The grain boundary of the pancake austenite (γ) is a predominant nucleation site for ferrite (α). If the thickness of the pancake γ becomes small through deformation, the thickness of the α grains that are formed at the γ grain boundaries is also expected to become as small as the thickness of the pancake γ. On this basis, the relationship between the thickness of the pancake γ (
THγ) and that of the grain boundary α (
THα) is studied both experimentally and theoretically for a 0.16C-0.4Si-1.5Mn steel. When
THγ is in the range of 30 to 300 μm,
THα is 6-7 μm and independent of
THγ. However, when
THγ is less than 20 μm,
THα decreases linearly with a decrease in
THγ. Since the volume fraction of the pearlite is assumed to be 0.25,
THα is expected to follow the relation
THα<0.75
THγ. The obtained relation was near
THα= 0.375
THγ. The geometrical soft impingement is attributed to the decrease of
THα.
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