A collaborative study on quantitative measurement of steel phase transformation (QMST) done by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) in cooperation with over a dozen companies has resulted in a recently approved new ASTM standard, A 1033, Practice for Quantitative Measurement and Reporting of Hypoeutectoid Carbon and Low-Alloy Steel Phase Transformations. The collaborative study, sponsored by the U.S. Dept. of Energy under AISI's Technology Roadmap Project, also resulted in the production of extensive and detailed steel phase transformation data for medium-carbon grade SAE 1050 and alloy steel SAE 8620.
This type of information has become important because it is necessary for process simulation models that are used to predict residual stress, distortion and microstructure evolution that occurs during manufacturing practices such as steelmaking, forging, and heat treating. Prior to the study, this type of data had been collected using nonstandardized techniques, resulting in a wide variety of data that was not always useful for process optimization in manufacturing operations.
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