Effect of tempering temperature on microstructure and properties of aluminium-bearing high boron high speed steel

Heat treatment is of great significance to the performance improvement of high speed steel. Via heat treatment, the microstructure of high speed steel can be improved, thus greatly improving the material performance. The effect of tempering temperature on the microstructure of aluminium-bearing high boron high speed steel (AB-HSS) was investigated by optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD). The hardness and wear resistance of the alloy at different tempering temperatures were tested by Rockwell hardness tester, micro-hardness tester and wear tester. The experimental results indicate that the tempering microstructure of aluminium-bearing high boron high speed steel consists of α-Fe, M₂B and a few of M₂₃(C, B)₆. Tempering temperature could greatly affect the wear resistance of materials. With the increase of tempering temperature, the wear resistance of aluminium-bearing high boron high speed steel firstly increase and then decrease. The alloy tempered at 450 °C has the best wear resistance and minimum wear weight loss. This study provides a reference for the formulation of heat treatment process of aluminium-bearing high boron high speed steel.     

Effect of microstructure and low cycle fatigue deformation on tensile properties of P91 steel

Isothermal furnace heat treatments were carried out to simulate the microstructures of inter-critical, fine grain and coarse grain heat-affected zones of P91 steel weld joint at different soaking temperatures ranging from just above AC₁ (837 °C) to well above AC₃ (903 °C). Interrupted low cycle fatigue tests were performed on the specimens of P91 steel up to 5 %, 10 %, 30 %, and 50 % of the total fatigue life at the strain amplitude of ±0.6 %, strain rate of 0.003 s⁻¹ and temperatures of 550 °C and 600 °C. Subsequently, tensile tests were conducted on the interrupt tested specimens at the same strain rate and temperatures. Soaking at the inter-critical temperature region reduces / deteriorates the tensile and yield strengths of base metal compared to fine grain and coarse grain regions. The inter-critical heat-affected zone accounted higher damage contribution towards the overall tensile behavior of the actual P91 steel weld joint. Substructural coarsening during strain cycling at elevated temperatures attributes to the rapid reduction in the initial yield strength up to 10 % of fatigue life of P91 steel. A higher amount of plastic strain accumulation during low cycle fatigue deformation resulted in a decrease in fatigue life of the inter-critical heat-affected zone of P91 steel.     

Si和Nb对高强热轧高扩孔钢组织和性能的影响

为了研究Si和Nb对高强热轧高扩孔钢板显微组织、力学性能和扩孔性能的影响,在CSP连轧线上进行了3种成分试验钢的热轧试制,并对试验钢在扩孔过程中裂纹的形成和扩展行为进行了分析.研究表明:3种成分热轧钢板的显微组织均由铁素体和贝氏体组成,钢板的抗拉强度均高于610 MPa,伸长率大于24.5%,扩孔率高于104%;Si含量的增加,提高了组织中铁素体的含量,钢板的强度、伸长率和扩孔率得到提高;Nb含量的增加,细化了钢板的组织,钢板的强度和扩孔率增加明显,伸长率变化不大;试验钢在扩孔过程中裂纹主要沿铁素体和贝氏体的晶界处扩展,部分裂纹穿过铁素体晶粒.     

冷速及高温回火对低合金高强铸钢组织性能的影响

为提高低合金高强铸钢(HSLA)的综合力学性能,满足恶劣环境下的使用要求.采用光学显微镜、扫描电镜、透射电镜、冲击试验机、万能材料试验机研究了3种不同冷速及高温回火对HSLA铸钢组织与力学性能的影响.结果表明:随冷速增加,淬火组织发生由多边形铁素体+针状铁素体+粒状贝氏体→粒状贝氏体+板条贝氏体→准上贝氏体+板条马氏体的演变.冷速为1℃/s的空冷样,具有最高的塑韧性;冷速最大的水冷样,其强度、硬度最高.冷却样经580℃回火,其晶界、板条界均有粒状、短棒状的纳米第二相析出,EDS分析表明,100~200 nm的析出相为合金渗碳体(M3C),而50 nm以内的析出相为(V,Ti)(C,N).空冷样回火后有较高强度、最高的塑韧性;油冷、水冷样回火后,Re提高,Rm略有下降,AkU降低与高温回火脆性的发生有关,但-40℃的AkU仍有60、40 J,具有较好的低温冲击韧性.可见,试验HSLA铸钢表现出良好的综合力学性能,能满足在恶劣环境下的使用要求.     

Characterization of hot forged P285NH steel by metallurgical investigation and reliability analysis

An extensive study was carried out to investigate the effect of cooling rate after hot forging process and normalization step on the hardness, strength and impact toughness and microstructure of P285NH steel. Understanding of the combined effect of cooling rate and normalization on the mechanical and microstructural properties of the steel would help to select conditions required to achieve optimum mechanical properties. The results indicated that the microstructures of all forging and cooling conditions were dominated by ferrite and pearlite phases with different morphologies and grain sizes according to various cooling rates. Conveyor cooling led to a formation of relatively fine acicular ferrite and pearlite grains in comparison to batch cooling which presented coarse polygonal ferrite with pearlite. Based on the data fluctuation of Charpy tests, the normal distribution provided a statistical analysis method for assessing the reliability. Through the statistical analysis of the distribution function, it can be concluded that normalization step is necessary for higher reliability. Both batch cooling and conveyor cooling did not give the required reliability level for safety components due to heterogeneities in the microstructure.     

Mechanical properties of normal strength mild steel and high strength steel S690 in low temperature relevant to Arctic environment

The development of Arctic oil and gas fields requires low temperature high strength steel materials that can resist critical loads in extreme environments. This paper investigates the mechanical properties such as stress–strain curves, elastic modulus, yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, and fracture strain of normal mild steel and high strength S690 steel to be used in low temperatures relevant to arctic environment. Tensile tests are carried out on steel coupons at different temperatures ranging from −80 °C to +30 °C in a cooling chamber. The influences of the low temperatures on the mechanical properties of mild steel and high strength steel are compared and their differences are discussed. Regression analyses are also carried out on the test data to develop empirical formulae to predict the elastic modulus, yield strength, and ultimate strength of the steels at ambient low temperatures. Finally, design formulae are recommended and their accuracies are further confirmed by the test data including those from the literature.     

Evolution of microstructure and mechanical properties for 9Cr18 stainless steel during thixoforming

Hot compression tests were carried out in the semi-solid state of 9Cr18 stainless steel on Gleeble-1500 thermal simulation testing machine to investigate the effects of thixoforming parameters on its microstructure and mechanical properties. In this paper, microstructure was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and analyzed using energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), and true stress–stain curves of the specimens with different initial microstructures after thixoforming were obtained to study the deformation mechanism. The results showed that thixoforming parameters such as reheating temperature and the strain rate had a significant influence on microstructure and mechanical properties evolution of 9Cr18 semi-solid billet. With increasing reheating temperature or decreasing strain rate, average size of carbides decreased from 2 μm to 0.5 μm, and the phenomenon of liquid extrusion during thixoforming became more obvious. During thixoforming, carbon atoms diffused to molten metal from austenite in the centre of specimens. When thixoforming temperature reached 1300 °C, martensitic transformation occurred after rapid cooling. Flow stress of semi-solid billet was lower than traditional ingot casting and hot rolled state steel, when reheated to the semi-solid range, due to their different original microstructure.     

Influence of Mo content on microstructure and mechanical properties of high strength pipeline steel

The effect the Mo content on the microstructure and mechanical properties of high strength pipeline steel X80 was investigated in the present study. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to investigate the microstructure of the steel. It was concluded that, the proportion of acicular ferrite increased as the amount of Mo content increased, which resulted in the enhancement of yield and tensile strength; on the other hand, the yield ratio decreased and the toughness deteriorated as the quantity of M–A increased.     

Nano-sized precipitates in 11 % Cr ferritic-martensitic steel after thermomechanical treatment

9 %–12 % Cr ferritic/martensitic steels with a good long-term creep strength at temperatures up to 650 °C and higher are being developed in order to increase steam temperature of coal-fired power plants.Thermomechanical treatment can effectively enhance the mechanical properties of high-Cr ferritic/martensitic steels mainly due to plenty of nano-sized precipitates produced by thermomechanical treatment. Nano-sized precipitates in an 11 % Cr ferritic/martensitic steel produced by a thermomechanical treatment, including warm rolling at 650 °C plus tempering at 650 °C for 1 h, were investigated by transmission electron microscopy. The average size of precipitates in the steel after the thermomechanical treatment was determined to be about 30 nm in diameter, which is only one-third of the average size of precipitates in the steel with the normalized and tempered condition. A large number of Cr-rich precipitates having an average diameter of about 25 nm in the steel produced by the thermomechanical treatment were identified as Cr-rich M₂C carbide with a hexagonal crystal structure, rather than M₂₃C₆ or MX phase. The plenty of nano-sized Cr-rich M₂C carbides were dominant phase in the steel after the thermomechanical treatment. The reason why prior precipitate phase formed in the steel during the thermomechanical treatment was Cr-rich M₂C carbide is also discussed.     

The microstructure evolution and tensile properties of medium-Mn steel heat-treated by a two-step annealing process

The martensitic hot-rolled 0.3C-6Mn-1.5Si(wt％)steel was annealed at 630℃for 24 h to improve its cold rollability,followed by cold rolling and annealing at 670℃for 10 min.The annealing process was designed based on the capacities of industrial batch annealing and continuous annealing lines.A duplex submicron austenite and ferrite microstructure and excellent tensile properties were obtained finally,proved the above process is feasible.Austenite memorywas found in the hot-rolled and annealed sample which restricted recrystallization of lath martensite,leading to lath-shaped morphology of austenite and fer-rite grains.Austenite memorydisappeared in the cold-rolled and annealed sample due to austenite random nucleation and ferrite recrystallization,resulting in globular microstructure and refinement of both austenite and ferrite grains.The austenite to martensite transformation contributed most of strain hardening during deformation and improved the uniform elongation,but the dislocation strengthening played a decisive role on the yielding behavior.The tensile curves change from continuous to discontin-uous yielding as the increase of cold-rolled reduction due to the weakening dislocation strengthening of austenite and ferrite grains related to the morphology change and grain refinement.A method by controlling the cold-rolled reduction is proposed to avoid the Liiders strain.     

精密喷射成形HM1钢摩擦磨损性能研究

为了探索提高HM1钢耐磨性能的制备新途径,采用往复式滑动干摩擦实验研究了精密喷射成形HM1钢摩擦磨损性能并对其磨损机制进行了分析,同时还与铸态材料进行了对比.结果表明:不同载荷下,喷射态和喷射回火态HM1钢摩擦系数均低于铸态;当载荷为100 N时,与铸态相比,喷射态磨损量比其低约34%,喷射回火态磨损量比其减少约48%.对磨痕形貌分析表明,当载荷为40 N时,铸态试样以粘着磨损为主,当载荷为100 N时,转换为粘着磨损与磨粒磨损共存,并伴随严重的氧化磨损;对于喷射态和喷射回火态试样,则以磨粒磨损为主,氧化磨损减轻.     

Effects of aluminum additions on the microstructure and mechanical properties of alumina-forming austenitic stainless steels

The mechanical properties, including tensile and impact properties at different testing temperatures of alumina-forming austenitic steels (25 % nickel, 20 % chromium) with different aluminum contents (0, 2.5 %, 5 % and 8 %) were investigated. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy together with tensile and impact properties tests were conducted. The results showed that the tensile strength of steels at 298 K increased obviously along with aluminum contents increasing, while plasticity decreased at the same, which attributed to the higher volume fraction and number density of spherical NiAl precipitation together with main ferrite in matrix. In addition, spherical NiAl particles dispersed easily in ferrite. In particular, the ultimate tensile strength of the sample with 8 % aluminum could reach 1398 MPa, with the elongation of 14 % at 298 K. However, NiAl precipitations would lose strengthening effects at high temperatures, but the plasticity could be improved. In addition, the sample with 5 % aluminum showed better comprehensive properties by comparison to other samples, and the ultimate tensile strength was 1018 MPa and 491 MPa at 298 K and 973 K with the elongation of 26 % and 43 %, respectively, enabling it to be promising material for industrial application in advanced nuclear systems.     

Copper precipitation and its impact on mechanical properties in a low carbon microalloyed steel processed by a three-step heat treatment

The structure–mechanical property relationship, with particular focus on effect of tempering process on the microstructural evolution and mechanical properties was investigated in a low carbon Cu-bearing steel that was processed in three-steps, namely, intercritical annealing, intercritical tempering, and tempering heat treatment. The objective of adopting three steps was to elucidate the nature and evolution of microstructural constituents that contributed to high strength–ductility combination in the studied steel. The three-step processing led to a microstructure primarily comprising of ferrite, retained austenite, and small amount of bainite/martensite. The mechanical properties obtained were: yield strength > 720 MPa, tensile strength > 920 MPa, uniform elongation > 20%, total elongation > 30%, and low yield ratio of 0.78. The tempering step led to a significant increase in both yield and tensile strength and decrease in yield ratio, without reducing ductility, a behavior attributed to the precipitation of copper in retained austenite and ferrite. The precipitation of copper enhanced the stability of retained austenite and work hardening rate, leading to a high volume fraction of retained austenite (∼29%), with consequent increase in elongation and significant increase in yield and tensile strength during tempering.     

Effect of heat input on microstructure and mechanical properties of dissimilar joints between super duplex stainless steel and high strength low alloy steel

In the present study, microstructure and mechanical properties of UNS S32750 super duplex stainless steel (SDSS)/API X-65 high strength low alloy steel (HSLA) dissimilar joint were investigated. For this purpose, gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) was used in two different heat inputs: 0.506 and 0.86 kJ/mm. The microstructures investigation with optical microscope, scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction showed that an increase in heat input led to a decrease in ferrite percentage, and that detrimental phases were not present. It also indicated that in heat affected zone of HSLA base metal in low heat input, bainite and ferrite phases were created; but in high heat input, perlite and ferrite phases were created. The results of impact tests revealed that the specimen with low heat input exhibited brittle fracture and that with high heat input had a higher strength than the base metals.     

Evolution of interface character distribution in duplex stainless steel processed by cross-rolling and annealing

Duplex stainless steel UNS S31803 samples were cross-rolled with a true strain of ε = 2 followed by annealing at 1323 K for 2 min and 240 min, respectively. The distributions of intervariant boundary planes in the precipitated austenite (A) from ferrite (F) and phase boundary planes conforming to Kurdjumov-Sache (K-S) orientation relationship (OR) were characterized by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and the five-parameter analysis (FPA) method, respectively. The intervariant boundary planes with misorientation angle of 60° around <111> and <011> occur frequently and tend to terminate on the {111} plane. At the grain size level of 4 μm, the phase boundary appears to be connected with the K-S OR terminating on {110}_F6{111}_A at the early stage of annealing. When the grain size reaches approximately 20 μm, phase boundary was modified into {541}_F6{533}_A due to twinning in austenite during annealing.     

CSP流程生产低碳高强度汽车板组织性能的研究

研究了珠钢电炉CSP工艺生产低碳高强度钢板的热轧工艺与组织性能之间的关系,通过光学显微镜和力学性能试验等检测分析技术分析了控制轧制和冷却各阶段工艺参数对成品板显微组织和力学性能的影响.研究表明:降低终轧温度和卷取温度可有效细化晶粒,提高钢板的强度;采用适当的控轧控冷工艺制度,可以获得不同强度级别强韧性能良好的热轧低碳高强度汽车用钢板.     

Effect of pre‐processing annealing and ram speed on mechanical properties for low carbon steel processed by constrained groove pressing

Constrained groove pressing (CGP) has emerged for producing ultra‐fine‐grained materials with distinguished properties. Low carbon steel sheets were subjected to severe plastic deformation by constrained groove pressing process. The effect of pre‐processing annealing temperature, ram speed and number of passes on microstructure, mechanical properties and wear behaviour of the sheets were investigated. The 3 mm thick sheets were deformed by a constrained groove pressing die at ram speeds: 5 mm/min, 10 mm min^?1 and 20 mm min^?1. Furthermore, the as received sheets were annealed at 600 °C and 900 °C, then deformed at ram speed 20 mm min^?1. The annealing temperature 900 °C led to slightly coarser grains, lower strength and larger ductility compared to those obtained after annealing at 600 °C. With lowering the ram speed to 5 mm min^?1, the number of passes could be increased to 10 passes while increasing ram speed from 5 mm min^?1 to 20 mm min^?1 improved the mechanical properties; after 3 constrained groove pressing passes, the ultimate tensile strength increased from 420 MPa to 490 MPa, the hardness from 174 HV 1 to 190 HV 1 and the elongation from 7.6 % to 9.5 %. Finer grains were also obtained by increasing ram speed. Wear resistance was greatly enhanced by constrained groove pressing and by the increase in ram speed.     

Cooling process and mechanical properties design of hot-rolled low carbon high strength microalloyed steel for automotive wheel usage

For the purpose of developing Nb–V–Ti microalloyed, hot rolled, high strength automotive steel for usage in heavy-duty truck wheel-discs and wheel-rims, appropriate cooling processes were designed, and microstructures and comprehensive mechanical properties (tension, bending, hole-expansion, and Charpy impact) of the tested steels at two cooling schedules were studied. The results indicate that the steel consists of 90% 5 μm polygonal ferrite and 10% pearlite when subjected to a cooling rate of 13 °C/s and a coiling temperature of 650 °C. The yield strength, tensile strength, and hole-expansion ratio are 570 MPa, 615 MPa, and 95%, respectively, which meet the requirements of the wheel-disc application. The steel consists of 20% 3 μm polygonal ferrite and 80% bainite (granular bainite and a small amount of acicular ferrite) when subjected to a cooling rate of 30 °C/s and a coiling temperature of 430 °C. The yield strength, tensile strength, and hole-expansion ratio are 600 MPa, 655 MPa, and 66%, respectively, which meet the requirements of the wheel-rim application. Both the ferrite–pearlite steel and ferrite–bainite steel possess excellent bendability and Charpy impact property. The precipitation behavior and dislocation pattern are characterized and discussed.     

Analysis of change in microstructure and properties during high temperature processing of ultralow C and high Nb microalloyed steel

Abstract

To further improve the strength and toughness, the advanced thermomechanical controlled processing has been applied in the development of an ultralow C and high Nb bearing steel. In the present investigation, the effects of processing parameters, consisting of the coiling and starting temperatures in non-recrystallisation region, on the final microstructure and mechanical properties of this steel have been studied by tensile, Charpy impact tests, optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Results indicate that the acicular ferrite dominated microstructure can be greatly refined in grain size with decreasing the starting temperature of finishing rolling. However, for high Nb steels, the too low starting temperature would promote the formation of high temperature transformation products and consequently make against the improvement of mechanical properties. In addition, the optimum temperature window of finishing rolling is found to be also related to alloying levels of austenite stabilising elements. At the high starting temperature of finishing rolling, the precipitation strength contribution increases with increasing coiling temperature. However, the increase in strain accumulation associated with low temperature processing greatly reduces the sensitivity of the precipitation strength contribution to coiling temperature.     

Comparison of the mechanical and microstructural properties of heat‐treated boron steel in different cooling media

This paper focuses on the effects of heat treatment parameters on the microstructural and mechanical properties of quenchable 30MnB5 steel. Heat treatment parameters, such as different cooling media and different heating times at the same temperature, were investigated and compared. Tensile and hardness tests were performed at room temperature, and then the microstructures of the specimens were studied using optical microscopy and the results were compared. The results showed that boron steel heat treated using a water quenching process exhibited the best mechanical properties because of the formation of a martensitic microstructure.