TEM investigation of ductile iron alloyed with vanadium

This article presents results of the processing and microstructure evolution of ductile cast iron, modified by an addition of vanadium. The ductile iron was austenitized closed to the solidus (1095 degrees C) for 100 h, cooled down to 640 degrees C and held on at this temperature for 16 h. The heat treatment led to the dissolution of primary vanadium-rich carbides and their subsequent re-precipitation in a more dispersed form. The result of mechanical tests indicated that addition of vanadium and an appropriate heat treatment makes age hardening of ductile iron feasible. The precipitation processes as well as the effect of Si content on the alloy microstructure were examined by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. It was shown that adjacent to uniformly spread out vanadium-rich carbides with an average size of 50 nm, a dispersoid composed of extremely small approximately 1 nm precipitates was also revealed.