Retained Austenite

Austenite is a face centered cubic (FCC) phase present in steel at high temperature. Upon cooling, most of the steel is transformed into ferrite -  a body centered cubic (BCC) phase, or into martensite - a body centered tetragonal (BCT) phase. Depending on the rate of cooling some percentage of the steel (typically 0-30%) will remain as austenite. Hence the term "retained austenite". The amount of retained austenite present can play a significant role in the performance, dimensional stability and longevity of a steel component. X-ray diffraction (XRD) is the only method available that can accurately determine % retained austenite levels down to 1%.

Proto's x-ray diffraction systems can be outfitted for retained austenite measurement collection. We have a range of options including:

Low cost: manual 4- peak collection method.
Fully automated: 4- peak collection method.
High Speed: multiple detector simultaneous 4-peak collection.