Effect of hydrogen environment on the notched tensile properties of T-250 maraging steel annealed by laser treatment

In the present work, slow displacement rate tensile tests were performed to find out the influence of ageing condition and hydrogen-charging on the notched tensile strength and fracture characteristics of T-250 maraging steel aged at various conditions. The influence of embrittling species in the environment on the notched tensile strength was accessed by comparing the measured properties in air, gaseous hydrogen and H₂S-saturated solution. The hydrogen diffusivity, permeation flux and apparent solubility of various specimens determined by electrochemical permeation method, were correlated well with the microstructures and mechanical property. The results indicated that the peak-aged (H900) specimen was highly sensitive to hydrogen embrittlement even in gaseous hydrogen. In contrast, the microstructures of over-aged (H1100) specimen comprising of reverted austenite and incoherent precipitates could trap large amount of hydrogen atoms, resulting in decreased hydrogen permeability and hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility. The solution-annealed specimen had the highest diffusion coefficient and the lowest quantity of trapped hydrogen among the specimens, showing high susceptibility to sulfide stress corrosion cracking. In the presence of notches, hydrogen atoms were prone to segregate and trap at grain boundaries, resulting in the formation of intergranular fracture.     

Hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility and permeability of two ultra-high strength steels

Slow displacement rate tensile tests were carried out in a saturated H₂S solution to investigate the effect of hydrogen embrittlement on notched tensile strength (NTS) and fracture characteristics of two ultra-high strength steels (PH 13-8 Mo stainless steel and T-200 maraging steel). Hydrogen permeation properties were determined by an electrochemical permeation method. The results of permeation tests indicated that over-aged specimens showed a lower diffusivity/hydrogen flux and higher solubility than those solution-annealed. The great increase in reverted austenite (irreversible hydrogen traps) together with numerous precipitates at the expense of dislocations (reversible) in the over-aged specimen led to such a change in permeability. Ordinary tensile tests indicated that four tested specimens had roughly the same yield strength level. Hence, the hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility of the material could be related to their permeation properties. The uniform distribution of strong hydrogen traps in over-aged specimens instead of weak traps in the solution-annealed impeded the hydrogen transport toward the strained region, thus, the resistance to sulfide stress corrosion cracking was improved in over-aged specimens.     

The influence of aging treatments on sulfide stress corrosion cracking of PH 13-8 Mo steel welds

Slow displacement rate tensile tests were carried out to study sulfide stress corrosion cracking (SSCC) of PH 13-8 Mo stainless steel welds in a saturated H₂S solution. The welds aged in the temperature range of 482-593 °C were susceptible to SSCC; the fracture surfaces revealed mainly quasi-cleavage fractures after notched tensile tests. However, the SSCC susceptibility in terms of the percentage loss of the notched tensile strength (NTS) of the welds was dependent on the aging treatment. The SSCC resistance and the austenite content of the welds increased with the aging temperatures. The presence of greater amounts of austenite, mainly reverted austenite, in the W1100 specimen (the weld aged at 1100 °F or 593 °C) than that in other aged specimens could account for its lower hardness and better SSCC resistance. On the other hand, the AW (as-welded) specimen containing a small amount of retained austenite films in a soft matrix exhibited a slightly improved SSCC resistance than that in the W1100 specimen. The lower hardness of the AW specimen was owing to the absence of fine coherent precipitates, leading to a reduced local stress and an enlarged plastic zone located in front of the notch in the test. With lower hardness, the local stress would also be lower and less likely to exceed some critical stress for failure in the saturated H₂S solution. For the aged specimens, the hardness/strength level and the amount of reverted austenite were the important factors that affect SSCC susceptibility.     

Embrittlement of T-200 maraging steel in a hydrogen sulfide solution

Slow displacement rate tensile tests were carried out to investigate the effect of hydrogen embrittlement (HE) on notched tensile strength (NTS) and fracture characteristics of aged T-200 maraging steel. Hydrogen diffusivity, permeation flux and apparent hydrogen solubility were determined by an electrochemical permeation method, and correlated with the HE susceptibility and microstructures of the specimens. The results indicated that all aged specimens were susceptible to HE in the saturated H₂S solution, to different degrees. The susceptibility in the decreasing order of severity was observed to be under-aged, peak-aged, and over-aged conditions. The main trend was that the specimen with the highest diffusivity and permeation flux of hydrogen had the greatest NTS loss. Reverted austenite, if present in the microstructure, acted as irreversible traps for hydrogen and hence, improved the HE resistance. At similar strength and hydrogen solubility level, the more reverted austenite the less susceptibility to HE of specimens was resulted. The detailed microstructures of distinct specimens and their performances in hydrogen-containing environments are discussed.     

A comparison of hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility of two austenitic stainless steel welds

Slow displacement rate tensile tests were carried out to assess the effect of hydrogen embrittlement on notched tensile strength (NTS) and fracture characteristics of AISI 316L and 254 SMO stainless steel (SS) plates and welds. 254 SMO generally exhibited a better resistance to hydrogen embrittlement than 316L. The strain-induced transformation of austenite to martensite in the 316L SS was responsible for the high hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility of the alloy and weld. Sensitized 254 SMO (i.e., heat-treated at 1000 °C/40 min) base plate and weld comprised of dense precipitates along grain boundaries. Interfacial separation along solidified boundaries was observed with the tensile fracture of 254 SMO weld, especially the sensitized one. Dense grain boundary precipitates not only reduced the ductility but also raised the susceptibility to sulfide stress corrosion cracking of the sensitized 254 SMO plate and weld.     

Notched tensile tests of cold-rolled 304L stainless steel in 40 wt.% 80 °C MgCl2 solution

The effects of cold-rolling (20% thickness reduction) and sensitization treatment (600 °C/10 h) on the microstructure, tensile properties and susceptibility to stress corrosion cracking of 304 stainless steel in 80 °C MgCl₂ (40 wt.%) solution were investigated. The increase in hydrogen traps, which retarded hydrogen diffusion to the strained region, accounted for the low loss in notched tensile strength (NTS) of such a cold-rolled specimen, as compared to the solution-treated specimen in the corrosive environment. By contrast, the high NTS loss of sensitized specimens in MgCl₂ solution was attributed mainly to the formation of stress-induced martensite near grain boundary regions.     

Effect of Ferrite content and weld heat input on the room temperature stress corrosion cracking resistance of austenitic clad metals

Austenitic stainless steel claddings with different ferrite contents (2, 4, 10, 12 FN) were obtained by the submerged are welding (SAW) strip cladding process. In order to study the effect of heat input the claddings were removed from the base plate and TIG remelted. Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) tests were carried out with notched tensile specimens in 5 N H₂SO₄ + 0.5 N NaCl at room temperature. A net-section stress required to break the specimen in 100 hours was taken as a criterion of relative SCC susceptibility. The effect of cathodic protection was studied by coupling the specimens with zinc. The results showed that increasing ferrite content decreases SCC resistance. TIG remelted material exhibited better SCC resistance than the SAW specimens. Cathodic protection improves the SCC resistance of all the specimens. Cracking was found to be due to strain-assisted ferrite dissolution and SCC in austenite. SCC in austenite was due to tunnelling mechanism.     

Effect of rare earth and calcium treatments on the mechanical,physical, and electrochemical properties of a 16Mn steel

Two treatment methods, namely Ca-Si injection into the ladle and rare earth (RE) additions to the mold, were investigated for their effectiveness in controlling the microstructure, particularly sulfide inclusions, and hence the properties of a 16Mn plain-carbon steel. A combined Ca + RE treatment increased the critical crack opening displacement in the transverse direction of sheet material to that in the rolling direction. The combined treatment also improved the resistance to stress-corrosion cracking (SCC) in a boiling 20 wt.% NH₄NO₃ solution. Too large a RE addition, ultimately lowers SCC resistance. The RE additions retarded austenite grain growth, whereas the Ca-only addition accelerated grain growth. The changes in fracture behavior, SCC resistance, and austenite grain growth behavior are explained in terms of the segregation of the RE to the grain boundaries and the subsequent changes in the electrochemical and mechanical properties of the grain boundaries relative to the grain interiors. A combined treatment of injecting 3.4 kg Ca-Si per ton of steel into the molten steel and adding 0.03 wt.% RE to the mold yielded optimum properties.     

The effect of grain size and aging on hydrogen embrittlement of a maraging steel

Notched tensile tests were conducted under a slow displacement rate to evaluate the influences of grain size and aging on hydrogen embrittlement (HE) of T-200 maraging steel. In addition, an electrochemical permeation method was employed to measure the effective diffusivity (D_eff) and apparent solubility (C_app) for hydrogen of various heat-treated specimens. The results indicated that the aged (482 °C/4 h) specimens comprised of numerous precipitates led to a raised C_app and a decreased hydrogen diffusivity as compared to those of the solution-treated ones. The solution-treated specimens were resistant to gaseous HE, whereas aged specimens were susceptible to it, implying the strength level was the controlling factor to affect the HE susceptibility of the specimens. Nevertheless, all specimens suffered from sulfide stress corrosion cracking (SSCC) severely but to different degrees. The aged specimens were more likely to form intergranular (IG) fractures in H₂S but quasi-cleavage (QC) in H₂. For the solution-treated specimens, a fine-grained structure was susceptible to HE in H₂S and revealed mainly QC that differed from the IG fracture of the coarse-grained one. The fracture mode of the specimens could also be related to the transport path and / or the supply of hydrogen to the plastic zone of notched specimens in hydrogen-containing environments.     

微观组织对GCr15轴承钢氢扩散行为的影响

通过对球化退火态、球化退火+淬回火(Q&T)态GCr15轴承钢进行电化学氢渗透试验来描述氢扩散行为,并分析了微观组织以及热处理状态对氢扩散行为的影响。结果表明,对于球化退火态试样,碳化物的分布情况对氢扩散行为影响很大。氢在带状碳化物中扩散最快,而沿晶界分布的网状碳化物作为氢陷阱,可以捕捉更多的氢原子。Q&T试样中,氢在带状未溶碳化物中扩散最快,且随着残留奥氏体体积分数的增大,有效氢扩散系数减小。球化退火试验钢的氢扩散系数远高于Q&T钢。Q&T试样中残留奥氏体的存在使氢陷阱增加,导致氢的渗透更难进行。     

Ultrafine grain refinement in a low alloy steel

The phenomenon of grain refinement was studied in a steel containing 0.15% C, 0.32% Si, 1.4% Mn, and 0.43% V. Initial austenite grain size was found to be 50 μm, determined by quenching the specimen in an iced brine solution from 1150 °C. Transformational grain refinement (TGR) was applied to give a reasonable refinement in the grain size. A rolling reduction of about 67% was given to specimens at 900 °C, which was followed by air cooling. Cold rolling and recrystallization of these specimens gave refinement of grains down to 1 μm size was obtained. The electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) technique was used to determine low- and high-angle grain boundaries that are effectively used to determine the substructure contribution at various stages of recrystallization.     

Super304H耐热钢时效过程中的奥氏体晶粒长大及力学性能

对经过预变形和短时固溶处理得到的不同晶粒度Super304H管材进行750℃×129 h高温时效处理,以模拟Super304H钢管长时服役过程的奥氏体晶粒长大。采用OM、EBSD、TEM等测试手段表征了奥氏体晶粒晶界特征,探讨了时效过程中奥氏体晶粒长大机制;通过室温及高温拉伸测试研究了时效后不同奥氏体晶粒尺寸对Super304H钢力学性能的影响。结果表明,经预变形和短时固溶后,Super304H耐热钢管试样主要织构为<111>//RD(Rolling direction),时效过程中该取向的奥氏体晶粒以吞噬其他高畸变晶粒为代价进一步生长;经高温时效后,Super304H钢管试样室温、高温拉伸性能随着晶粒尺寸的增大均呈下降趋势,伸长率随晶粒尺寸增大下降明显。伸长率可作为服役态Super304H耐热钢管金属监督的重点指标。     

敏化温度对高碳奥氏体不锈钢析出行为及力学性能的影响

采用光学显微镜、扫描电镜、能谱仪、透射电镜等,研究敏化温度对高碳奥氏体不锈钢析出相数量、形态及分布情况的影响,采用拉伸试验机、冲击试验机和布氏硬度仪,分析不同敏化温度下析出相对试验钢力学性能的影响。结果表明,不同敏化温度处理后试样的显微组织均为奥氏体;但随着敏化温度的升高,奥氏体晶界处富Cr碳化物析出增多,以颗粒状和条状形态存在,晶界处析出相尺寸在100~400 nm之间。经650 ℃敏化2 h后试样的强韧性匹配良好,综合力学性能较为优异。     

Roles of bulk carbon content on grain size,carbide reactions and intergranular rupture life in 2.25cr martensitic heat resistant steels

The steel of a higher bulk carbon content shows the denser precipitation distribution of carbides after the solution treatment followed by tempering. Such a carbide distribution produces the smaller prior austenite grain size after the welding simulation at a high temperature. Because the equilibrium segregation concentration of phosphorus decreases with decreasing prior austenite grain size, the specimen of the higher bulk carbon content shows therefore the longer intergranular rupture life. The rupture life is also increased by the partitioning of phosphorus pre-segregated at prior austenite grain boundary/carbide interfaces onto the fresh surface of precipitates formed on the surface of pre-formed carbides. The intergranular rupture life is additionally increased by the repulsive segregation between carbon and phosphorus which decreases the overall phosphorus segregation concentration at the prior austenite grain boundaries.     

Crystallography of grain boundary cementite dendrites

The crystallography and morphology of proeutectoid grain boundary cementite precipitates were studied in an isothermally transformed Fe-1.3%C-12%Mn steel. Grain boundary cementite precipitates develop with complex variations of a morphology that can be described as fern-like dendrites growing preferentially within and along austenite grain boundaries. The dendritic morphology was made most readily apparent by deep etching specimens of the alloy whose growth had been arrested after relatively short times during the solid state austenite→cementite transformation. Trace analysis revealed that these precipitates usually have no crystallographically preferred primary or secondary dendrite arm growth directions. Electron Backscattered Diffraction pattern analysis showed that most of the grain boundary cementite precipitates approximated one of the known cementite–austenite crystallographic orientation relationships (OR) with at least one of its adjacent austenite grains. Occasionally, the grain boundary cementite exhibited an OR that achieved ‘best fit’ directions between the cementite and austenite in both adjacent austenite grains.     

Influence of Solution Treatment on Impact Toughness and Microstructure of Cobalt-free Maraging Steel

The influence of different solution temperature on microstructure and impact toughness of cobalt-free maraging steel 00Ni14Cr3Mo3Ti was investigated by SEM and X-Ray diffractometer.The experimental results showed that with the solution temperature variation, the martensite morphology has not changed, is still lath martensite.Undissolved Laves phase hindered the dislocation movement after 750 ℃ solution heat treatment, which result in a very low impact absorbed energy, the impact fracture has no obvious plastic deformation, with bad toughness.With the solution temperature increased, the undissolved phase gradually dissolved, the impact absorbed energy increased gradually.All the Laves phase dissolved when reach to 900 ℃, the impact absorbed energy reaches the maximum, is 61 J.Fracture morphology change from brittle fracture into toughness transgranular fracture with deep dimple. When solution temperature is above 900 ℃, with the solution temperature further increase, austenite grain size increases significantly.Average grain diameter of austenite is about 70 μm after 1050 ℃ solution treatment, the density of precipitates on the grain boundary of maraging steel is increase substantially, deformation compatibility deteriorate, which result in the impact absorbed energy decreased significantly.Fracture type becomes transgranular and quasi-cleavage mixed fracture with the characteristics of the river patterns from ductile transgranular fracture.     

Boron distribution in a low-alloy steel

Boron distribution in a low-alloy steel (15B26:0.25C-0.29Cr-0.03Ti-0.028Al-0.0016B) has been characterized employing Fission Track Etching (FTE) method. The characteristics of boron distribution with variation of cooling rate after austenitization and through case-hardened depth after carburization were analyzed. Hardenability of 15B26 steel was also evaluated through Jominy-end-quench test and the results are as follows: It was observed that, in austenitized 15B26 steel, boron was distributed uniformly over the whole area of specimen with a little segregation along the austenite grain boundaries at higher cooling rates and boron precipitates were formed in the intergranular as well as transgranular regions at lower cooling rates. Jominy equivalents (HRC 35) of 15B26 steel were fairly increased between the Jominy temperatures of 820°C and 850°C, which might result from the increase of the amount of soluble boron in austenite due to the dissolution of borocarbides between 820°C and 850°C. In carburized 15B26 steel, the different through thickness features of boron distribution from the carburized surface were found; coarse nodular boron precipitates up to the depth of 150 μm; uniform distribution of dissolved boron between 150~650 μm; and segregation of boron atoms along grain boundaries in the regions deeper than 650 μm.     

固溶处理对高氮不锈钢微观组织及力学性能的影响

高氮不锈钢具有优异的综合性能。通过增加铬、锰含量在氮分压为80 000 Pa下成功冶炼出氮质量分数为0.54%的Cr-Mn-Mo系高氮不锈钢;试样钢热轧后分别经800、900、1000、1100、1200 ℃保温1、2、3、4、5 h固溶处理后正交分析,研究在不同温度和保温时间下的组织、屈服强度、抗拉强度、断后延伸率、断面收缩率和强塑积,旨在找到试验钢最佳的热处理温度和时间。结果表明,未经固溶处理和经800、900 ℃固溶处理后的试样中有Cr₂N析出,1200 ℃固溶处理后试样中析出铁素体,1000、1100 ℃固溶处理的材料为纯奥氏体组织,且在1000 ℃下保温4 h的试样塑性最好并有较高的强度,其断面收缩率和断后延伸率分别可以达到67.5%和69.5%。未经热处理的试样强度最高,并且断面收缩率和断后延伸率仍然保持在42%和49.9%。在1000 ℃下保温1 h的试样综合力学性能最好,强塑积可达到58.59 GPa%。     

26CrMoVNbRE钢高效热处理调质工艺边界探索

研究了不同淬火温度、淬火保温时间、回火温度及回火保温时间对26CrMoVNbRE钢组织与性能的影响,结果表明,试验钢870~900 ℃淬火后高温回火,显微组织为回火索氏体,原始奥氏体晶粒细小均匀。870 ℃保温40 min淬火,与900 ℃保温30 min淬火屈服强度相近,前者有良好的综合力学性能,后者更有利于现场高效热处理。900 ℃保温30 min淬火,再经720 ℃回火60 min调质处理,BT110TS钢级油套管各项力学性能满足技术要求。采用SEM结合EDAS对不同回火温度条件下的析出物进行观察,结果表明,试验钢第二相析出物为M₂C型碳化钼以及M₃C型碳化铬形成的复合相,随着回火温度的降低,分布在晶界上的析出物增多,不利于低温冲击性能与耐应力腐蚀。     

固溶和时效处理对高锰低镍不锈钢组织与性能的影响

以新型高锰低镍不锈钢为研究对象,研究了不同固溶和时效处理温度对其组织和性能的影响。结果表明,退火态和固溶态高锰低镍不锈钢均为单一奥氏体组织,随着固溶温度的提高,晶粒不断长大,析出物不断溶入材料基体,使材料强度和硬度不断降低,1050 ℃固溶处理后析出物基本上已全部固溶,此时抗拉强度为1016 MPa,伸长率和断面收缩率分别为67.43%和53.6%,此时塑性最好,故高锰低镍不锈钢的最佳固溶温度为1050 ℃。固溶+时效处理后高锰低镍不锈钢中的析出物主要为Cr的碳氮化物和Mn的硫化物,在750 ℃时效处理后析出物含量达到峰值,强度和硬度达到最高,故750 ℃为其最敏感析出温度。超过750 ℃析出物数量减少,850 ℃时材料塑性最好。