Fracture toughness of steels with nickel content in respect of carbide morphology

Abstract

This paper is focused on the influence of Ni addition on the microstructure and fracture toughness of structural steels after tempering. Nickel is known to increase the resistance to cleavage fracture of steel and decrease a ductile–brittle transition temperature. The medium carbon, low alloy martensitic steels attain the best combination of properties in low tempered condition, with tempered martensite, retained austenite and transition carbides in the microstructure. In the present research, four model alloys of different Ni contents (from 0·35 to 4·00%) were used. All samples were in as quenched and tempered condition. Quenching was performed in oil at room temperature. After quenching, samples were tempered at 200°C for 2?h. An increase in nickel content in the investigated model structural steels causes a decrease in ε carbide volume fraction in their microstructure. Cementite nucleates independently in the boundaries of martensite laths and in the twin boundaries in the areas where the ε carbide has been dissolved. It was stated that stress intensity factor K_Ic significantly decreases in the case of the presence of dispersive elongated cementite precipitations at the boundaries of the prior austenite grains.     

Influence of carbon content and carbide morphology of carbon steels on stress strain curve in vicinity of yield point

Abstract

Experimental analysis was carried out to examine the influence of carbon content on the stress–strain curve in the vicinity of yield point. Numerical analysis was then carried out to investigate the mechanism in the microstructure through which the influence occurred. Attention was focused upon the morphology of the carbide, and the homogenisation method and the elastic–plastic finite element method were used for numerical evaluation. Despite very primitive assumptions that the macroscopic stress–strain curve of extra low carbon steel applies to the ferrite in the microstructure and the carbide deforms only elastically, the numerical results have explained well the stress–strain curves obtained experimentally. Finally, TEM observations were carried out to check the validity of the result predicted by the homogenisation method. The TEM images show a concentration of dislocations in the ferrite existing between adjacent carbides lying parallel with the macroscopic loading direction. This result explains qualitatively the localisation of strain in the ferrite predicted by the homogenisation method. By using the numerical analysis inversely, it would be possible to design the morphology of the carbide so that the macroscopic mechanical behaviour of a carbon steel meets the required value in the vicinity of yield point.     

Si对中锰钢淬火配分组织和性能的影响

将20Mn5钢和20Mn5Si2钢进行淬火和配分(Q&P)工艺处理,用扫描电镜观测其微观组织,用X射线法测量残余奥氏体量,研究了Si对其微观组织和力学性能的影响.结果表明,试验钢中的奥氏体含量明显高于传统的TRIP钢和Q&P 工艺处理钢;在相同Q＆P工艺条件下,20Mn5Si2钢比20Mn5有较多的残余奥氏体,析出物数...     

Comparative study on a 0.2C steel treated by Q&P and A&T treatments

The effect of various versions of quenching and partitioning (Q&P) and austempering plus tempering (A&T) processes on the combined properties and microstructure of a 0.2C–0.8Si–2.2Mn bainitic steel has been investigated. Results show that the steel exhibits a higher value of product of strength and elongation (PSE) than that reported before with similar compositions. The one-step Q&P process at 230°C and A&T process at 450°C can result in a toughness higher than 80?J?cm^?2 and a relatively high PSE (above 29.8?GPa%). The alloy design of this steel is suggested to be beneficial for industrial production because there is a big window for similar PSE. The long-partitioning time (1?h) has good effect on combined properties.     

Effect of Si on mechanical properties of low alloy steels

Abstract

The effect of Si content on mechanical properties in 0·6C–(1·0–2·5)Si–2Ni–0·2V (wt-%) steels was investigated using tensile tests, Charpy impact tests, and microstructural examination with transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that the tempering temperatures both for the maximum yield strength and for the softening of low alloy steel shifted to higher temperatures owing to the retardation of the conversion of ? carbide to cementite within martensite laths caused by Si addition. Additionally, it was found that increasing Si content shifted the tempered martensite embrittlement temperatures upwards, owing to the retardation of the formation and growth of cementite boundaries caused by the added Si.     

Effect of microstructure on tensile fracture of quenched and lightly tempered high carbon and low chromium steel containing undissolved spheroidal carbides

High carbon and low alloy chromium steels have been studied to determine the effect of the microstructure on tensile fracture of quenched and lightly tempered low alloy steel containing undissolved spheroidal carbides. The steels with a volume fraction of 8 and 13 vol % and containing particle sizes from 0.32 to 1.14m were investigated. In the case of steel containing 8 vol % undissolved carbides, many twinned plates were observed in the matrix martensite and microtwinning was observed in the carbide/matrix interfaces. The steel failed in a macroscopically brittle manner and the true fracture stress of the steel was independent of the carbide particle size, while the data exhibited a large scatter. In the case of steel containing 13 vol % of undissolved carbides, the matrix martensite consisted predominantly of lath martensite and a well-defined forest of dislocations was observed around the carbides. Failure of the steel occurred in the relatively early stage of plastic deformation and the true fracture stress of the steel increased with decreasing carbide particle size.     

The effect of tempering temperature on mechanical properties and microstructure of low alloy Cr and CrMo steel

Two low alloy Cr and CrMo steels with similar levels of carbon, manganese and chromium have been studied to determine the effect of tempering temperature on the mechanical properties and microstructure. The quenching and tempering of steels were carried out using a high-speed dilatometer. The steels were quenched at the average cooling rate of 30 K s-1 in the temperature range from 1123 to 573 K by flowing argon and tempered at 673, 823 and 973 K. The martensite of steels formed during quenching was of entire lath morphology with 2 vol% retained austenite. It was found that after tempering at 973 K the Cr steel contained only orthorhombic cementite, while the CrMo steel contained the cementite and hexagonal Mo2C particles in the ferrite matrix. At the same tempering conditions, the CrMo steel shows higher strength but lower ductility as compared to those of Cr steel. It is shown that this difference results from finer prior austenite grain, substructure within matrix and precipitate dispersion strengthening, primarily by Mo2C. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) bright- and dark-field micrographs as well as selected area diffraction pattern analysis of orientation relationship showed that the cementite precipitated from the ferrite matrix. Fractography analysis showed that the morphology fracture surface was changed by increasing tempering temperature. Tempering at 973 K obtained ductile fracture by the microvoid coalescence mechanism.     

Role of microstructure and testing conditions in sulphide stress cracking of X52 and X60 API steels

The resistance of X52 and X60 API steels to sulphide stress cracking (SSC) was tested by tensile tests at a constant load and also by slow strain rate tensile (SSRT) tests. Both steels were tested after hot-rolling, when they had a microstructure which consisted predominantly of ferrite and pearlite. They were then tested after laboratory quenching and tempering, when their microstructure was predominantly of tempered bainite or martensite. The results showed that the resistance of the steel to SSC depended strongly on the microstructure when it was tested under a constant load. In this case, the quenching and tempering considerably increased the resistance of the steel to SSC. The results of SSRT tests were similar regardless of the heat treatment used. Non-metallic inclusions seemed to play an important role as crack initiation sites during the SSRT tests; this may be due to the hydrogen–deformation interaction. The resistance to SSC varied as a function of the specimen's orientation during the SSRT tests. This may be related to the geometric characteristics of the non-metallic inclusions.     

An ultrahigh strength steel with ultrafine-grained microstructure produced through intercritical deformation and partitioning process

In this work, a novel design scheme in which deformation-induced ferrite transformation (DIFT) was applied to produce fine-grained steel and the quenching is controlled by quenching and partitioning (Q&P) process has led to the development of a new kind of steel. This steel possesses excellent mechanical properties and the ductility can be further improved without compromising strength because the refined microstructure contains martensite, retained austenite and deformation-induced ferrite. The highest elongation of 15% allied with strength of 1700 MPa is obtained through hot deformation followed by Q&P treatment at 300 °C. The microstructure evolutions are discussed in terms of the current knowledge of the Q&P process and the experimental observations. The results show that the designed multiphase steels are a promising candidate for the development of the third generation of advanced high strength steels.     

Effects of silicon,nickel, and vanadium on impact toughness in spring steels

Abstract

The effects of alloying elements silicon, nickel, and vanadium, and the tempering temperatures on the mechanical properties, especially impact toughness, in 0.6C–(1.0–2.5)Si–(0.7–1.8)Ni–(0.1–0.2)V steels (wt-%), were investigated by performing hardness tests, impact tests, and TEM examination. The results obtained showed that the addition of silicon up to 2.5 wt-% shifted the embrittlement temperatures to higher temperatures, owing to the silicon retarding the formation and growth of cementite at boundaries. Additionally, it was found that the temperature of the peak in Charpy impact toughness v. tempering temperature curves coincided with the onset of the decomposition of retained austenite. The temperatures of the conversion of ε carbide to cementite and of the onset of tempered martensite embrittlement were not changed by the addition of nickel up to 2.0 wt-% in the present steels. However, the decomposition of retained austenite was delayed and the toughness was increased over all the tempering temperatures. The effect of the vanadium addition in the present steels was limited to the increase in hardness and impact toughness.     

Effect of tempering temperature on the microstructure and properties of ultrahigh-strength stainless steel

The microstructure, precipitation and mechanical properties of Ferrium S53 steel, a secondary hardening ultrahigh-strength stainless steel with 10% Cr developed by QuesTek Innovations LLC, upon tempering were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and tensile and impact tests. Based on these results, the influence of the tempering temperature on the microstructure and properties was discussed. The results show that decomposition occurred when the retained austenite was tempered above 440 °C and that the hardening peak at 482 °C was caused by the joint strengthening of the precipitates and martensite transformation. Due to the high Cr content, the trigonal M₇C₃ carbide precipitated when the steel was tempered at 400 °C, and M₇C₃ and M₂C (5–10 nm in size) coexisted when it was tempered at 482 °C. When the steel was tempered at 630 °C, M₂C and M₂₃C₆ carbides precipitated, and the sizes were greater than 50 nm and 500 nm, respectively, but no M₇C₃ carbide formed. When the tempering temperature was above 540 °C, austenitization and large-size precipitates were the main factors affecting the strength and toughness.     

Dissimilar Resistance Spot Welding of Q&P and TWIP Steel Sheets

Dissimilar resistance spot welding of twinning induced plasticity (TWIP) and quenching and partitioning (Q&P) steel grades has been investigated by evaluating the effects of clamping force, welding current, and welding time on the microstructure, shear tension strength, and fracture of welded samples. The spot welding of TWIP and Q&P steels promotes the occurrence of an asymmetrical weld nugget with a greater dilution of TWIP steel because of its lower melting temperature and thermal conductivity. As a result, weld nuggets exhibit an austenitic microstructure. TWIP steel undergoes a grain coarsening in the HAZ, whereas Q&P steel undergoes some phase transformations. Welded samples tend to exhibit higher shear tension strength as they are joined at the highest welding current, even though an improper clamping force can promote excessive metal expulsion, thereby reducing the mechanical strength of the welded joints. Shear tension welded samples failed through interfacial fracture with partial thickness fracture mode for a low welding current, while partial thickness with button pull fractures were observed when a high welding current was used. The weld spots predominantly failed at the TWIP side. However, as TWIP steel can work harden significantly in the more resistant welded joints, the failures occur, instead, at the Q&P side.     

热处理对激光选区熔化成型高速钢组织和力学性能的影响EI北大核心CSCD

基于激光选区熔化(selective laser melting,SLM)技术,采用加热打印基板和低功率慢扫描的打印策略,制备了近全致密、低缺陷的高速钢样品;对比分析了固溶淬火及1~4次高温回火等热处理工艺对高速钢显微组织及力学性能的影响。结果表明:SLM极高的熔融/冷却速率产生了细晶奥氏体组织,解决了高速钢中常见的粗大莱氏体组织和网状碳化物问题。固溶淬火处理后高速钢组织由马氏体和残余奥氏体组成。随后在数次高温回火过程中,高速钢逐渐向回火马氏体转变,并析出大量微米级和纳米级MC型碳化物。在马氏体相变强化和MC型碳化物沉淀强化作用下,固溶淬火+3次回火的Tempered-Ⅲ样品硬度60HRC,抗弯强度3621 MPa,弯曲断裂应变为10.1%,获得硬度、强度和韧性匹配较佳的综合性能。继续增加回火次数则导致部分碳化物长大,使得高速钢弯曲断裂应变有所降低。通过SLM技术结合固溶淬火+高温回火,能够充分发挥细晶强化、相变强化和沉淀强化效果,为高强高韧复杂形状高速钢零件的快速制备提供了新途径。     

A study of local deformation and damage of dual phase steel

Deformation and fracture behavior of Dual Phase (DP) high strength steel were investigated by means of a microstructure based Finite Element (FE) modeling. Representative Volume Elements (RVEs) were applied to consider effects of various microstructure constituents and characteristics. Individual stress–strain curves were provided for ferrite, martensite as well as transformation induced Geometrically Necessary Dislocations (GNDs) taking into account in the RVEs. Principally, the GNDs occurred around phase boundaries during quenching process due to the austenite–martensite transformation. Flow behaviors of individual phases were defined on the basis of dislocation theory and partitioning of local chemical composition. Then, flow curves of the examined DP steel were predicted. Furthermore, the Gurson–Tvergaard–Needleman (GTN) model was used to represent ductile damage evolution in the microstructure. Occurrences of void initiation were characterized and damage parameters for RVE simulations were hence identified. Finally, influences of the GNDs, local stress and strain distributions and interactions between phases on predicted crack initiation in the DP microstructure were discussed and correlated with experimental results.     

Enhanced strength-ductility of medium Mn steel by quenching,partitioning and tempering

ABSTRACT

A quench and partition (Q&P) process was combined with tempering in a medium Mn steel. The partitioning treatment enriched the austenite in carbon, and stabilised the austenite against transformation during cooling. The ductility of Q&P steel is significantly improved by tempering, with negligible loss in strength. The ductility was found to be determined by the martensite in the structure, rather than the austenite in the present case. The reason for the significant improvement in the ductility with tempering was suggested to be the reduction in the dislocation density after extended tempering treatment. The energy absorption of this alloy was increased to 28.5?GPa·% together with an ultrahigh tensile strength ～1400?MPa, which is one of the largest observations in this system.     

Fracture toughness of M2 and H13 alloy tool steels

Abstract

The influence of microstructural variations on the fracture toughness of two tool steels having compositions (wt-%) lC–4Cr–5Mo–2V–6W (AISI M2 high-speed steel) and 0·35C–5Cr–1·5Mo;amp;#x2013;1V (AISI H13 hot-work steel) was investigated. In the as-hardened condition, the H13 steel has a higher fracture toughness than M2 steel, and the latter steel is harder. In the tempered condition, the H13 steel is again softer and has a higher fracture toughness than M2. There is a decrease in fracture toughness and an increase in hardness when the austenitizing temperature is above I050°C for M2 steel and above 1100°C for H13 steel, in both the as hardened and hardened and tempered conditions. The fracture toughness of both steels was enhanced by reducing the grain size and increasing the overall carbide volume in the matrix. The steel samples of average grain diameter ≥40μm exhibit 2–3 MN m ^?3/2 lower fracture toughness than samples of average grain diameter ≤15 μm. A high content of retained austenite appears to raise the fracture toughness of as-hardened M2 steel. Tempering improved the fracture toughness of M2 and H13 steels. The present results are explained using observations of changes in the microstructure and the modes of fracture.

MST/468     

Role of butter layer in low-cycle fatigue behavior of modified 9Cr and CrMoV dissimilar rotor welded joint

The present work aims at studying the role of butter layer (BL) in low-cycle fatigue (LCF) behavior of modified 9Cr steel and CrMoV steel dissimilar welded joint. The significant difference of the chemical composition of base metals (BMs) makes it a challenge to achieve sound welded joint. Therefore, buttering was considered to obtain a transition layer between the dissimilar steels. The LCF tests of two kinds of specimens without and with butter layer were performed applying strain-controlled cyclic load with different axial strain amplitudes. The test results indicated that the number of cycles at higher strain amplitudes of welded joint without butter layer was greatly higher than that of the joint with butter layer, while the fatigue lifetime to crack initiation (2N_f) became closer to each other at low and middle strain amplitudes. The failure was in the tempered heat affected zone (HAZ) at the CrMoV side for specimens without BL, while the fracture occurred at the tempered HAZ in the BL for specimens with BL. The microstructure details of BM, BL, HAZ and weld metals (WMs) were revealed by optical microscopy (OM). It was found that the tempered martensite was major microstructure for welded joint and much more carbides were observed in tempered HAZ than other parts due to the repeated tempering. Microhardness test indicated a softest zone existing tempered HAZ of BL and also there was a softer zone in tempered HAZ at the CrMoV side due to repeated tempering during welding and post weld heat treatment (PWHT). And scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was applied to observe the fractography. It was indicated that the fatigue crack initiation occurred from the specimen surface and all specimens were ductile–brittle mixed fractures. It is deemed that the softening behavior in BL caused by twice tempering correspondingly decreased the LCF lifetime at higher strain amplitudes. So suitable welding parameters and heat treatment processes became a key measure to ensure LCF property without losing other properties for welded joint with BL.     

Multiscale prediction of mechanical behavior of ferrite–pearlite steel with numerical material testing

Multiscale mechanical behaviors of ferrite–pearlite steel were predicted using numerical material testing (NMT) based on the finite element method. The microstructure of ferrite–pearlite steel is regarded as a two‐component aggregate of ferrite crystal grains and pearlite colonies. In NMT, the macroscopic stress–strain curve and the deformation state of the microstructure were examined by means of a two‐scale finite element analysis method based on the framework of the mathematical homogenization theory. The microstructure of ferrite–pearlite steel was modeled with finite elements, and constitutive models for ferrite crystal grains and pearlite colonies were prepared to describe their anisotropic mechanical behavior at the microscale level. While the anisotropic linear elasticity and the single crystal plasticity based on representative characteristic length have been employed for the ferrite crystal grains, the constitutive model of a pearlite colony was newly developed in this study. For that reason, the constitutive behavior of the pearlite colony was investigated using NMT on a smaller scale than the scale of the ferrite–pearlite microstructure, with the microstructure of the pearlite colony modeled as a lamellar structure of ferrite and cementite phases with finite elements. On the basis of the numerical results, the anisotropic constitutive model of the pearlite colony was formulated based on the normal vector of the lamella. The components of the anisotropic elasticity were estimated with NMT based on the finite element method, where the elasticity of the cementite phase was numerically evaluated with a first‐principles calculation. Also, an anisotropic plastic constitutive model for the pearlite colony was formulated with two‐surface plasticity consisting of yield functions for the interlamellar shear mode and yielding of the overall lamellar structure. After addressing the microscopic modeling of ferrite–pearlite steel, NMT was performed with the finite element models of the ferrite–pearlite microstructure and with the microscopic constitutive models for each of the components. Finally, the results were compared with the corresponding experimental results on both the macroscopic response and the microscopic deformation state to ascertain the validity of the numerical modeling. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

回火方式对调质高强度钢组织和性能的影响

为改善高强度钢的塑性和韧性,对同一种低合金高强度钢进行两种不同回火方式的调质处理,淬火+缓慢加热回火的传统调质与淬火+感应加热回火的新调质工艺,分析该工艺对钢的组织与性能的影响.利用扫描电镜和透射电镜观察组织及析出物的变化,采用X射线衍射仪分析了钢中残余奥氏体体积分数.结果表明:两种工艺下,钢的组织均为板条宽300～500 nm左右的马氏体组织,感应加热回火调质工艺处理后,板条组织明显,析出物大多约为20 nm,比传统调质处理后的细小;两种不同热处理工艺均能提高钢的屈服强度.感应加热至500℃回火后试验钢具有16%以上的延伸率,-40℃冲击功达到32 J,优于传统调质工艺处理钢板的综合性能.感应加热回火能获得更多小尺寸析出物和更多的残余奥氏体,有利于改善钢的塑性和韧性.     

Effect of microstructure on cleavage resistance of high-strength quenched and tempered steels

The relationship between microstructure and cleavage resistance in quenched and tempered high-strength bainitic and martensitic steels is investigated by means of Charpy-V tests, uniaxial tensile test on unnotched specimens and electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD). Steels under investigation are low/medium carbon (C = 0.10-0.40%) steels with yield strength in the range YS = 500-1000 MPa.Results show that the tensile strength and the cleavage resistance of quenched and tempered (Q&T) steels appear to be controlled by different structural parameters and not, as in the case of polygonal ferritic steels, by the same structural unit. In particular, yield strength is controlled by the mean subgrain size, whereas the structural unit controlling the critical cleavage stress is the covariant (bainitic or martensitic) packet, whose size is slightly lower than the average unit crack path (UCP). The critical stage in the fracture process appears to be the propagation of a Griffith crack from one packet to another, and the resistance offered by high-angle boundaries is approximately the same as that of low-C steels with bainitic or polygonal ferrite microstructure.