Atom probe study on microstructure change in severely deformed pearlitic steels: application to rail surfaces and drawn wires

Pearlitic steel is used as the material for high tensile steel wires, rails and wheels due to its high work hardening and wear resistance. These properties arise from a layered structure comprising deformable lamellar ferrite and hard lamellar cementite. This paper reviews the microstructural change in heavily drawn pearlitic steels wires and worn surfaces of pearlitic rails using atom probe tomography analysis. The cementite decomposition mechanism was elucidated for heavily drawn pearlitic steel wires. For pearlitic rail steels, atomic scale characterization of worn surfaces and of the white etching layer (WEL) were performed, and a mechanism for the formation of the WEL was proposed. The differences and similarities in microstructure and in the state of the cementite in these severely deformed pearlitic steels are discussed.