Mössbauer study and thermodynamic modeling of Fe–C–N alloy Original Research Article

Mössbauer spectroscopy and Monte Carlo computer simulation have been combined to understand the reason for the solid-solution stability of Fe–0.93 C–0.91 N alloy (mass%). Interstitial concentrations in austenite and ferrite were determined on the basis of X-ray diffraction measurements of the lattice dilatation. The hyperfine structure of Mössbauer spectra was analyzed to identify different atomic configurations in solid solutions and determine their fractions. Thereafter Monte Carlo simulation of the interstitial distribution in ferritic and austenitic solid solutions was performed, and values of the interstitial–interstitial interaction energies were obtained for the first and second coordination spheres in austenite and the first to the fourth coordination spheres in ferrite. Simulation shows that in both austenitic and ferritic phases the interaction of interstitial atoms is characterized by a strong repulsion within the first two coordination spheres. Experimental data and simulated interstitial distributions are consistent and complementary. It is concluded that the absence of interstitial clusters prevents carbide and nitride precipitates and causes the higher thermodynamic stability of Fe–C–N solid solutions as compared with Fe–C and Fe–N ones.