak broadening. Mechanical properties were also investigated to determine if a correlation exists with ferrite peak broadening. Results indicate that the correlation between martensite volume fraction and ferrite peak broadening is carbon dependent. Furthermore, two mechanisms regarding the nature of the ferrite peak broadening in dual-phase steels are proposed. Tensile testing demonstrated that a correlation between peak broadening and mechanical properties exists for dual-phase steels