Abstract
Dislocation structure produced by decarburizing of austenitic steel was studied by means of electron microscopy. A characteristic dislocation structure was observed in the diffusion zone. The Burgers vector of the dislocations was determined by using the computer simulation technique. It was found that the greater part of dislocations formed by interstitial diffusion were glissile ones. The present results differ from the previous data on substitutional diffusion. This can be ascribed to the fact that the mechanism of dislocation motion during the diffusion process is closely related to the character of dislocations in the diffusion zone. In the case of interstitial diffusion, it appears that the dislocation motion takes place primarily by the glide mechanism as diffusion proceeds. Analysis of the Burgers vectors suggests that the lattice strain caused by the carbon concentration gradient is the origin of formation of the dislocation structure in the diffusion zone.
