The amount of retained austenite (γ
R) in high-carbon alloy steels (0.99%C-2.86%Cr and 1.00%C-4.99%Ni) under application of stresses (tension, compression and bending) while the steels are cooling has been studied as a function of the kind of stress and the temperature of loading. The principal results may be summarized as follows. (1) When the steels are transformed under application of stress, the amount of γ
R was increased by tensile stress and decreased by compressive stress. These findings are quite contrary to the expectation of the accepted opinion that the martensite transformation is promoted by shear stress and normal tensile stress but is inhibited by normal compressive stress. (2) It was observed that the steels which were loaded at the range only above Ms temperature indicated the same effect as in (1) above i.e. γ
R was increased by tension and decreased by compression. This is contradictory to the opinion that work hardening causes mechanical stabilization of austenite, for if we follow this opinion γ
R must be increased by compressive stress, as much as by tensile stress. (3) At the range below
Tc temperature at which the effect of stress begins, the amount of γ
R was decided by the width of the temperature range in which the load was applied, i.e. a temporary application of stress or deformation has little effect on γ
R. Therefore it seems that the grade of stabilization of austenite in the present work is little affected by deformation but mainly by the stress itself during cooling. (4)
Tc temperature of compressive stress was higher about 50∼100°C more than
Tc of tensile stress. In medium carbon alloy steel (0.58%C-4.02%Ni), the amount of γ
R was not changed by the tensile stress but decreased clearly by the compressive stress.
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