Transformation Kinetics of Austempered Ductile Iron: Dilatometric Experiments and Model Parameter Evaluation

In this study a group of selected transformation kinetics equations is applied to describe the isothermal ferritic transformation in austempered ductile iron (ADI). A series of dilatometric tests has been carried out on ADI at different temperatures. The obtained experimental data are utilized to determine the parameter values of the considered kinetic equations. It is found that the transformation kinetics models by Starink, Austin and Rickett are substantially more effective at describing the ferritic transformation in ADI than the much celebrated Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov (JMAK) equation. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that evaluating the kinetic parameters using the least squares method instead of calculating them from vastly used formulas can significantly improve the accuracy of the JMAK model’s predictions.