Application of Color Metallography in Microstructure Analysis

The display principle and method of color metallography and its application in microstructure analysis were introduced, the microstructure color, morphology and quantitative calculation results of the color and the black and white metallography of the dual-phase steel and the tire cord steel were compared. The results show that the microstructure of the dual-phase steel and the tire cord steel can be clearly identified because of the color metallography has bright colors and strong contrast. The ferrite of the dual-phase steel is pale yellow, the martensite and the retained austenite are bright white, and the bainite is dark brown. The pearlite of the tire cord steel is bright white, and the sorbite is blue, black, brown, gray, and so on. The area fraction of each phase in the microstructure can be calculated, and the quantitative analysis can be realized. The quantitative analysis precision of color metallography is much higher than that of the traditional black and white metallography.