Recently there was a new wave of research activities studying the decarburization behavior of spring steels with the main focus on the formation mechanism of a columnar ferrite layer within a certain temperature range which could not be explained by conventional decarburization theories. A new theory successfully developed recently in interpreting the oxide scale reduction mechanism on steel was then developed further and applied to interpret the observed columnar ferrite formation on spring steels. The essence of the new theory is that steel decarburization in the presence of a FeO scale on the steel surface is caused and governed by the reaction between the FeO scale and dissolved carbon in the steel, and therefore, the carbon concentration on the steel surface is determined by the FeO-steel interface equilibrium and cannot be treated as negligible within the temperature range where ferrite is able to form, because the equilibrium interface carbon concentration is in the same magnitude as the carbon solubility in ferrite. The new theory and available solutions for different decarburization scenarios using decarburization of 60Si2MnA as an example are summarized in this review. Explanations are given to interpret discrepancies between experimental observations and theoretical predictions. New areas for future research are also identified.

近年来，出现了新一波研究弹簧钢脱碳行为的研究活动，主要集中在一定温度范围内传统脱碳理论无法解释的柱状铁素体层的形成机制。最近成功开发的一种新理论解释了钢上氧化皮还原机制，然后进一步发展并应用于解释观察到的弹簧钢上柱状铁素体的形成。新理论的本质是，钢表面存在 FeO 氧化皮时钢的脱碳是由 FeO 氧化皮与钢中溶解碳之间的反应引起和控制的，因此，钢表面的碳浓度由FeO-钢界面平衡决定，在铁素体能够形成的温度范围内不能被视为可忽略不计，因为平衡界面碳浓度与铁素体中的碳溶解度大小相同。本文以 60Si2MnA 脱碳为例，总结了针对不同脱碳情况的新理论和可用解决方案。给出了解释实验观察和理论预测之间差异的解释。还确定了未来研究的新领域。本文以 60Si2MnA 脱碳为例，总结了针对不同脱碳情况的新理论和可用解决方案。给出了解释实验观察和理论预测之间差异的解释。还确定了未来研究的新领域。本文以 60Si2MnA 脱碳为例，总结了针对不同脱碳情况的新理论和可用解决方案。给出了解释实验观察和理论预测之间差异的解释。还确定了未来研究的新领域。