Effects of niobium additions on the structure,depth, and austenite grain size of the case of carburized 0.07% C steels

Carbon (0.07%) steel samples containing about 0.04% Nb singly and in combination with nitrogen were carburized in a natural Titas gas atmosphere at a temperature of 1223 K (950 °C) and a pressure of about 0.10 MPa for 1/2 to 4 h, followed by slow cooling in the furnace. Their microstructures were studied by optical microscopy. The austenite grain size of the case and the case depths were determined on baseline samples of low-carbon steels and also on niobium and (Nb + N) microalloyed steel samples. It was found that, when compared to the baseline steel, niobium alone or in combination with nitrogen decreased the thickness of cementite network near the surface of the carburized case of the steels. However, niobium in combination with nitrogen was more effective than niobium in reducing the thickness of cementite network. Niobium with or without nitrogen inhibited the formation of Widmanstätten cementite plates at grain boundaries and within the grains near the surface in the hypereutectoid zone of the case. It was also revealed that, when compared to the baseline steel, niobium decreased the case depth of the carburized steels, but that niobium with nitrogen is more effective than niobium alone in reducing the case depth. Niobium as niobium carbide (NbC) and niobium in the presence of nitrogen as niobium carbonitride, [Nb(C,N)] particles refined the austenite grain size of the carburized case, but Nb(C,N) was more effective than NbC in inhibiting austenite grain growth.     

Processing map and hot deformation behavior of Ta-particle reinforced TiAl composite

The hot deformation behavior of a Ta-particle reinforced TiAl composite was studied. Ti–48Al–2Cr–2Nb– 0.2W(at.%)/20vol.%Ta metal matrix composite was fabricated by spark plasma sintering. The deformation behavior was investigated by hot compression tests at the temperature ranging from 1050 to 1200 °C and the strain rate ranging from 1×10⁻³ to 1 s⁻¹. The constitutive equation containing true strain variables was established. The values of activation energy Q under different strain degrees are between 240 and 280 kJ/mol, which are lower than that of pure TiAl. Based on dynamic material modeling, the processing maps at various strain degrees were established, and the optimized parameters for hot working are 1050–1100 °C and 0.005–0.01 s⁻¹. The microstructural evolution during deformation was characterized, which indicated that the dynamic recrystallization plays an important role in this process.     

Mg-6Zn-1Al-0.3Mn 镁合金的热压缩变形行为及变形组织

采用Gleeble热模拟方法研究Mg?6Zn?1Al?0.3Mn 变形镁合金在温度为200~400°C,应变速率为0.01~7 s?1条件下的热压缩变形行为。结果表明,变形温度和应变速率显著影响其热变形行为。通过计算获得了热变形激活能及应力指数分别为Q=166 kJ/mol,n=5.99,且其本构方程为ε&=3.16×1013[sinh(0.010σ)]5.99exp [?1.66×105/(RT)]。热压缩显微组织观察表明：在应变速率为0.01~1 s?1的条件下,在250°C热压缩变形时初始晶粒晶界及孪晶处发生了部分动态再结晶,而在高温(350~400°C)条件下,发生了完全动态再结晶且再结晶晶粒尺寸随着应变速率的增加而减小。获得的较优的变形条件为温度330~400°C、应变速率为0.01~0.03 s?1以及350°C、应变速率为1 s?1。     

Effects of contents of Nb and C on hot deformation behaviors of high Nb X80 pipeline steels

The behavior of the flow deformation and the effects of contents of Nb and C on deformation behaviors of high Nb X80 pipeline steels during hot compression deformation were studied by thermal simulation test. The content of solid solution Nb was quantificationally studied during the reheating and hot deformation process, and the effects of change of solid solution Nb in steels on hot deformation behaviors were discussed. The results show that the contents of Nb and C have great effects on the flow stress behaviors of high Nb X80 pipeline steels. When the C content in steels is constant, the recrystallization activation energy increases from 387 to 481 kJ/mol with increasing the Nb from 0.082% to 0.13% (mass fraction). However, the effect of Nb is correlative to the C content, i.e. w(Nb)/w(C). When w(Nb)/w(C) decreases from 3.61 to 2.18, the recrystallization activation energy decreases from 481 to 434 kJ/mol.     

Al-4.10Cu-1.42Mg-0.57Mn-0.12Zr合金热变形过程中显微组织动态演化的表征(英文)

在Gleeble-1500热模拟机上对Al-4.10Cu-1.42Mg-0.57Mn-0.12Zr合金在变形温度300°C和应变速度10 s-1下进行热压缩变形,真应变分别为0.2、0.4、0.6和0.8。通过X射线衍射仪、扫描电镜和透射电镜研究合金变形过程中复杂的动态显微组织演变。结果表明:真应力随着应变的增加而迅速增大至峰值,之后随着应变的增加而趋于稳定,呈现动态软化特征。随着应变的增大,位错缠结成胞状与亚晶结构,表明变形过程中发生动态回复。动态析出相S相、θ相和Al3Zr相在变形过程中粗化速度加快。铝基体中析出连续的S相,并发现有不连续的S相在Al3Zr相附近和亚晶界处形核析出。Al3Zr相相对比较稳定,易于在位错和亚晶界处析出。流动软化机制是由于动态回复和动态析出导致位错密度减少而引起的。     

Strain-induced precipitation of NbC in Nb and Nb–Ti microalloyed HSLA steels

The precipitation start time (P_s) of strain-induced NbC carbides is delayed in Nb–Ti steel in comparison to the case of Nb steel. The delay of precipitation of strain-induced NbC carbides is attributed to both the insufficient solution of Nb during a reheating treatment, and the heterogeneous nucleation of (Nb,Ti)C carbides.     

Characterization of NbC and (Nb, Ti)N nanoprecipitates in TRIP assisted multiphase steels

Multiphase steels utilising composite strengthening may be further strengthened via grain refinement or precipitation by the addition of microalloying elements. In this study a Nb microalloyed steel comprising martensite, bainite and retained austenite has been studied. By means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) we have investigated the size distribution and the structural properties of (Nb, Ti)N and NbC precipitates, their occurrence in the various steel phases, and their relationship with the Fe matrix. (Nb, Ti)N precipitates were found in ferrite, martensite, and bainite, while NbC precipitates were found only in ferrite. All NbC precipitates were found to be small (5–20 nm in size) and to have a face centred cubic (fcc) crystal structure with lattice parameter a = 4.36 ± 0.05 Å. In contrast, the (Nb, Ti)N precipitates were found to have a broader size range (5–150 nm) and to have a fcc crystal structure with lattice parameter a = 8.09 ± 0.05 Å. While the NbC precipitates were found to be randomly oriented, the (Nb, Ti)N precipitates have a well-defined Nishiyama–Wasserman orientation relationship with the ferrite matrix. An analysis of the lattice mismatch suggests that the latter precipitates have a high potential for effective strengthening. Density functional theory calculations were performed for various stoichiometries of NbC_x and Nb_xTi_yN_z phases and the comparison with experimental data indicates that both the carbides and nitrides are deficient in C and N content.     

Hot deformation behavior of Al–9.0Mg–0.5Mn–0.1Ti alloy based on processing maps

Hot deformation behavior of extrusion preform of the spray-formed Al–9.0Mg–0.5Mn–0.1Ti alloy was studied using hot compression tests over deformation temperature range of 300–450 °C and strain rate range of 0.01–10 s^?1. On the basis of experiments and dynamic material model, 2D processing maps and 3D power dissipation maps were developed for identification of exact instability regions and optimization of hot processing parameters. The experimental results indicated that the efficiency factor of energy dissipate (η) lowered to the minimum value when the deformation conditions located at the strain of 0.4, temperature of 300 °C and strain rate of 1 s^?1. The softening mechanism was dynamic recovery, the grain shape was mainly flat, and the portion of high angle grain boundary (>15°) was 34%. While increasing the deformation temperature to 400 °C and decreasing the strain rate to 0.1 s^?1, a maximum value of η was obtained. It can be found that the main softening mechanism was dynamic recrystallization, the structures were completely recrystallized, and the portion of high angle grain boundary accounted for 86.5%. According to 2D processing maps and 3D power dissipation maps, the optimum processing conditions for the extrusion preform of the spray-formed Al–9.0Mg–0.5Mn–0.1Ti alloy were in the deformation temperature range of 340–450 °C and the strain rate range of 0.01–0.1 s^?1 with the power dissipation efficiency range of 38%–43%.     

Complex heterogeneous precipitation in titanium–niobium microalloyed Al-killed HSLA steels—I. (Ti,Nb)(C,N) particles

Precipitation in Ti–Nb Al-killed microalloyed HSLA steels (Ti/N weight ratio from 4.4 to 1) was investigated in both the as-rolled and the normalised conditions using analytical electron microscopy including parallel electron energy loss spectroscopy (PEELS). An extensive formation of heterogeneously nucleated complex (Ti,Nb)(C,N) particles down to 10 nm in size was observed. The core of such a complex particle is based on TiN and has a spherical, cubic or cruciform shape. The N/(Ti+Nb) atomic ratio in the core is similar to the average value in the steel whereas the Nb/Ti ratio is much smaller than the average value and not proportional to it. Many of the cores have caps in the form of epitaxial overgrowths based on NbC. Their composition changes from Nb(C,N) to (Nb,Ti)C as the N/Ti ratio decreases. The formation of these complex particles and their detailed morphology are controlled by the processing conditions as well as the overall composition.     

Effect of Nb particles on the flow behavior of TiAl alloy

High temperature compressive deformation behaviors of PM-TiAl alloy containing Nb particles (Ti–45Al–5Nb–0.4W/2Nb (at. %)) were investigated at temperatures ranging from 1050 °C to 1200 °C, and strain rates from 0.001 s⁻¹ to 1 s⁻¹. The flow curves were employed to develop constitutive equations, and the apparent activation energy of deformation Q was determined as 447.35 kJ/mol. A revised processing map was constructed on the basis of the flow stress, which can accurately describe the deformation behaviors and predict the optimum hot forging condition. The addition of 2% Nb particles reduces the peak stress and increases the activation energy of TiAl-based intermetallic, however, it increases the instable domain in the processing map.     

High power laser welding of Nb microalloyed steel plates

Abstract

Laser welding studies on 12 mm thick Nb microalloyed steels were done using a 25 kW CO₂ laser at welding speeds of up to 3 m min^?1 with the aim of identifying the influences of Nb and carbon on laser weldability and weld properties. Welds were examined for solidification flaws, penetration characteristics, microstructure and mechanical properties. Solidification cracking did not appear to be influenced by carbon or Nb in the ranges studied when welding at power levels between 22 and 25 kW. The area fraction of martensite was shown to increase with decreasing energy input and increasing carbon content. Weld metal toughness was improved by reducing carbon content in the range 0·08–0·05%C but was little influenced by Nb. Weld metal and heat affected zone hardness levels were reduced, as expected, by reducing carbon content. The results show that increasing Nb content leads to higher strength material without significant loss of toughness, while lowering carbon content can improve toughness without loss of strength. Thus low carbon Nb microalloyed steels with about 0·05%C can achieve a good combination of parent plate and laser weld properties and appear to be suitable for high power laser welding situations.     

Optimization of thermal processing parameters of Ti555211 alloy using processing maps based on Murty criterion

Isothermal compression testing of Ti555211 titanium alloys was carried out at deformation temperatures from 750 to 950 °C in 50 °C intervals with a strain rate of0.001–1.000 s~(-1). The high-temperature deformation behavior of the Ti555211 alloy was characterized by analysis of stress–strain behavior, kinetics and processing maps. A constitutive equation was formulated to describe the flow stress as a function of deformation temperature and strain rate, and the calculated apparent activation energies are found to be 454.50 and 207.52 k J mol~(-1)in the a b-phase and b-phase regions, respectively. A processing map based on the Murty instability criterion was developed at a strain of 0.7. The maps exhibit two domains of peak efficiency from 750 to 950 °C. A *60 % peak efficiency occurs at 800–850 °C/0.001–0.010 s~(-1). The other peak efficiency of *60 % occurs at C950 °C/0.001–0.010 s~(-1), which can be considered to be the optimum condition for high-temperature working of this alloy.However, at strain rates of higher than 1.000 s~(-1)and deformation temperatures of 750 and 950 °C, clear process flow lines and bands of flow localization occur in the hightemperature deformation process, which should be avoided in Ti555211 alloy hot processing. The mechanism in stability domain and instability domain was also discussed.     

Influence of deformation temperature on the ferrite grain refinement in a low carbon Nb–Ti microalloyed steel

Grain refinement is one of the effective methods to develop new generation low carbon microalloyed steels possessing excellent combination of mechanical properties. In the present work, the microstructural evolution and ferrite grain refinement at various deformation temperatures were investigated using single pass isothermal hot compression experiments for a low carbon Nb–Ti microalloyed steel. The physical processes that occurred during deformation were discussed by observing the optical microstructure and analyzing the stress–strain responses. The results show that there is a close relation between the microstructural evolution and true stress–true strain responses during the deformation. Microstructural observation indicates that very fine ferrite grains of about 1.8–3 μm are obtained by deformation at 830–845 °C, about Ar₃ ± 10 °C. The obtained stress–strain curves suggest the occurrence of strain-induced dynamic transformation (SIDT) of γ to at this deformation temperature range.     

Phase Composition and Superplastic Behavior of a Wrought AlCoCrCuFeNi High-Entropy Alloy

A cast AlCoCrCuFeNi high-entropy alloy was multiaxially forged at 950°C to produce a fine homogeneous mixture of grains/particles of four different phases with the average size of ~2.1 μm. The forged alloy exhibited unusual superplastic behavior accompanied by a pronounced softening stage, followed by a steady-state flow stage, during tensile deformation at temperatures of 800°C–1000°C and at strain rates of 10^?4–10^?1 s^?1. Despite the softening stage, no noticeable strain localization was observed and a total elongation of up to 1240% was obtained. A detailed analysis of the phase composition and microstructure of the alloy before and after superplastic deformation was conducted, the strain rate and temperature dependences of the flow stress were determined at different stages of the superplastic deformation, and the relationships between the microstructure and properties were identified and discussed.     

Microstructural evolution and strain hardening of Fe–24Mn and Fe–30Mn alloys during tensile deformation

High Mn steels demonstrate an exceptional combination of high strength and ductility owing to their sustained high work hardening rate during deformation. In the present work, the microstructural evolution and work hardening of Fe–30Mn and Fe–24Mn alloys during uniaxial tensile testing at 293 K and 77 K were investigated. The Fe–30Mn alloy did not undergo significant strain-induced phase transformations or twinning during deformation at 293 K, whereas these transformations were observed during deformation at 77 K. A modified Kocks–Mecking model was successfully applied to describe the strain hardening behavior of Fe–30Mn at both temperatures, and quantitatively identified the influence of stacking fault energy and strain-induced phase transformations on dynamic recovery. The Fe–24Mn alloy underwent extensive ε martensite transformation during deformation at both test temperatures. An analytical micromechanical model was successfully used to describe the work hardening of Fe–24Mn and permitted the calculation of the ε martensite stress–strain curve and tensile properties.     

Nb对低碳微合金钢动态再结晶行为的影响

利用Gleeble-1500热模拟试验机研究了3种含铌或不含铌低碳钢在850～1150℃,应变速率分别为0.05、1、10 s-1条件下的热变形行为。采用应变硬化速率-应力(θ-σ)曲线图较精确地获得了C-Mn钢的流变应力和峰值应力;用-dθ/dσ-σ曲线获取了含Nb试验钢的应变和应力值;用回归法确定了双曲线本构方程中的变形激活能,确定了3种试验钢发生动态再结晶的激活能分别为234.867、261.276、301.751 kJ/mol。随Nb含量的增加,试验钢的再结晶激活能逐渐升高。     

Microstructure evolution during continuous cooling in niobium microalloyed high carbon steels

Effects of microalloyed niobium (Nb) on the austenite decomposition behaviors and microstructure evolution during continuous cooling in the near eutectoid steels were investigated. Compared to the Nb free steel, the Nb microalloyed steel was refined with regard to polygonal ferrite grain, pearlite block and colony sizes. This was because its austenite grain size was smaller. The volume fraction of polygonal ferrite transformed was more in the Nb microalloyed steels, which indicated the eutectoid carbon content exceeded that of pure carbon steel. The spheroidization of pearlite during continuous cooling was enhanced by Nb microalloying, mainly due to a higher critical transformation temperature and the finer pearlite structure with smaller colony size and narrower interlamellar spacing. Hot deformation right above the equilibrium eutectoid temperature accelerated the spheroidization kinetics of pearlite, especially in the Nb microalloyed steel.     

Quantitative evaluation of dynamic precipitation kinetics in a complex Nb-Ti-V microalloyed steel using electrical resistivity measurements

The kinetics of dynamic precipitation in austenite of a complex Nb-Ti-V microalloyed steel during hot compression at 900 °C with a strain rate of 6.7 s^?1 was quantitatively investigated through electrical resistivity measurements. The dynamic precipitation in the Nb-Ti-V microalloyed steel started at a strain of 0.15. The amount of tiny Nb-rich (Nb,Ti,V)C carbides, which were precipitated at crystal defects gradually increased up to 0.02 wt% at a maximum strain of 0.67. The electrical resistivity was successfully applied to the quantitative evaluation of dynamic precipitation kinetics in microalloyed steel by excluding the effects of crystal defects and interstitial atoms on the electrical resistivity.     

Multi-phase microstructure design of a low-alloy TRIP-assisted steel through a combined computational and experimental methodology

The multiphase constitution of a transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP)-assisted steel with a nominal composition of Fe–1.5Mn–1.5Si–0.3C (wt.%) was designed, utilizing a combination of computational methods and experimental validation, in order to achieve significant improvements in both strength and ductility. In this study, it was hypothesized that a microstructure with maximized ferrite and retained austenite volume fractions would optimize the strain hardening and ductility of multiphase TRIP-assisted steels. Computational thermodynamics and kinetics calculations were used to develop a predictive methodology to determine the processing parameters in order to reach maximum possible ferrite and retained austenite fractions during conventional two-stage heat treatment, i.e. intercritical annealing followed by bainitic isothermal transformation. Experiments were utilized to validate and refine the design methodology. Equal channel angular pressing was employed at a high temperature (950 °C) on the as-cast ingots as the initial processing step in order to form a homogenized microstructure with uniform grain/phase size. Using the predicted heat treatment parameters, a multiphase microstructure including ferrite, bainite, martensite and retained austenite was successfully obtained. The resulting material demonstrated a significant improvement in the true ultimate tensile strength (～1300 MPa) with good uniform elongation (～23%), as compared to conventional TRIP steels. This provided a mechanical property combination that has not been exhibited before by low-alloy first-generation high-strength steels. The developed computational framework for the selection of heat treatment parameters can also be utilized for other TRIP-assisted steels and help design new microstructures for advanced high-strength steels, minimizing the need for cumbersome experimental optimization.