Development of in situ observation technique using scanning ion microscopy and demonstration of Mn depletion effect on intragranular ferrite transformation in low‐alloy steel

An in situ observation technique using scanning ion microscopy (SIM) to investigate the behaviour of phase transformation from austenite to ferrite in low‐alloy steel is proposed. The most important advantage of the technique is the combined observation by SIM and fabrication by focused ion beam (FIB) at a wide range of temperature, from room temperature to 1673 K. Using this advantage, we have developed a new technique for observing intragranular ferrite (IGF) transformation in low‐alloy steel, which is the phase transformation occurring at an inclusion existing inside a grain of austenite phase. We successfully observed the IGF transformation at 873 K by examining an inclusion exposed to the specimen surface by FIB fabrication at 1073 K during cooling from 1673 K. From the results of the in situ observation, we determined the role of Mn depletion due to precipitation of MnS for IGF transformation in steel.