Effects of solution treatment temperature on grain growth and mechanical properties of high strength 18%Ni cobalt free maraging steel

Abstract

The effects of solution treatment (ST) temperature (1073–1473 K) on the prior austenite grain size, microstructure, and mechanical properties of a 2000 MPa grade 18%Ni Co free maraging steel have been investigated. The results show that prior austenite grain size normally increases with increase of ST temperature. Strength and ductility in the solution treated condition are independent of both ST temperature and prior austenite grain size due to constant martensite lath spacing and dislocation tangles. In the solution treated + aged condition, the relationship between yield strength and prior austenite grain size follows the Hall- Petch equation, and ductility improves until the ST temperature used is >1373 K. Accordingly, the fracture mode transforms from intergranular to transgranular at a critical prior austenite grain size of ~ 150 μ m, because of severe segregation of Ni₃(Mo,Ti) and reverted austenite at prior austenite grain boundaries and martensite lath boundaries. The variation of Charpy V notch impact energy with increase of ST temperature in both the solution treated and solution treated + aged conditions is similar to that of the tensile ductility. The fracture toughness K_IC, however, increases with increase of ST temperature. No thermal embrittlement resulted from the Ti(C,N,S) inclusion segregation at prior austenite grain boundaries and martensite lath boundaries in the high temperature solution treatment.     

Influence of hot-deformation on morphology and effective grain size of lath martensite in 18Ni maraging steel

The changes in the morphology of lath martensite with hot-deformation of austenite were studied by using an 18Ni maraging steel. In the case of conventional quenched (undeformed) or completely recrystallized specimens, an austenite grain contains several packets and each packet is almost completely partitioned by parallel blocks. However, this morphology of packets and blocks was markedly changed when martensite was formed from hot-deformed (not recrystallized) austenite. The packet size increases but the block width decreases with increasing amount of deformation. The relationship between packet size (or block width) of martensite and the grain size of the prior austenite was discussed in detail. The effective grain size of martensite with lath morphology which decides the mechanical proporties of the steel has been discussed on the basis of the Hall-Petch formula.     

Strengthening phenomenon in 0.5% C steel hot-forged and subsequently held in stable austenite region

0.5% C steel has been studied to clarify the correlation of mechanical properties and micro-structure in steels hot-forged and subsequently held in the stable austenite region. Hot-forging at 900 or 1200 °C followed by intermediate holding at 800 or 1100 °C, respectively, prior to water quenching has been employed. Hardness and bend strength decreased with increasing intermediate holding time up to about 50 s. The subsequent intermediate holding produced a surprising and hitherto undescribed phenomenon because an abrupt strengthening occurred at an intermediate holding of 50 s, whereas previous austenite grain size gradually increased with intermediate holding time. Hence there was little difference between the mechanical properties of the steels with no intentional holding time (2 s) and a holding time of 50 s. The concurrent appearance of microtwinning in martensite, and a simultaneous decrease in the activation energy values of the first and third stages in tempering, were seen without an extreme change in retained austenite contents. The mechanism responsible for the strengthening phenomenon is discussed in terms of a carbon segregation model, in which carbon segregates to defects introduced into the austenite during hot-forging, followed by an intermediate holding prior to quenching.     

022Cr25Ni7Mo4N双相不锈钢等温处理中的组织演变EI北大核心CSCD

研究经1100℃等温处理2~20 h后022Cr25Ni7Mo4N双相不锈钢的显微组织演变。观察钢中奥氏体晶粒形态变化并对其尺寸进行定量表征,测量铁素体/奥氏体两相中的元素含量变化,并探讨组织演变对实验钢中铁素体相体积分数的各向异性和低温冲击韧性的影响。结果表明:随着保温时间的延长,奥氏体晶粒发生聚集、长大、粗化现象,并伴随显著的晶粒形态变化,a/b值≥4.0时细长棒状晶粒体积分数从近20%骤降至5%以下,a/b值介于1.0~1.9的等轴晶粒体积分数显著上升的同时,尺寸≥20μm的晶粒体积分数快速增加。保温时间的延长使得Mo,Cr元素进一步向铁素体相扩散、富集,并提高铁素体相抗点蚀当量(pitting resistance equivalent number,PREN)值。细长棒状奥氏体晶粒比例的显著下降,是奥氏体体积分数各向异性改善和实验钢低温冲击韧性提高的主要原因。     

Kinetics of martensite formation in plain carbon steels: critical assessment of possible influence of austenite grain boundaries and autocatalysis

Abstract

The kinetics of the martensitic transformation in Fe–0·80C has been determined from dilatometry data and shows no significant variation when the cooling rate is changed by two orders of magnitude. All kinetic data can be adequately simulated by the Koistinen and Marburger (KM) equation using a specific start temperature T_KM and rate parameter α_m. This finding supports the suggestion that the transformation is athermal, and moreover, the absence of a time dependence strongly indicates that autocatalytic nucleation does not contribute to the transformation kinetics in plain carbon steels on measurable time scales. Furthermore, dilatometry experiments with different austenitising conditions were conducted to examine the effect of the prior austenite grain size on the overall kinetics of martensite formation. The present results indicate that the progress of martensite formation beyond a fraction f?=?0·15 is independent of the prior austenitising treatment. It is therefore concluded that austenite–austenite grain boundaries have no significant effect on the overall nucleation and growth of athermal martensite, which is consistent with a model proposed by Ansell and co-workers.     

Size distribution of martensite plates in an Fe-Ni-Mn alloy

In this paper, the size distribution of the martensite plates in an Fe-23.2 Ni-2.81 Mn (wt%) alloy, which transforms isothermally at subzero temperatures, is reported. The distribution of the martensite plates has been determined as a function of the reaction temperature, volume fraction of martensite, the austenitic grain size, a superimposed elastic stress and prior plastic strain (at room temperature) of austenite. Increasing the driving force either by decreasing the reaction temperature or by a superimposed elastic stress changes the size distribution by enhancing the extent of radial growth of the martensite plates. Pre-straining of austenite does not allow the martensite plates to grow to the full extent. The present results show that the radial growth of the martensite plates increases with increasing driving force and decreases due to work-hardening of austenite. The transformation is found to progress through a combination of the spreading-out of clusters and filling-in of pockets, both occurring simultaneously. However, the extent of filling-in, i.e. compartmentalization of austenite grains, is more in the coarse-grained (0.09 mm) and medium-grained (0.048 mm) specimens compared to that in the fine-grained (0.019 mm) specimens.     

双相钢中的残余奥氏体

研究了热－机械处理中各种因素对双相钢中的残余奥氏体的影响，发现：双相区热处理前的冷加工使奥氏体成核密度提高，且使残余奥氏体分布均匀和含量增加；微观结构的观察表明，空冷过程中奥氏体颗粒在不断缩小，颗粒的尺寸效应和碳原子向奥氏体中偏聚均使奥氏体变得稳定。因此，恰当地控制冷加工量、冷却速度、加热温度和时间，可使双相钢含有数量和稳定度都合适的残余奥氏体。此外还发现，从双相区温度空冷所得马氏体必须经低温短时     

X120管线钢奥氏体长大规律研究

研究了不同保温温度和等温时间对奥氏体晶粒长大规律的影响,结果表明:随加热温度的升高和保温时间的延长,奥氏体晶粒尺寸逐渐增加。当温度低于1150℃时,奥氏体晶粒尺寸长大缓慢;加热温度超过1150℃后,晶粒尺寸长大速度显著增加,建立描述X120管线钢奥氏体晶粒长大动力学模型为:D6.1-D06.1=2.08×1027t exp(-327028RT),拟合结果良好。     

奥氏体化温度对900 MPa级HSLA钢显微组织和晶体学演变的影响

采用OM和SEM研究了奥氏体化温度对HSLA钢组织演变和低温韧性的影响.结果 表明:奥氏体化温度由850℃升高至950℃(实验钢的AC3温度为819℃)并保温30 min后,奥氏体的平均晶粒尺寸由7.22 μm增大到17.39 μm,在850～950℃淬火后的显微组织均为板条马氏体,屈服强度和抗拉强度均呈下降趋势,延伸...     

高碳钢奥氏体晶粒长大的预测

借助于高温共聚焦显微镜(CLSM)、透射电镜(TEM)研究含Ti钢和无Ti钢的奥氏体晶粒长大行为。试样在1123~1473K之间保温60min时测量一系列温度下不同保温时间的奥氏体晶粒尺寸。结果表明:两种钢奥氏体晶粒尺寸随着温度的上升而增大;另外,两种钢奥氏体晶粒尺寸随时间的延长而长大,并符合抛物线方程。并且,观察到了第二相粒子,用第二相粒子的熟化公式和体积公式分别计算两种钢的含Ti粒子尺寸与体积分数。同时,采用修正的Gladman公式预测两种钢的奥氏体晶粒长大,实验结果和预测结果吻合较好。     

Austenite and ferrite grain sizes in interstitial free steel

Abstract

An oxidation method has been employed to reveal prior austenite grain boundaries in C–Mn and interstitial free (IF) steels. The ability of this technique to reveal prior austenite grain boundaries is assessed by comparing its results with those of an etching method applied on the C–Mn steel. Optimum conditions were established by trial and error. The conditions varied with different steels and with heat treatment temperature. In the IF steel rapid grain growth at high temperatures in the ferrite range made a significant contribution to the prevention of grain refinement through transformation. Attempts to obtain the smallest prior austenite grain size in the IF steel to assess the ability of the oxidation technique to reveal fine austenite grains led to an average austenite grain size of 80 μm in warm rolled samples after the shortest holding time at 950°C.

MST/3203     

Tensile properties of a 0.34C---3Ni---Cr---Mo---V steel with mixed lower-bainite---martensite structures

The primary objective of this work is to study the influence of microstructure on the tensile properties of a 0.34C---3Ni---Cr---Mo---V steel with mixed lower-bainite---martensite microstructures. In general, the tensile yield strength and ultimate strength of the steel with mixed structures were found to decrease with an increase in the lower-bainite content, while a few exceptions were observed on mixed structures containing 10–25% lower bainite which showed higher yield strength than fully martensitic structure. The introduction of lower bainite in prior austenite grains was found to cause a refinement of the martensite packet size. However, the improvement of the strength of martensite due to the refinement of its substructure can only account for part of the strengthening in a mixed lower-bainite---martensite structure. The tensile ductility (RA%) of the mixed lower-bainite---martensite structure in general is quite close to that of the fully martensitic structure except for the fine austenite grain condition (8 μm), for which the mixed structures show inferior RA% as compared with the fully martensitic structure. On the other hand, the refinement of prior austenite grain size was found to cause beneficial effects on both tensile strength and ductility for the steel with mixed lower-bainite---martensite structure.     

Study on microstructure of low carbon 12% chromium stainless steel in high temperature heat-affected zone

Coarsening, embrittlement and corrosion sensitization in high temperature heat-affected zone (HTHAZ) are the major problems when low carbon 12% chromium stainless steel is being welded, which induce deterioration of the impact toughness at low temperature and intergranular corrosion resistance. This study investigated the corresponding microstructures in HTHAZ with different chemical compositions and heat inputs through thermal simulation tests. There are several primary conclusions: (1) When ferrite factor (FF) is above 9.0, the microstructure in HTHAZ is fully ferrite or a small amount of martensite net likely distributing along delta ferrite grain boundaries. On the other hand, if FF is below 9.0, the martensite content increases with the decreasing of FF. (2) Heat input influences the microstructure of high FF steel in HTHAZ. The martensite content and its distribution of low FF steel are not sensitive to heat inputs, but the grain size grows up with the increase of heat inputs. (3) The coarse Ti-rich particles in low FF steels containing Ti can promote intragranular austenite formation inside delta ferrite resulting in packet morphology of martensite. On the other hand, martensite of low FF steels only stabilized with Nb is characterized by grain boundary allotriomorphs, Widmanstätten structures and secondary sawteeth. This martensite reticularly distributes along ferrite grain boundaries.     

奥氏体不锈钢晶粒细化对形变机制和力学性能的影响

利用相逆转变原理采用冷变形使得亚稳奥氏体转变为形变马氏体,采用不同温度和时间退火分别获得纳米晶/超细晶和粗晶奥氏体不锈钢。通过拉伸实验得到不同晶粒尺寸的奥氏体不锈钢力学性能,采用透射电镜观察形变组织结构并利用扫描电镜观察断口特征。结果表明:高屈服强度纳米晶/超细晶奥氏体不锈钢通过形变孪晶获得优良塑性;而低屈服强度的粗晶奥氏体不锈钢发生形变诱导马氏体效应,得到良好的塑性;两组具有不同形变机制的奥氏体不锈钢拉伸断口均为韧性断裂。形变机制由形变孪晶转变为形变诱导马氏体归因于晶粒细化导致奥氏体稳定性大幅度提高。     

Acicular ferrite transformation in alloy-steel weld metals

In this paper, the morphology of acicular ferrite in alloy-steel weld metals has been investigated. The effect of the grain size of prior austenite on acicular ferrite transformation has also been studied. It is found that acicular ferrite can form in reheated weld metals when the austenite grain size is relatively large. On the other hand, classical sheaf-like bainite will form at the same temperature if the austenite grain size is kept small. Further results strongly suggest that acicular ferrite is in fact intragranular bainite rather than intragranular Widmanstätten ferrite.     

The effect of austenitizing time on martensite morphologies and magnetic properties of martensite in Fe–24.5%Ni–4.5%Si alloy

The effect of austenitizing time on the formation of martensite in Fe–24.5%Ni–4.5%Si alloy has been studied by means of transmission electronmicroscope (TEM), scanning electronmicroscope (SEM) and Mössbauer spectroscopy technique. TEM and SEM observations revealed that the martensite morphology was found to be closely dependent on the austenitizing time. The orientation relationship between austenite and thermally induced martensite was found as the Kurdjumov-Sachs type. The volume fraction changes of martensite and austenite phases, the hyperfine magnetic field of martensite phase and isomery shift values have been determined by Mössbauer spectroscopy. The Mössbauer study also revealed that the martensite volume fractions increased with increasing austenite grain size.     

Age hardening behaviour during reverse transformation from martensite to austenite in Fe–31·1wt-%Ni

Abstract

The effects of thermomechanical treatments on the reverse transformation behaviour from twinned plate martensite to austenite in Fe–31·1%Ni have been studied. The variation of both diffusion controlled and diffusionless reverse transformation with temperature and time was examined. Diffusional reversion was dominant at lower reheating temperatures and led to a fine martensite–austenite duplex microstructure with a grain size of 0·01–0·1 μm, which caused a remarkable hardening ?H_v of 170–230 HV during aging. Cold working of the martensite promoted diffusional reversion and enhanced age hardening. X-ray analysis indicates that the age hardening is caused mainly by elastic strain resulting from coherent precipitation of austenite in martensite.

MST/1414     

Relation between microstructures of martensite and prior austenite in 12 wt% Cr ferritic steel

Tempered martensitic 9–12 wt% Cr ferritic steels are used as heat resistant materials in power plant, where service under conditions of high temperature and pressure for several decades is required, and an adequate resistance to creep is one of the key requirements. In this type of steels, failure has been found to occur preferentially at prior austenite grain boundaries if the prior austenite grains are coarse. It appears that the prior austenite grain boundaries can act as a site of especial weakness in the tempered martensitic microstructure. It would therefore be useful to investigate whether the properties of prior austenite grain boundaries could be modified by some appropriate thermomechanical processing method. One approach to this is to attempt to increase the fraction of annealing twins in the austenite phase and to investigate whether this has an effect on the properties of the martensite after transformation and tempering. In this study, thermomechanical treatments involving hot-rolling have been applied and the fraction of austenite twins produced determined using electron backscatter diffraction analysis. The treatment giving the highest fraction of austenite twins was identified and the effect of the increase in twin fraction on the characteristics of the martensite was investigated. It was found that the fraction of coincidence site lattice boundaries in martensite along prior austenite grain boundaries increased with increasing fraction of prior austenite twin boundaries.     

Effect of microstructure of low carbon steels on ultrasonic attenuation

The ultrasonic attenuation in low carbon steel with 0.04 wt% C to 0.80 wt% C was measured over a frequency range of 5 to 15 MHz, and the effects of the carbon content and normalizing temperature were analyzed. In pure iron, the attenuation is determined from the average grain size, which increases as the normalizing temperature increases; there is a noticeable effect caused by a few large grains. In the case of the hypoeutectoid steels, the proeutectoid ferrite grain, the size of which depends on prior austenite grain size, acts as the main scatterer. The prior austenite grain size increases as the carbon content decreases and the normalizing temperature increases. The colony is responsible for scattering in the eutectoid steel; scattering by pearlite is greater than that by ferrite.     

Effect of austenite grain size on isothermal bainite transformation in low carbon microalloyed steel

Abstract

The effect of austenite grain size on isothermal bainite transformation in a low carbon microalloyed steel was studied by means of optical microscopy, SEM and TEM. Two widely varying austenite grain sizes, a fine average grain size (～20 μm) and a coarse average grain size (～260 μm), were obtained by different maximum heating temperatures. The results showed that the morphology of isothermal microstructure changes from bainite without carbide precipitation to bainitic ferrite with a decrease in holding temperature. Coarse austenite grain can retard the kinetics of bainite transformation and increase the incubation time of bainite transformation by reducing the number of nucleation site, but it does not influence the nose temperature of the C curve of bainite start transformation, which is ～534°C.