Mapping Carbon Distribution in Steels
X-ray element distribution map for C and Fe acquired on a dual phase steel (sample courtesy of TU Eindhoven)
Exact determination of carbon content and distribution is of major interest for steel producing and steel processing industries since the light element has a critical influence on physical properties of the material. Dual phase steel may show variations in carbon contents which are directly related to the two phases: martensite showing 0.3 wt.% C and ferrite showing 0.01 wt.% C in the present case.
Since it is outstandingly sensitive for light elements QUANTAX WDS is a perfect analytical tool to map these variations of the light element trace amounts in shortest times. The present map was acquired within only five minutes, it shows martensite in green (relatively high C content) and ferrite in red color (relatively low C content).