Retained Austenite benefits or avoidance requires dependable determination

Retained austenite can be disastrous or increase live of heat treated components. However, discussions on the right amount of retained austenite are only meaningful when measured correctly. The proper determination in microstructures samples requires a trained metallurgist and still remains to be very subjective to the individuals eye. Company standards of microstructure tables are used as individual solution. Albeit factual results are only achievable with the use of a x-ray diffractometer. This paper discusses practical experience of metallurgical results and shows state of the art solutions as today standard. The results of the findings are individually compared and critically discussed.