Carbon or nitrogen alloyed quenched and tempered stainless steels - a comparative study

Some conventional stainless quenched and tempered steel grades were modified by substituting nitrogen for carbon and by variing the contents of chromium, molybdenum and nickel. Results of a comparative study of carbon and nitrogen steels are presented in a wide range of tempering temperatures. In nickelmartensitic steels nickel can be partially substituted by nitrogen without harming the properties. Due to their finer microstructure nitrogen steels with 15-17 %Cr, 2 %Ni and 0.2 %N, at the same strength level, offer higher toughness and better corrosion resistance than the respective conventional steel X20 CrNi 17 2.     

Influence of nitrogen on hot ductility of steels and its relationship to problem of transverse cracking

Abstract

The present review examines the influence of nitrogen on the hot ductility of steels, with particular relevance to the problem of transverse cracking during continuous casting. Nitrogen itself is not detrimental to hot ductility, but when it is present with aluminium or microalloying additions, ductility can be adversely affected through the formation of nitrides or carbonitrides. The addition of aluminium to low nitrogen C–Mn steels (0·005%N)impairs ductility during casting at an acid soluble level as low as 0·02%Al. This arises because segregation of aluminium to the grain boundaries occurs on solidification, and the temperature cycling that takes place when the strand is cooled encourages AlN precipitation. However, for low nitrogen, high strength low alloy (HSLA) steels with carbon levels in the peritectic range 0·08–0·17%C, transverse cracking is not generally encountered until the aluminium level is >0·04%. Higher nitrogen levels are likely to cause problems even at very low aluminium levels, as precipitation of AlN is controlled by the product of the aluminium and nitrogen contents. The microalloying additions vanadium and niobium are detrimental to ductility but, of the two elements, niobium is more damaging, as it gives finer precipitation. Increasing the nitrogen level has a more pronounced influence on ductility in vanadium containing steels, since vanadium forms a nitride while niobium forms Nb (CN), which is mainly carbon based. Nevertheless, the product of vanadium and nitrogen contents has to approach 1·2 × 10^-3, for example 0·1%V and 0·012%N, before ductility deteriorates to that normally given by a niobium containing steel with 0·03%Nb and 0·005%N. When small titanium additions are made to low nitrogen C–Mn–Al steels (0·005%N), the best ductility is likely to be given by a high Ti/N ratio of 4–5 : 1; the excess titanium in solution encourages growth of the TiN particles. For high nitrogen steels (0·01%N), a low titanium level (0·01%)is recommended to limit the volume fraction of TiN particles. A low soluble aluminium level is also needed to prevent the excess nitrogen from combining to form AlN. For C–Mn–Nb–Al steels, similar recommendations can be made with regard to adding titanium. However, the presence of niobium and aluminium appears to have little influence on ductility, since these elements coarsen the titanium containing precipitates.     

Relationship between Work Hardening Behaviour and Deformation Structure in Ni‐free High Nitrogen Austenitic Stainless Steels

The work hardening behaviour of high nitrogen austenitic steel (HNS) depends not only on the nitrogen content but also on the addition of substitutional alloying elements such as Mn and Ni, although the effect of nitrogen content has been considered to be a main factor controlling the work hardening rate in HNS. In this study, two kinds of high nitrogen austenitic steels containing nearly 1 mass‐% of nitrogen with and without Mn (Fe‐25%Cr‐1.1%N and Fe‐21%Cr‐0.9%N‐23%Mn alloys) were tensile‐tested and their work hardening behaviour was investigated for the purpose of clarifying the effect of Mn on the work hardening behaviour. Then the results were related to the change in deformation substructure. In the Fe‐25Cr‐1.1N alloy, the work hardening rate kept high until fracture occurred, while in the Fe‐21Cr‐0.9N‐23Mn alloy it tended to decrease gradually with tensile deformation in the high strain region. It was concluded that the difference in work hardening behaviour between both alloys is attributed to the change in dislocation substructure from planar dislocation array to dislocation cell by the addition of Mn.     

低镍不锈钢生产中的若干冶金学问题

高氮低镍不锈钢具有良好的强度、延展性及耐腐蚀性能，且可以降低晶界的腐蚀敏感性。同时，以低成本的氮代替昂贵的镍可以降低生产成本。简要回顾了我国及世界不锈钢产业的发展历程，分析了低镍不锈钢中氮的作用及不锈钢中加氮工艺等一系列问题，并对不锈钢生产中存在的若干冶金学问题进行了总结。     

Comparative research on the mechanical property and precipitation of the 2101 and 2205 duplex stainless steels

The mechanical property and precipitation of the 2101 and 2205 duplex stainless steels were investigated.The results show that with nitrogen-content increasing from 0.12% to 0.26% to partly replace nickel,the yield strength of the 2101 steel gains an increase of 80 MPa whilst its elongation proportion keeps unchanged.The impact energy at a low temperature is obviously reduced.The temperature at which the impact energy starts decreasing is lower than 20℃,-20℃ and-40℃ for the 2101 steels containing 0.5%Ni,1.5%Ni and 2.5%Ni respectively,whereas it is-70℃ for the 5%Ni-containing 2205 steel.The nose temperature of precipitation is 700℃ for the 2101 steel and 850℃ for the 2205 steel.The scanning electronic microscope(SEM),the transmission electron microscope(TEM)and the X-ray diffraction(XRD)analyses show that the drop in the impact energy of the 2101 steel can be mainly attributed to the precipitation of Cr2N upon ageing while it is attributed to the sigma phase for the 2205 steel.     

Development and application of nitrogen-alloyed austenitic stainless steels in Baosteel

In recent years,nitrogen-alloyed stainless steels have been a research hotspot in the field of stainless steel product and technology. Nitrogen-alloyed austenitic stainless steels developed by Baosteel and their applications are introduced. These steels are nitrogen-controlled products 304 N and 316 LN,nitrogen containing economical products BN series and high-nitrogen stainless steel( HNS) series. The results show that the presence of nitrogen can significantly improve the strength and corrosion resistance of steel produced. By nitrogen alloying,economical austenitic stainless steels w ith considerably less nickel than 304 can be obtained; the corrosion resistances of these steels are almost the same as 304. Furthermore,by a scientific approach of nitrogen alloying,high-nitrogen steel of0. 8% nitrogen content is fabricated under the non-pressurized conditions,and the pitting potential of this steel is 1. 0 V. At present,nitrogen-alloyed steels developed by Baosteel are w idely utilized in the manufacture of cryogenic storage containers,transportation containers,and many household w ares.     

The Development of Advanced HSLA Steel in Angang in Low Carbon Age

The structure steel industry has experienced a revolution during four decades.Faced the challenge of global change in climate and environments,the higher strength,higher ductility steels,environment friendly steel were needed.The R and D for high strength steel production and application in Angang has made impressive progress.However more attention had been paid on the development of new type high strength steels with higher strength and better properties.The multi-phase microstructure,lower y/s,and corrosion resistance performance structure steel results in new generation advanced high strength steel which have properties that are often much superior to those exhibited by the old steels.This paper presents a general review of new generation high strength steel research and development in Angang and predicts the development for advanced high strength steel in the foreseeable future.     

锰源粉末对Fe-Mn-C烧结钢组织和力学性能的影响

以电解锰粉和Fe-76% Mn粉末（质量分数）为原料,在600℃和70% N₂+30% H₂混合气体（体积分数）管式炉中氮化得到三种抗氧化含氮锰源粉末（Mn-3% N、Mn-5% N和FeMn-3% N,质量分数）,研究锰含量以及锰源粉末种类对压制烧结Fe-Mn-C烧结钢组织和力学性能的影响。研究表明:使用氮化锰源粉末制备的Fe-Mn-C烧结钢的力学性能明显优于采用电解锰粉为原料制备的同类材料,随着锰源粉末中N含量的升高,烧结钢烧结膨胀率减小,对合金的强化作用增加。以Mn-5% N作为锰源制备的Fe-2Mn-0.5C烧结钢,其拉伸强度为576 MPa,断后延伸率为3.8%,与电解锰粉为锰源相比,烧结钢的拉伸强度和断后延伸率分别提升了29%和123%。使用氮化锰粉作为锰源的烧结钢内孔隙数量减小,珠光体增多,片层间距降低。     

The Effect of Hot‐ and Cold‐Rolling on the Electropulse‐Induced Microstructure and Property Changes in Medium Carbon Low Alloy Steels

The application of electropulse to hot‐rolled and cold‐rolled, medium carbon low alloy steels has generated completely different effects. For cold‐rolled steel samples, electropulsing treatment causes microstructure refinement and, hence, increments in tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation. For hot‐rolled steels, the effect of electropulsing is found to be negligible. This proves the importance of dislocations in the micromechanism of electropulse‐induced microstructure transformation in solids. The optimal electropulse parameters for the improvement of cold‐rolled steels are observed. The experimental observations are explained within the frameworks of thermodynamics and kinetics of microstructure transformation.     

不同变形量对0Cr21Ni6Mn9N不锈钢力学性能的影响

研究了不同变形量对不同氮含量的OCr21Ni6Mn9N不锈钢力学性能的影响。结果表明,不同氮含量的0Cr21Ni6MngN不锈钢都具有很强的加工硬化特性,冷变形使强度和硬度得到大幅度提高,但塑性会有所降低。氮的质量分数为0．20％～0．48％的0Cr21Ni6MngN不锈钢,控制变形量在20％以下,屈服强度可达到745MPa以上,同时保持伸长率在25％以上。分析表明,不同变形后钢的屈服强度与产生同等变形量的真应力具有很好的对应关系,且两者随变形量的变化规律基本相同。该钢的加工硬化行为明显分为两种情况,应变水平低于约20％时,强度提高幅度很大,而应变水平高于约20％后,强度提高幅度相对较小了,其原因是变形机制不同。     

Development of high strength low alloy TRIP‐aided steels with annealed martensite matrix

Formable high‐strength low‐alloy TRIP‐aided sheet steels with annealed martensite matrix or TRIP‐aided annealed martensitic steel were developed for automotive applications. The steels possessed a large amount of plate‐like retained austenite along annealed martensite lath boundary, the stability of which against the strain‐induced transformation was higher than that of the conventional TRIP‐aided dual‐phase steel with polygonal ferrite matrix. In a tensile strength range between 600 and 1000 MPa, the TRIP‐aided annealed martensitic steels exhibited superior large elongation and reduction of area. In addition, the steels possessed the same excellent stretch‐flangeability and bendability as TRIP‐aided bainitic steel with bainitic ferrite matrix. These properties were discussed by matrix structure, a strength ratio of second phase to matrix, retained austenite stability, internal stress in matrix and so on.     

Microstructure and Precipitation Behavior in HAZ of V and Ti Microalioyed Steel

Three steels containing 0.05%C-0.1%V-0.01%N (steel V-LN),0.05%C-0.1%V-0.02%N (steel V-HN),and 0.05%C-0.1%V-0.02%N-0.01%Ti (steel V-HN-Ti),which were all essentially vanadium microalloyed steels,were subjected to simulating the microstructure of a coarse grained heat affected zone (CGHAZ).The process involved reheating to 1 350 ℃,rapid cooling to room temperature,and varying the welding heat input from 15 kJ/cm to 54 kJ/cm,including four cooling rates of t8/5 equal to 7.5 s,20 s,40 s,100 s,and the relationship of heat input to t8/5 was calculated by Quiksim software.The microstructure and precipitation of vanadium and titanium carbon nitrides are studied.The results indicate that the microstructure consists of granular bainite and some side plate ferrite in the grain boundary when the steels are produced with the highest heat input.As the heat input decreased,numerous polygonal ferrites and grain boundary ferrites appeared,and the size apparently increased.When the steel contained high nitrogen,it was considerably easier to form martensite-austenite island,which was even worse for the toughness and other properties of the steel.For the limitation of cooling time,vanadium carbon nitrides could not precipitate sufficiently,but as titanium was added,the unmelted or precipitated TiN on cooling absorbed some fraction of nitrogen in the matrix and made more precipitate positions for the round V(C,N),and thus several useful round particles could be seen in titanium-contained steel,and most of them were around TiN.By this experiment,we can conclude that with the help of titanium,nitrogen-enhanced steel had a better prior austenite grain size,was considerably easier to precipitate,reduced free nitrogen in the matrix effectively,and provided a very effective mechanism for restriction grain growth in the HAZ.     

锰对高氮超级马氏体不锈钢组织与性能的影响

 为了进一步提高超级马氏体不锈钢的强塑性能和优良耐腐蚀能力,在实验室条件下研发制备了氮质量分数为0.35%、锰质量分数分别为0.4%和2.0%的2种新型超级马氏体不锈钢试料,并采用淬火-配分的工艺对其进行处理;借助万能试验机、光学显微镜、扫描电镜、透射电镜和电子背散射衍射等方法对试验钢的微观组织和力学性能进行表征测试。研究表明,2种试验钢经一定制度的淬火-配分处理后,力学性能相比典型超级马氏体不锈钢均有显著提升;同时发现锰元素含量对试验钢强塑性能影响显著,锰质量分数由0.4%提升到2.0%时,试验钢的抗拉强度和伸长率分别由1 690 MPa、15.2%改变为1 215 MPa、35.1%,均突破了传统超级马氏体不锈钢的强塑性能指标;分析认为强塑性显著提升的原因是氮-锰元素协同作用使淬火-配分后残余奥氏体含量增加显著,并伴随纳米级逆变奥氏体和氮化物析出所致。     

Advanced Cold Rolled Steels for Automotive Applications

Advanced high‐strength steels offer a great potential for the further development of automobile bodies‐in‐white due to their combined mechanical properties of high formability and strength. They represent the first choice in material selection for strength and crash‐relevant parts with challenging geometries. The intensive development of multiphase steels by ThyssenKrupp Steel has led to hot dip galvanizing concepts with an outstanding forming potential. Hot rolled, hot dip galvanized complex‐phase steels are currently produced in addition to cold rolled dual phase (DP) and retained austenite (RA) or transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) steels. New continuously annealed grades of steel are being developed with tensile strength levels of up to 1000 MPa in combination with sufficient ductility for the high demands of structural automobile components. These steels make use of the classic advantages of microalloying as well as the principles of DP steels and RA / TRIP steels. Further improvement of properties will be reached by the new class of high manganese alloyed steels.     

Development of Fine‐Grained High‐Carbon Steel in High Reduction Low Temperature Rolling

After blanking and bending to form parts with the desired shape, high‐carbon steels are quenched and tempered to produce various machine parts. Thus, the spheroidization, formability and hardenability are very important properties for high‐carbon steels. Thermo‐Mechanical control Process of rolling has been widely used in the steel industry. However, it is difficult to apply this process to high‐carbon steels because of the heavy rolling load. Thus, fine‐grained high‐carbon hot strips were developed through high‐reduction and low‐temperature rolling by using single roll rolling mills with different diameters and laminar flow cooling devices in the finishing train, the grain size of these steels was about 3 microns. Also developed annealed strips with fine homogeneously dispersed spheroidal cementite had many excellent characteristics. For example, burring formability investigated by the hole‐expanding and surface hardness evaluated by laser hardening of the developed high‐carbon annealed steels, were excellent.     

Lowcycle fatigue behavior on duplex stainless steels

Stainless steels are used predominantly for their corrosion resistance in moderate to highly aggressive environments. For construction purposes, engineers normally select carbon steel due to low cost, long experience, applicable design rules and a large variety of strength classes. However, different stainless steel types can also provide a very wide range of mechanical properties and they have the advantage of not needing surface protection. Duplex Stainless Steels (DSSs) in particular, are austeno-ferritic steels with twice the mechanical strength of conventional austenitic and ferritic stainless steels and have a potential use in construction. In the early 1980’s, a ‘second generation’ of duplex steels was introduced with better weldability mainly through nitrogen alloying. The most common duplex grade today is the UNS S32205/S31803, which is used in a great number of applications in a wide variety of product forms. This grade was the basis for the development of a ‘third generation’ of duplex steels. These higher alloys are called super-duplex stainless steels and identified as UNS S32750/S32760. The cyclic hardening-softening response, the cyclic stress-strain curve and the microstructure evolution of a high nitrogen duplex stainless steel S32750 have been evaluated and the results compared with reference to low and medium nitrogen duplex stainless steels, S32205 and S32900 grades, respectively. The beneficial effects of nitrogen on the cyclic properties of most modern alloys have been analyzed in terms of the flow stress components, i.e. the back and the friction stress. A phenomenological model is proposed to explain the influence of nitrogen atoms on the cyclic behavior of these steels.     

Microstructure and Precipitation Behavior in HAZ of V and Ti Microalloyed Steel

Three steels containing 0. 05%C-0. 1%V-0. 01%N (steel V-LN), 0. 05%C-0. 1%V-0. 02%N (steel V-HN), and 0. 05%C-0. 1%V-0. 02%N-0. 01%Ti (steel V-HN-Ti), which were all essentially vanadium microalloyed steels, were subjected to simulating the microstructure of a coarse grained heat affected zone (CGHAZ). The process involved reheating to 1 350 °C, rapid cooling to room temperature, and varying the welding heat input from 15 kj/cm to 54 kj/cm, including four cooling rates of t_8/5 equal to 7. 5 s, 20 s, 40 s, 100 s, and the relationship of heat input to tg/_s was calculated by Quiksim software. The microstructure and precipitation of vanadium and titanium carbon nitrides are studied. The results indicate that the microstructure consists of granular bainite and some side plate ferrite in the grain boundary when the steels are produced with the highest heat input. As the heat input decreased, numerous polygonal ferrites and grain boundary ferrites appeared, and the size apparently increased. When the steel contained high nitrogen, it was considerably easier to form martensite-austenite island, which was even worse for the toughness and other properties of the steel. For the limitation of cooling time, vanadium carbon nitrides could not precipitate sufficiently, but as titanium was added, the unmelted or precipitated TiN on cooling absorbed some fraction of nitrogen in the matrix and made more precipitate positions for the round V(C, N), and thus several useful round particles could be seen in titanium-contained steel, and most of them were around TiN. By this experiment, we can conclude that with the help of titanium, nitrogen-enhanced steel had a better prior austenite grain size, was considerably easier to precipitate, reduced free nitrogen in the matrix effectively, and provided a very effective mechanism for restriction grain growth in the HAZ.     

High Strength Stainless Austenitic CrMnCN Steels – Part I: Alloy Design and Properties

Generally the strength of stainless austenitic steels does not live up to their good corrosion resistance. Solid solution hardening by interstitial elements is a means of raising the strength, but is used only moderately because of poor weldability, which, however, is not required in various applications. The solubility of nitrogen is high in stainless austenite of steels with 18 mass% of Cr and Mn each, but low in the melt. Carbon reveals the opposite behaviour. Instead of producing high nitrogen steels by pressure metallurgy, about 1 mass% of C+N is dissolved in the melt at ambient pressure. The new cost‐effective C+N steel reaches a yield strength of 600 MPa, a true fracture strength above 2500 MPa and an elongation above 70 %. Conduction electron spin resonance revealed a high concentration of free electrons. Thus, the ductile metallic character of the C+N steel is enhanced, explaining the high product of strength times toughness. The high interstitial content requires rapid quenching to avoid an embrittling precipitation and respective intercrystalline corrosion.     

Development of nitrogen-alloyed stainless steel sheet products in Baosteel

Nitrogen plays a vitally important role for improving properties for stainless steels in many aspects.In this paper,the physical metallurgy behavior and the beneficial effects of nitrogen on corrosion resistance and other mechanical properties of stainless steels were summarised.Based on nitrogen alloying,various stainless steel products,such as austenitic,duplex and martensitic staniless steels were developed with enhanced properties,such as corrosion resistance,mechanical strength and weldability,among other things.