Morphology and growth process of bainitic ferrite in steels

The morphologies and the formation mechanisms of isothermally transformed Widmanstatten ferrite and bainite in various steels were investigated. Widmanstatten ferrite often grew from the grain boundary ferrite allotriomorph formed by a diffusional mechanism in the temperature range of the upper C-curve, whereas, bainite grew directly from an austenite grain boundary showing its own C-curve in a TIT diagram at temperatures between Bs (bainite starting temperature) and Ms (martensite starting temperature). Both structures accompanied well-defined surface reliefs of the invariant plane strain-type, and were in the shape of a lath or a plate consisting of several parallel needle-like ferrite subunits with parallelogram cross sc:ctions. The crystallographic properties of Widmanstatten ferrite and upper bainite were similar to those of lath martensite. Therefore, it was concluded that the difference between bainitic ferrite and Widmanstatten ferrite existed only in the nucleation events, where both structures grew by the same mechanism.     

Application of hot press forming process to manufacture an automotive part and its finite element analysis considering phase transformation plasticity

An automotive flex plate that is installed in the automotive engine and delivers a torque to a transmission is manufactured by hot press forming technique. By this technique, significant increase of strength through quenching of heated high carbon SK5 steel sheet and higher dimensional stability after forming through the press operation at high temperature can be attainable. The indirect method with a pre-forming step and direct oil quenching to attain uniform and fast cooling rate are employed considering cooling characteristics of the SK5 steel and large thickness of the flex plate. A new tool design is proposed for the hot press forming process, and an optimized heat treatment condition is determined by studying two frequently utilized heat treatments: austempering and quenching with tempering heat treatments. By introducing designed tools and selected heat treatment condition, the target product can be successfully manufactured, which satisfies two main manufacturer's specifications: high hardness and good dimensional accuracy. Moreover, finite element analysis, which considers transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) during phase transformations, is performed to understand the thermo-mechanical behavior of hot press formed sheet. The analysis verifies that phase transformations play significant roles in strengthening by transforming hard martensitic phase and in reducing dimensional change by additional plastic deformation during phase transformations.     

A Finite Element Modeling for Dilatometric Nonisotropy in Steel

It is well known that nonisotropic volume changes in dilatometry were observed during the phase transformation in steel. In this study, a finite element (FE) model incorporating the transformation plasticity was adopted to describe the nonisotropic dilatometric behavior during the phase transformation in steel. An implicit numerical solution procedure to calculate the deformation during the dilatometric experiment was incorporated into the general purpose implicit FE program. The nonisotropic dilatometric behavior could be successfully reproduced by using the FE simulation considering the transformation plasticity. The transformation plasticity was caused by the small amount of stress that naturally developed in the specimen during the dilatometric experiment. In conventional low carbon steel, the stress in the specimen mainly forms due to the very small external force supplied to support it during the dilatometric experiment. As regards ultralow carbon steel, whose phase transformation occurs within an extraordinarily narrow temperature range, the inhomogeneous phase transformation due to the temperature deviation in the specimen was mainly responsible for the stress field in the specimen during the dilatometric experiment.     

Origin of deformation twins and their influence on hydrogen embrittlement in cold-rolled austenitic stainless steel

The effect of cold rolling on hydrogen embrittlement in stable 18Cr–1Mn–11Ni-0.15 N austenitic stainless steels was investigated. Alloy plates were cold-rolled to 15% or 30% reduction, then pre-charged with hydrogen and subjected to tensile testing with slow strain rate. Hydrogen-induced degradation of tensile elongation became increasingly severe with the increase in the degree of cold rolling. During cold rolling, deformation twins with various orientations were actively generated, and twins with specific orientations were vulnerable to hydrogen-induced cracking. Cold rolling also increased the density of defects, and thereby facilitated penetration of hydrogen into the steels. The combination of cracks generated at the twin boundaries, and the promoted hydrogen diffusion caused severe hydrogen embrittlement in the cold-rolled steels.     

Fabrication Conditions, Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of P/M Processed 2XXX Al-SiCW Composites

The powder metallurgy fabrication of 2XXX Al composites reinforced with SiC whiskers was studied by investigating the evolution of microstructure and its relation to the mechanical properties. In this study, SiC whiskers and gas-atomized aluminum powders were mixed by fluid zone mixer, consolidated by vacuum hot press, and then extruded. The optimum condition for consolidation was 620°C and 50 MPa, at which fully densified pore-free billets were obtained. The composites with relatively homogeneous microstructures were produced by extrusion at 450–500°C under the extrusion pressure of 700–1000 MPa. The mechanical properties of the extruded bars were found to be comparable with those of the composites processed by Advanced Composite Materials Corp. The optimum fabrication conditions have been proposed for producing composites of improved mechanical properties through elimination of coarse intermetallic particles, uniform distribution of reinforcements, and minimization of whisker breakage. The possibility of using particulates rather than whiskers, and the modification of the alloy matrices for high temperature applications are also discussed in relation to the distribution of reinforcements and the optimization of the consolidation temperature.     

Dilatometric analysis of austenite formation during intercritical annealing

Dilatometry is a useful method to investigate the transformation kinetics of ferrous alloys. In the present study, a dilatometric analysis procedure that considers the effect of non-isotropic volume change was applied to evaluate the kinetics of austenite formation during the intercritical annealing of TRIP steels. Metallographic analysis was conducted to validate the dilatemetric analysis results. The austenite fractions from the dilatometric analysis showed reasonable agreement with those from the metallographic one. This verifies that the kinetics of austenite formation during heat treatment of low carbon TRIP steel can be reliably analyzed with the proposed procedure.     

The ordering behavior of supersaturated metastable phases in β-Ti alloys

A phase resulting from quenching solution treated beta-Ti alloys has long been recognized as a metastable structure containing unusual phenomena, and is not well understood. Tweed structure consisting of the metastable phase was observed by transmission electron microscopy, and spot satellites inflicted by streaks were also observed in the lattice diffraction. The results of microstructural studies and diffraction pattern surveys have identified the metastable structure as the elastic strain zone caused by the supersaturation of solute atoms, which may be induced by the electron charge distribution and atomic bonding between solvent matrix and solute atoms, causing the tweed structure. This paper presents the main finding of a microstructural abnormality, and compares the results with ordering behavior such as premartensitic transformation, and reviews a new regularity generated in the metastable phase of the supersaturated state.