j m a t e r r e s t e c h n o l .

2 0 1 9;8(5):4569–4576

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Original Article

Study of bainitic transformation kinetics in SAE

52100 steel

Yuming Pan a , Bingxu Wang b,∗ , Gary C. Barber a

a Automotive Tribology Center, Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Computer Science, Oakland University,
Rochester, Michigan, 48309, USA
b Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310018, PR China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The objective of this research was to investigate the bainitic formation in austempered SAE
Received 10 April 2019 52100 steel. The original microstructure of SAE 52100 steel consisted of spheroidized pearlite.
Accepted 1 August 2019 In the formation of bainite, SAE 52100 steel samples were austenitized at a temperature of
Available online 20 August 2019 849 ◦ C for 20 min, and then quickly quenched to the isothermal temperatures between 232 ◦ C
and 427 ◦ C for various holding times from 20 s to 120 min. The hardness and microstructure
Keywords: of austempered SAE 52100 samples were analyzed using a Rockwell C hardness tester and
SAE 52100 steel metallurgical optical microscope. In addition, the bainitic formation in SAE 52100 steel was
Austempering characterized using the theory of kinetic phase transformation. The activation energies
Bainite of lower bainite and upper bainite microstructure were found to be 4.72 × 104 J/mol and
Rockwell hardness 6.07 × 104 J/mol with frequency factors of 23.03 (1/s) and 273.65 (1/s), respectively.
Transformation kinetics © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the
CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

bainite microstructure can be classified into upper and lower

1. Introduction bainite in terms of the carbide precipitation. In upper bai-
nite, most of the carbide is present within the interface
SAE 52100 is an alloy steel with high carbon with chromium
between ferritic sheaves. In lower bainite, most of the car-
as an alloying element, which has been widely applied in
bide is formed inside the ferritic platelets without any carbon
rolling bearings [1]. The traditional heat treatment process for
transfer [5–7].
SAE 52100 steel consists of a quenching process followed by
Krishna et al. [8] investigated the impact toughness and
a tempering step at low temperature. The resulting tempered
wear resistance of austempered SAE 52100 steel produced at
martensite microstructure provides SAE 52100 steel with high
an austempering temperature of 340 ◦ C with holding dura-
strength and high fatigue resistance [2].
tions of 10 min, 20 min and 30 min. They found that the
An isothermal heat treatment process has been suggested
impact toughness of austempered SAE 52100 steel specimens
as an alternative process to produce bainite microstructure
increased when they extended the holding duration due to
in order to provide excellent mechanical properties includ-
the presence of more bainitic structure in the matrix. In their
ing high toughness, strength and wear resistance [3,4]. The
abrasion wear test, the wear loss of austempered specimens
was much lower than that of annealed specimens. Kar et al.
[9] applied a two-cycle austenitizing process (1st austenitizing
∗
Corresponding author. step: 1150 ◦ C, 60 min; 2nd austenitizing step: 900 ◦ C, 20 min)
E-mail: bingxuwang@126.com (B. Wang).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmrt.2019.08.001
2238-7854/© 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
4570 j m a t e r r e s t e c h n o l . 2 0 1 9;8(5):4569–4576

Table 1 – Composition of SAE 52100 Steel.

Element Percentage (%)

Fe 96.5–97.3
Cr 1.3–1.6
C 0.9–1.1
Mn 0.25–0.45
Si 0.15–0.3
S ≤0.025
P ≤0.025

followed by an isothermal thermal heat treatment step at

255 ◦ C with a holding time of 60 min on SAE 52100 steel.
Finally, they reported that using the two-cycle austenitizing
process could result in doubling of the fracture toughness as
compared with conventional quenched and tempered heat Fig. 1 – Microstructure of As-Received SAE 52100 Steel.
treatment. Kilicli et al. [10] demonstrated that varying austem-
pering temperature was more effective than varying holding
time in isothermal heat treatment on the fraction of bainite
produced in SAE 52100 steel. Bainite + martensite microstruc-
ture was found to yield high levels of hardness (55–64 HRC)
and enhanced impact toughness (24–54 Joule). Sari et al. [11]
found that nitrogen and carbon dioxide ion implantation
could be used to modify the mechanical properties of a wide
range of metals and alloys using plasma techniques for ion
sources and plasma surface treatment. The hardness of SAE
52100 samples could be increased 30–49% using N + 2 ions,
and 5–17% using co2+ ions. Chakraborty et al. [12] found that
an optimum austempering process (270 ◦ C, 30 min) followed
by water quenching can develop a bainite + martensite duplex
microstructure and improved levels of hardness (62HRC) and
tensile (2250 MPa) and impact strength (53 J).
In the past two decades, researchers have investigated Fig. 2 – Sketch of Heat Treatment Process.
the mechanical properties of austempered SAE 52100 steel.
However, few researchers thoroughly studied the formation
and morphological transformation of bainitic structure in the
matrix of SAE 52100. In this study, eight austempering tem- austenitized at 850 ◦ C (1560 ◦ F) for 20 min in a salt bath fur-
peratures and twenty-three holding times were utilized for nace. Then the fully austenitized specimens were rapidly
detailed analysis. The Rockwell hardness and microstructure transferred to another salt bath furnace for the austemper-
were studied using a hardness tester and optical microscopy. ing step. Eight different austempering temperatures of 232 ◦ C
Also, the transformation kinetics of bainitic formation are (450 ◦ F), 260 ◦ C (500 ◦ F), 288 ◦ C (550 ◦ F), 316 ◦ C (600 ◦ F), 343 ◦ C
characterized in this research. (650 ◦ F), 371 ◦ C (700 ◦ F), 399 ◦ C (750 ◦ F) and 427 ◦ C (800 ◦ F) and
twenty-three holding times of 20 s, 40 s, 60 s, 80 s, 100 s, 120 s,
150 s, 180 s, 210 s, 240 s, 270 s, 300 s, 360 s, 420 s, 480 s, 540 s,
2. Experimental procedure
570 s, 600 s, 1200 s, 1800 s, 3600 s, 5400 s and 7200 s were used,
respectively. The austempered specimens were cooled to room
2.1. Chemical composition temperature by water quenching. The sketch of the heat treat-
ment process is shown in Fig. 2. The molten salt bath furnaces
The chemical composition of the SAE 52100 steel used in this were used in this research in order to eliminate or minimize
research is shown in Table 1. the effects of any oxidation and decarburization.

2.2. Heat treatment process

2.3. Rockwell hardness measurement
2.2.1. As-received SAE 52100 steel
The hardness of the austempered SAE 52100 steel specimens
The microstructure of as-received SAE 52100 steel is shown in
were measured using a Rockwell C hardness tester. The spec-
Fig. 1. It can be seen that the spherodized carbide is uniformly
imens were ground and polished to produce smooth and
distributed in the ferrite substrate.
flat surfaces for accurate measurements. The hardness mea-
surement on each specimen was repeated three times and
2.2.2. Isothermal heat treatment process
averages were reported.
The fully spherodized SAE 52100 steel cylindrical specimens
with a diameter of 15 mm and thickness of 10 mm were first
 j m a t e r r e s t e c h n o l . 2 0 1 9;8(5):4569–4576
Fig. 3 – Rockwell C Hardness of Austempered SAE 52100 Steel with Different Isothermal Temperatures.
2.4. Metallurgical evaluation
The cylindrical specimens were hot mounted using polymer
resin powder. The surfaces of the mounted specimens were
ground using SiC sandpaper ranging from 240-grit to 1200-grit
and polished using 0.05 ␮m Al2 O3 suspension to a mirror-
like finish. Then, the mounted specimens were etched using
3% nital solution for approximately 2 s to 3 s. Finally, optical
microscopy was used to observe the microstructure of the SAE
52100 specimens.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Rockwell C hardness measurement
The hardness measurements of austempered SAE 52100 steel
specimens produced by various austempering temperatures
and holding times are plotted in Fig. 3. For all austem-
pering temperatures, it was found that the hardness drops
over a certain period and then gradually becomes flat. The
holding times when the hardness starts to drop and then
remains flat are defined as the beginning and ending points
of the bainitic transformation reaction from austenite. The
beginning point of bainitic transformation begins earlier with
4571
increasing austempering temperature. In addition, the slope
of the transition period became larger at higher austemper-
ing temperature. This is because the rate of carbon diffusion
is accelerated at high austempering temperature. The rate of
the transformation reaction was also accelerated by faster dif-
fusion of carbon at high temperature.
3.2. Morphological analysis of bainite
The microstructures of austempered SAE 52100 steel speci-
mens produced by various austempering temperatures and
holding times are shown in Fig. 4. The main components in
the matrix are bainite (black regions), martensite (dark brown
regions) and retained austenite (light-colored regions). The
amount of bainite increases significantly when using longer
holding times. Eventually, the matrix becomes 100% bainite.
The bainite platelets become coarse at higher austemper-
ing temperatures. The bainite produced when using lower
austempering temperatures between 232 ◦ C and 316 ◦ C con-
sists of narrow needle-like ferrite sheaves. However, the
bainite formed at higher austempering temperatures of 372 ◦ C
and 427 ◦ C are considered as upper bainite due to formation of
bainitic islands in the matrix. Both upper and lower bainite are
4572 j m a t e r r e s t e c h n o l . 2 0 1 9;8(5):4569–4576

Fig. 4 – Microstructures of Austempered SAE 52100 Steel with Different Austempering Temperatures and Holding Times (a)
232 ◦ C (450 ◦ F) (b) 260 ◦ C (500 ◦ F) (c) 288 ◦ C (550 ◦ F) (d) 316 ◦ C (600 ◦ F) (e) 343 ◦ C (650 ◦ F) (f) 372 ◦ C (700 ◦ F) (g) 399 ◦ C (750 ◦ F) (h)
427 ◦ C (800 ◦ F).
 j m a t e r r e s t e c h n o l . 2 0 1 9;8(5):4569–4576 4573

Fig. 4 – (Continued)

found in the microstructure of the SAE 52100 steel produced

Table 2 – Linear Regression Equations under Various
by an austempering temperature of 343 ◦ C. Austempering Temperatures.
Y232 = −11.458 + 3.111 × X R2 = 0.9242
3.3. Transformation kinetics study
Y260 = −6.7309 + 2.0057 × X R2 = 0.9295
Y288 = −9.8039 + 3.1764 × X R2 = 0.995
3.3.1. Phase transformation fraction Y316 = −7.6063 + 2.5737 × X R2 = 0.9578
The fraction of bainitic transformation was determined by Y343 = −5.477 + 1.9069 × X R2 = 0.9901
using hardness measurements, see Eq. 1. In Fig. 5, it can be Y371 = −6.6821 + 2.471 × X R2 = 0.7969
seen that the transformation rate increases when increasing Y399 = −9.0704 + 3.89 × X R2 = 0.8674
Y427 = −6.7581 + 3.0389 × X R2 = 0.778
the austempering temperatures.

H 0 − Ht
Xt = × 100% (1)
H0 − Hf Table 3 – The Values of “k” and “n” Obtained from
Linear Regression Equations.
Where: Austempering Temperature n K(1/s)
Xt – The fraction of bainitic transformation
232 ◦ C (450 ◦ F) 3.111 2.7×10−4
H0 – The initial hardness, which corresponds to the begin-
260 ◦ C (500 ◦ F) 2.0057 6.7×10−4
ning of the bainitic transformation reaction
288 ◦ C (550 ◦ F) 3.1764 1.07×10−3
Ht – The hardness measured at a specific holding time dur- 316 ◦ C (600 ◦ F) 2.5737 1.48×10−3
ing the bainitic phase transformation 343 ◦ C (650 ◦ F) 1.9069 2.09×10−3
Hf – The final hardness, which corresponds to the end of 371 ◦ C (700 ◦ F) 2.471 2.77×10−3
the bainitic transformation reaction 399 ◦ C (750 ◦ F) 3.89 5.77×10−3
The “Avrami” equation (Eq. 2) can be used to describe the 427 ◦ C (800 ◦ F) 3.0389 7.86×10−3

relationship between the phase transformation and specific

holding durations. For each austempering temperature.
ln [−ln (1 − X)] − lnk
n= (4)
Xt = 1 − exp(−ktn ) (2) lnt

Where:
X – Transformation fraction after a specific holding time
k – Rate coefficient of the transformation reaction
n – Slope of “Avrami” plot
The above Eq. 2 can be reorganized as follows (Eq.s 3 and
4) to determine the values of “k” and “n”.
ln [−ln (1 − X)] = lnk + nlnt
The values of “k” and “n” were obtained from the plots of
the organized “Avrami” equation. “k” was the y intercept of the
best fit line, and “n” was the slope of the regression equation.
The regression equations for each austempering temperature
are shown in Fig. 6.
The linear regression equations for each austempering
temperature are shown in Table 2. The values of “k” and “n”
(3) are summarized in Table 3.
4574 j m a t e r r e s t e c h n o l . 2 0 1 9;8(5):4569–4576

Fig. 5 – The Bainitic Transformation Fraction of Austempered SAE 52100 Steel for Different Austempering Temperatures.

3.3.2. Activation energy

Table 4 – The Values of “Q” and “A” for Upper and Lower
The activation energy is the minimum energy required to initi- Bainitic Transformation.
ate a chemical reaction. According to the “Arrhenius” equation J
Bainite Q ( mol ) A ( 1s )
(Eq. 5), the activation energy for both upper and lower bainite
was found as follows: Lower 4.72×10−4 23.03
Upper 6.07×10−4 273.65

ke−Q/RT = A × (5)

Where: 4. Summary and conclusions

k – Rate coefficient of the transformation reaction
A – Reaction frequency factor [1/s]
R – General gas constant 8.31 [J/mol × K]
Q – Activation energy
T – Temperature [K]
The above “Arrhenius” equation can be rewritten as shown
in equation 6 to determine the values of “Q” and “A”. The plots
of “lnk” versus “1/T” are shown in Fig. 7.
The values of “Q” and “A” can be determined by the slope
of the regression line and intercept with Y axis, see Table 4.
Q
lnk = − RT + lnA (6)
In this research, austempered SAE 52100 steel specimens were
produced using various austempering temperatures and hold-
ing times. The Rockwell C hardness and microstructure of
bainitic SAE 52100 steel were evaluated. Also, the transfor-
mation kinetics of bainitic formation was studied. Several
conclusions can be summarized as follows:
1 Lower bainite was produced using austempering temper-
atures ranging from 232 ◦ C (450 ◦ F) to 343 ◦ C (600 ◦ F). The
ferrite platelets became coarse and upper bainite was pro-
duced whe n using the austempering temperatures of 372 ◦ C
(700 ◦ F) and 427 ◦ C (800 ◦ F).
 j m a t e r r e s t e c h n o l . 2 0 1 9;8(5):4569–4576 4575

Fig. 6 – Plot of “ln[-ln(1-X)] versus “lnt” for Various Austempering Temperatures (a) 232 ◦ C (450 ◦ F) (b) 260 ◦ C (500 ◦ F) (c) 288 ◦ C
(550 ◦ F) (d) 316 ◦ C (600 ◦ F) (e) 343 ◦ C (650 ◦ F) (f) 372 ◦ C (700 ◦ F) (g) 399 ◦ C (750 ◦ F) (h) 427 ◦ C (800 ◦ F).

Fig. 7 – Linear Relationship between “lnk” versus “1/T” (a) Lower Bainite (232 ◦ C (450 ◦ F) - 343 ◦ C (650 ◦ F)) (b) Upper Bainite
(343 ◦ C (650 ◦ F) – 427 ◦ C (800 ◦ F)).
4576 j m a t e r r e s t e c h n o l . 2 0 1 9;8(5):4569–4576
2 The austempering temperature of 343 ◦ C (650 ◦ F) seemed to
be the threshold since both lower and upper bainite could
be found in the matrix produced at 343 ◦ C (650 ◦ F).
3 Hardness decreased when increasing either isothermal
temperature or holding time.
4 The beginning of the bainitic transformation occurred ear-
lier when increasing the austempering temperature.
5 The transformation rate of upper bainite was higher than
that in lower bainite.
6 The activation energy required for the formation of upper
bainite was higher than that for lower bainite.
Conflict of interest
All authors declared no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgement
This research received no specific grant from any funding
agencies.
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