Nucleation and three-dimensional morphology of intragranular ferrite in a vanadium microalloyed steel

The formation of intragranular ferrite at inclusions was analyzed by SEM-EDX in a vanadium microalloyed steel with an excess amount of sulfur. The precipitation of MnS at aluminum oxides may result in Mn depletion, which, in turn, promotes the formation of intragranular ferrite. The morphology of intragranular ferrite changed with undercooling. At higher temperatures intragranular ferrite is nearly equiaxed whereas it is plate-like at lower temperatures.