Improvement of Toughness of Ultrahigh Strength Steel Aermet 100

1.IntroductionUp to now,the experimental investigation on the ul-trahigh strength steel has been basically limited to the ex-ploration of increasing strength and there have been fewreports on the breakthrough of combination optimiza-tion between strength and toughness[1~6].Moreover,afundamental understanding on some critical microstruc-tural features and the problem of the stability of AR inthe steel are still not clear[1].Generally speaking,the larger fraction of AR formedat higher temperat…     

Nickel-free Stainless Steel for Medical Applications

BIOSS4 steel is essentially a nickel-free austenitic stainless steel developed by the Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in response to nickel allergy problems associated with nickel-containing stainless steels that are widely used in medical applications. The high nitrogen content of this steel effectively maintains the austenitic stability and also contributes to the high levels of corrosion resistance and strength. BIOSS4 steel possesses a good combination of high strength and toughness, better corrosion resistance, and better blood compatibility, in comparison with the medical 316L stainless steel. Potential applications of BIOSS4 steel can include medical implantation material and orthodontic or orthopedic devices, as well as jewelries and other decorations.     

Effect of laser incident energy on microstructures and mechanical properties of 12CrNi2Y alloy steel by direct laser deposition

This work aims to establish the effect of laser energy area density(EAD) as the laser incident energy on density, microstructures and mechanical properties of direct laser deposition(DLD) 12CrNi2 Y alloy steel.The results show that the density of DLD 12CrNi2 Y alloy steel increases at initial stage and then decreases with an increase of EAD, the highest density of alloy steel sample is 98.95%. The microstructures of DLD12CrNi2 Y alloy steel samples are composed of bainite, ferrite and carbide. With increase of EAD, the microstructures transform from polygonal ferrite(PF) to granular bainite(GB). The martensite-austenite constituent(M-A) in GB transforms from flake-like paralleling to the bainite ferrite laths to granular morphology. It is also found that the average width of laths in finer GB can be refined from 532 nm to 302 nm, which improves the comprehensive properties of DLD 12 CrNi2 Y alloy steel such as high hardness of 342 ± 9 HV_(0.2), yield strength of 702 ± 16 MPa, tensile strength of 901 ± 14 MPa and large elongation of15.2%±0.6%. The DLD 12CrNi2 Y material with good strength and toughness could meet the demand of alloy steel components manufacturing.     

Influence of Gas Temperature on Microstructure and Properties of Cold Spray 304SS Coating

In the present study, 304 stainless steel coatings were deposited on interstitial-free steel substrates by cold gas dynamic spray technology. The effect of gas temperature on microstructure, micro-hardness, cohesive strength, and electrochemical property of the coatings were investigated and compared. The results showed that increasing gas temperature had a great contribution to enhancing the bonding strength between the deposited particles and making the microstructure more density. Therefore, the porosity of the coatings decreased from 6%±0.5% to 2%±0.3%, and the tensile strength of the coatings increased from 56±4 MPa up to 73±3 MPa. In addition, the corrosion resistance of the coatings was also deeply influenced by process gas temperature. The corrosion kinetics of the coatings were affected by both of the plastic deformation of deposited particles and the porosity in the coatings.     

Microstructural Evolution of 2.25Cr-1.6W-V-Nb Heat Resistant Steel during Creep

2.25Cr-i.6W-V-Nb developed in Japan, is a low alloy heat resistant steel with good comprehensive properties. Influence of long term creep at elevated temperature on the structure of 2.25Cr-I.6W-V-Nb steel was studied in this paper, and the micromechanism of creep strength degradation was elucidated, too. Both TEM observation and thermodynamic calculation reveal that during creep the transformation occurs from M7C3 and M23C6 to M6C, which can be cavity nucleation sites. Besides, creep at 600℃ also leads to the decrease of dislocation density, the coarsening and coalescence of M23C6, the nucleation of cavities and development of cracks. The strength decrease of 2.25Cr-1.6W-V-Nb steel after long term creep is related to the decrease of dislocation hardening,precipitation hardening,solution hardening,the nucleation of cavities and development of cracks.     

Semi-hot Stamping as an Improved Process of Hot Stamping

Reducing the forming load,deletion of springback,increasing the formability of sheets as well as producing high strength parts are the main reasons to apply hot stamping process.Hot stamping process and 22MnB5 steels are the state of the art process and grades,respectively;however novel processes and steel grades are under considerations.In the current research,behavior of the steel grade MSW1200 blanks under semi and fully hot stamping processes was characterized.During semi-hot stamping process,the blank was firstly heated to a temperature of about 650℃ and then formed and quenched in the die assembly,simultaneously.Microstructure and mechanical properties of semi and fully hot stamped blanks were studied and the results were compared with those of normally water/air quenched blanks.The hot stamped blanks attained the strength values as high as water quenched blanks.The highest ductility and consequently,the best formability were achieved for the blank which had been semi-hot stamped.It was concluded that for the mentioned steel,semi-hot stamping process could be considered as an improved thermo-mechanical process which not only guaranteed a high formability,but also led to ultra high strength values.     

Effects of Mn and Cu on the Mechanical Properties of a High Strength Low Alloy NiCrMoV Steel

The present study focuses on the effects of Mn and Cu on the mechanical properties, in particular, strength and toughness of a low alloy steel containing Ni, Cr, Mo and V. Specimens with different amounts of Mn (0.23%-0.85%) and Cu (0.15%-0.45%) were cast and forged, and then austenitized at 870℃for 1 h, followed by oil quenching. All specimens were tempered at 650℃for 1 h. The results show that as the amounts of Mn and Cu increase respectively from 0.35% to 0.85% and from 0.15% to 0.45%, the yield and tensile strength increase. The highest impact energies were observed in the specimen with 0.35% Mn and in the specimen with 0.25% Cu. The impact energy decreases with increasing the Mn and Cu from 0.35% to 0.85% and from 0.25% to 0.45%, respectively. Furthermore, the variation of Mn and Cu does not cause a considerable change in the tempered martensite microstructure. The optimum strength and toughness is observed in 0.35% Mn containing steel and in the 0.25% Cu containing steel.     

Microstructure—Properties Correlation of Dual Phase Steels Produced by Controlled Rolling Process

The purpose of this research is to quantify the effects of compositional and processing parameters on the microstructure and properties of dual phase steel produced directly by hot rolling and rapid cooling.Steels with the base composition of 0.1%C,1.4%Si,and 1.0%Mn with additions of 0.5%Cr to influence hardenability,0.04%Nb to retard recrystallization in the latter stages of rolling,or 0.02% Ti to inhibit grain growth during and after reheating were investigated.Investigation was made to predict microstructure evolution and to correlate microstructure with processing parameters.The effects of the important microstructure parameters such as ferrite grain size,martensite volume fraction (VM) and morphology (polygonal or fibrous) on the tensile and impact properties are discussed.Multiple linear regression analysis of the ultimate tensile strength has shown that,increasing VM and martensite microhardness and grain refinement of ferrite are the major contributions to increase the strength of the steel.It was found that the dual-phase steel produced by controlled rolling process,with a microstructure which consisted of fine grained ferrite(4μm) and 35%-40% fibrous martensite,presented optimum tensile and impact properties because of enhanced resistance to crack propagation.     

Effect of substitution of Si by Al on the microstructure and mechanical properties of bainitic transformation-induced plasticity steels

The effect of partial or full substitution of Si by Al on the microstructure and mechanical properties has been extensively studied in multi-phase transformation-induced plasticity(TRIP) steels with polygonal ferrite matrix, but rarely studied in bainitic TRIP steels. The aim of the present study is to properly investigate the effect of Al and Si on bainite transformation, microstructure and mechanical properties in bainitic steels in order to provide guidelines for the alloying design as a function of process parameters for the 3 rd generation advanced high strength steels(AHSS). It is shown from the dilatometry study,microstructural investigations and tensile properties measurements that the Al addition results in an acceleration whereas Si addition leads to a retardation in bainite transformation kinetics. The addition of Al retards the decomposition of austenite into pearlite and carbides at holding temperatures higher than450℃ whereas Si retards the decomposition of austenite into carbides at temperatures lower than 450℃.Consequently, the Al-added bainitic steel has a better strength-elongation combination at bainitic holding temperatures higher than 450℃ while Si-added steel has a better strength-elongation combination at temperatures lower than 450℃. The higher yield strength of Al-added steel is mainly attributed to its finer bainitic lath. The higher tensile strength of Si-added steel is not only related to the stronger contribution of Si on work hardening during deformation, but also due to the higher volume fraction of martensite or martensite/austenite(MA) blocks in all heat treatment conditions, as well as the lower mechanical stability of retained austenite in this steel.     

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of a Duplex Martensite Austenitic Steel Precipitation-hardened by VC Carbide

This paper presents an investigation on the primary microstructure and mechanical properties of a martensite-austenitic duplex steel precipitation-hardened by VC carbide. The results show that the mechanical properties at room temperature are strongly dependent upon the volume fraction of austenite fA. When fA < 32 % both ultimate strength and Vield strength are decreased with increasing fA. however. whenfA>32%, with increasing the.fA. ultimate strength rises and yield strength drops down. Experimental results at elevated temperatures. show that when test temperature ≤500℃. the yield strength to modulus ratio remains unchanged, however. as the temperature rises a substantial fall in the ratio occurs. The strength values at 600 and 700℃ are increased with increasing strain rate measured by cross-head speed of testing rnachine, The law of mixtures and the contribution of strain-induced transformation from unstable austen ite to martensite to the mechanical properties are discussed.     

Effect of controlled rolling/controlled cooling parameters on microstructure and mechanical properties of the novel pipeline steel

The study of controlled rolling/controlled cooling process parameters which affect the microstructure and mechanical properties of a novel pipeline steel has been optimized by the orthogonal experiment with four factors and three levels in this paper.However,the parameters of thermo-mechanical control process(TMCP)optimized by the Gleeble-3500 hot simulator could not satisfy performance requirements of the X100 pipeline steel.In order to improve the performance of this steel,the influence of finish cooling temperature(FCT) on the microstructure and property is studied in detail.It is found that,as this steel is thermo-mechanically treated by this set of parameters(the start heating temperature,finish rolling temperature(FRT),FCT and cooling rate of 1,180℃,810℃,350℃ and 35℃/s,respectively),the microstructures are mainly composed of granular bainite(GB)and acicular ferrite(AF).The effective grain sizes are below 20μm;the steel reaches the optimal balance between the strength and the toughness;the yield strength is 695 MPa;the tensile strength is 768 MPa;the elongation is 16.6%;the impact energy is 262 J at room temperature.All indexes could meet the requirements of X100 pipeline steel.     

Fatigue behavior of press hardened Al-Si coated high strength steel

The fatigue behavior of press hardened Al-Si coated high strength steel has been investigated and the fatigue strength turns out to be about 1000MPa. Surface morphology of fractured and non-fractured specimen has been observed and the coating shows significant influence on the fatigue behavior. The difference of elastic modulus between coating and substrate leaded to the main cracks perpendicular to the loading direction. Coating close to the fracture lamellar exfoliated while the coating far away from the fracture kept integrated. Though the specimen has been polished to obtain high surface quality, three types of cracks occur during the fatigue test. What’s more, inclusion particles proved to play a crucial role in causing the cracks.     

Development of a New Kind of High Strength Spring Steel

A new kind of high strength, high toughness and high plasticity spring steel has been developed. The strength, the reduction of area and the elongation of the steel are all higher than those of the steel 60Si2CrVA. The decarburization resistance and the sag resistance are also higher than those of the steel 60Si2CrVA. It has good hardenability, and is suitable for making springs with big cross section. The bogie springs made of this kind of steel have passed 2×106 cycles without broken under the conditions of maximum stress of 906 MPa and the minimum stress of 388 MPa.     

Microstructure and properties of superplastic welding between 40Cr and CrWMn steels

Superplastic welding of tool steel and structural steel was investigated. The welding between 40Cr and CrWMn steels was carried out under the conditions of temperature 750~780℃, strain rate 2×10-4s-l, compressive stress 50-90 MPa for 3-5 min. The joints show similar strength to that of 40Cr steel and the good metallurgical joining is formed. The structural change occurring during Superpfastic welding was analyzed by metallography and distribution of carbon content in the vicinity of the welding joint was also determined. The mechanism of superplastic welding for steels is proposed to be the disappearance of original bond interfaces caused by atomic diffusion and the grain sliding.     

Effect of Microstructure Refinement on the Strength and Toughness of Low Alloy Martensitic Steel

Martensitic microstructure in quenched and tempered 17CrNiMo6 steel with the prior austenite grain size ranging from 6 μm to 199 μm has been characterized by optical metallography （OM）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and transmission electron microscopy （TEM）. The yield strength and the toughness of the steel with various prior austenite grain sizes were tested and correlated with microstructure characteristics. Results show that both the prior austenite grain size and the martensitic packet size in the 17CrNiMo6 steel follow a HalI-Petch relation with the yield strength. When the prior austenite grain size was refined from 199 μm to 6 μm , the yield strength increased by 235 MPa, while the Charpy U-notch impact energy at 77 K improved more than 8 times, indicating that microstructure refinement is more effective in improving the resistance to cleavage fracture than in increasing the strength. The fracture surfaces implied that the unit crack path for cleavage fracture is identified as being the packet.     

Evolution of microstructure and tensile properties of cold-drawn hyper-eutectoid steel wires during post-deformation annealing

Manufacturing temperatures of severely cold-drawn hyper-eutectoid steel wires are sufficiently high to influence the mobility of dislocations and alloy elements, thereby affecting the materials' mechanical properties. Herein, we describe the evolution of microstructure and tensile strength of the as-drawn 3.45 GPa steel wire during post-deformation annealing for 30 min at 150-450℃. Annealing at 150℃ raised the strength to 3.77 GPa by age-hardening through activation of dislocations pinning by carbon, while further temperature rising up to 450℃ caused a severe loss of strength. It was proved that annealing at 300 and 450℃ destabilizes the lamellar microstructure, promoting the formation of carbon-deficient(Fe,Mn,Cr)_3 C-type cementite particles with preferentially rounded and partially faceted hetero-interfaces. Annealing at 450℃ yielded the accumulation of Mn and Cr at the ferrite/particle interfaces, and their concentrations at the interfaces were dependent on the interface structure; i.e., lower concentrations at rounded interfaces(formed through capillarity–driven coarsening of the spheroidized cementite), and higher concentrations at faceted interfaces(that are initially existing in the as-drawn state). Our proof-of-principle observations, supported by thermodynamic calculations and kinetic assessments, provide a pathway for understanding the changes in microstructural and tensile properties during manufacturing of the hyper-eutectoid steel wires.     

Mechanical Properties of V-, Nb-, and Ti-bearing As-cast Microalloyed Steels

The influence of microalloying additions on the mechanical properties of a low-carbon cast steel containing combinations of V, Nb, and Ti in the as-cast condition was evaluated. Tensile and hardness test results indicated that good combinations of strength and ductility could be achieved by V and Nb additions. While the yield strength and UTS （ultimate tensile strength） increased up to the range of 378-435 MPa and 579- 590 MPa, respectively in the microalloyed heats, their total elongation ranged from 18% to 23%. The presence of Ti, however, led to some reduction in the strength. Microstructural studies including scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and optical microscopy revealed that coarse TiN particles were responsible for this behavior. The Charpy impact values of all compositions indicated that microalloying additions significantly decreased the impact energy and led to the dominance of cleavage facets on the fracture surfaces. It seems that the increase in the hardness of coarse ferrite grains due to the precipitation hardening is the main reason for brittle fracture.     

Mechanical and Transformation Behaviors of a C-Mn-Si-Al-Cr TRIP Steel under Stress

Transformation induced plasticity （TRIP） steels combine high strength and excellent ductility, making them suited for application in crash-relevant parts in the automotive industry. However, the high Si contents in the conventional TRIP steel will generate surface defects on the hot rolled strip, which is difficult to process in continuous galvanizing lines. In order to solve the above problem the TRIP steel with the addition of Al replacing majority of Si was designed. In the present paper, the volume fraction of various phases in a C-Mn-Si-Al-Cr TRIP steel was determined by metallographic examination and X-ray diffraction analysis, and the multi-phase microstructures were characterized using an atomic force microscope based on their height difference. Tensile tests were performed at different temperatures ranging from -40℃ to 90℃. The results show that transition temperature Ms^σ in the present TRIP steel cannot be determined due to its lower volume fraction of retained austenite, different from the conventional TRIP steel. While the yield stress and tensile strength at different temperatures are higher than those of the conventional TRIP steel, which is attributed to the addition of Cr. In order to evaluate the effect of martensitic transformation on the total elongation, the sample without retained austenite obtained by quenching in liquid nitrogen was carried out under tensile test. The results indicate that the elongation of the original sample containing 9% retained austenite is about 20% higher than that of the sample quenched in liquid nitrogen, which demonstrates that the retained austenite plays an important role in improving the elongation of the TRIP steel.     

Effect of Post-weld Heat Treatment on Properties of Friction Welded Joint Between TC4 Titanium Alloy and 40Cr Steel Rods

Dissimilar metal joining of Ti–6Al–4V(TC4) titanium alloy to as-rolled 40 Cr steel rods was conducted with friction welding, and the effect of post-weld heat treatment(PWHT) on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the resultant joints was investigated. The average tensile strength of the as-welded joints reached 766 MPa and failure occurred in 40 Cr steel base metal. However, after PWHT at 600 °C for 0.5, 1, 2 and 3 h, the tensile strength of the joints decreased and fracture happened through the interface with quasi-cleavage features. The bending angle of specimens was improved from 9.6° in as-welded state to 32.5° after PWHT for 2 h. The tensile strength of the joint was enhanced by martensitic transformation near the interface in as-welded state. Sorbite formed near the interface in PWHT state and improved the bending ductility of the joint. Ti C brittle phase formed at the interface after PWHT for 0.5 h and deteriorated the tensile strength and bending ductility of the joint. After PWHT for 2 h, no Ti C phase was detected at the interface. The microhardness on the interface in as-welded state was higher than that after PWHT, indicating that the decrease of microhardness around the interface could be accompanied by degradation of tensile strength but improvement of bending ductility of the joints.     

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of a Dissimilar Friction Stir Weld between Austenitic Stainless Steel and Low Carbon Steel

Dissimilar fusion welding of austenitic stainless steels to carbon steels has some metallurgical and technical problems.It was suggested that the solid-state nature of friction stir welding(FSW) can overcome these problems and produce a sound weld with reliable mechanical properties.In this study,plates of 304 stainless steel and st37 steel were welded together by FSW at tool rotational speed of 600 r/min and welding speed of 50 mm/min.In the stir zone(SZ) of 304 stainless steel,the results showed a refined grain structure with some features of metadynamic recrystallization.In the SZ of st37 steel,the hot deformation of material in the austenite region produced small austenite grains.These grains transformed to fine ferrite and pearlite by cooling the material after FSW.The production of fine grains increased the hardness and tensile strength in the SZ of both sides with respect to their base metals(BMs).