Effect of the thermal cycle on the hot ductility and fracture mechanisms of a C–Mn steel

Transverse cracking on the surface of continuously cast steel products has been one of the main problems of this stage in steelmaking for many years. The incidence of this problem has been found in microalloyed steels as well as in some plain carbon steels containing residual elements. In this work, the hot ductility and fracture mechanisms of a C–Mn steel containing 0.6%Cu and 0.053%Sn as residual elements have been evaluated. To simulate the thermo-mechanical conditions of the straightening operation, tensile tests were carried out at temperatures ranging from 700 to 1100 °C with an initial strain rate of 5 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹. Specimens were subjected to three different reheating temperatures prior to the hot ductility test, including 1100 °C, 1330 °C and melting. After each test, the reduction in area of the samples tested to fracture was used as a measure of the hot ductility. The fracture surfaces were then examined by scanning electron microscopy. The widest and deepest ductility trough was obtained for the specimens tested after melting; for these conditions brittle fractures are interdendritic showing very low ductility. After reheating at 1330 °C, fracture features showed intergranular fracture combined with some plastic deformation corresponding to the test temperature. Reheating at 1100 °C produced a finer microstructure and the fracture features showed a mixture of intergranular with some interdendritic features. Also, ductile behaviours were associated with void coalescence. The different results obtained depending on the thermal cycle can be attributed to the presence of the residual elements in the steel through different segregation and precipitation patterns.     

Effect of austempering treatment on microstructure and mechanical properties of high-Si steel

In the present investigation, the influence of austempering treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of silicon alloyed cast steel has been evaluated. The experimental results show that an ausferrite structure consisting of bainitic ferrite and retained austenite can be obtained by austempering the silicon alloyed cast steel at different austempering temperature. TEM observation and X-ray analysis confirmed the presence of retained austenite in the microstructure after austempering at 400 °C. The austempered steel has higher strength and ductility compared to as-cast steel. With increasing austempering temperature, the hardness and strength decreased but the percentage of elongation increased. A good combination of strength and ductility has been obtained at an austempering temperature of 400 °C.     

Mechanical behaviour and texture of annealed AZ31 Mg alloy deformed by ECAP

Abstract

AZ31 Mg alloy samples were processed by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) at 220°C for four passes. An average grain size of ～1·9 μm with reasonable homogeneity was obtained. The ECAP process imparted large plastic shear strains and strong deformation textures to the material. Subsequent annealing of the equal channel angular pressed samples produced interesting mechanical behaviours. While yield strength increased and ductility decreased immediately after undergoing ECAP, annealing at temperatures <250°C restored ductility significantly at a small decrease in of yield strength. Annealing at temperatures >250°C reduced yield strength without additional improvement in ductility. It is believed that the combination of stress relief via dislocation elimination, refined microstructure and the retention of a strong ECAP texture at low annealing temperatures enhance ductility. High temperature annealing breaks down the ECAP texture resulting in no further improvement in ductility. The results show that the mechanical properties of the alloy can be positively influenced by annealing after ECAP to achieve a combination of strength and ductility.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of spark plasma sintered austenitic ODS steel

In this work, austenitic oxide dispersion strengthened (AODS) steel of composition Fe–16Cr–16Ni–1.5 W–0.21Ti–0.3Y₂O₃ (wt. %) was fabricated using two–stage ball milling followed by consolidation through spark plasma sintering (SPS). In the first–stage, mechanical alloying (MA) of ferritic powder and nano sized Y₂O₃ was carried out. This was followed by the addition of Ni in second–stage milling. SPS of the milled powder was carried out at 900, 950, 1000 and 1050 °C to explore the role of SPS temperature on density, microstructure as well as mechanical properties of the consolidated samples. A relative density of ～ 99% was obtained for samples sintered at 950 and 1000 °C. The as–sintered samples were subsequently solution annealed at 1075 °C for 2 h and water quenched. X–ray diffraction studies confirmed the presence of austenite in the consolidated and solution annealed samples. Electron back scatter diffraction analysis of solution annealed samples sintered at all the temperatures revealed a bimodal microstructure. The average grain size of 1.07 ± 0.72 µm was obtained for solution annealed samples sintered at 1000 °C. Yield strength and elongation of the same was measured as 851 MPa and 18%, respectively at room temperature. These values are the best combination of strength to elongation achieved on AODS alloys processed using MA and SPS, which makes this AODS steel much promising for high temperature applications.     

The effect of micro alloying elements (vanadium,titanium) additions on the austenite grain growth behavior in medium carbon steel containing nitrogen

The austenite grain growth behavior of microalloying elements free steel (nitrogen steel) and micro alloyed steel (V−N steel and V−Ti−N steel) was investigated. The equilibrium dissolving behavior of precipitates was calculated by thermodynamic software and the morphology was observed by tunneling electron microscope. Moreover, grain growth kinetics was analyzed through theoretical calculation. Results show that the austenite grain size of V−N steel and V−Ti−N steel are significantly refined by the undissolved precipitates compared to nitrogen steel. Due to higher dissolving temperature of (vanadium, titanium)(carbon, nitrogen), the austenite grain of V−Ti−N steel keeps fine and increases slowly from 900 °C to 1250 °C. The difference of activation energy between V−N steel and V−Ti−N steel was supposed to come from the effect of different kinds of precipitates on the austenite grain growth. Compared to the vanadium rich (vanadium, titanium)(carbon, nitrogen), the titanium rich (vanadium, titanium)(carbon, nitrogen) is larger and more stable in view of its existence at higher temperature. The decrease of pinning forces can be attributed to the decrease of volume fraction and increase of radius of (vanadium, titanium)(carbon, nitrogen). Compared with critical grain sizes, the larger experimental grain sizes lead to grain growth from 900 °C to 1250 °C.     

Evolution of microstructure and room temperature tensile properties in aluminum-bearing high strength steel processed by ultrafast cooling

An aluminum-bearing high strength steel with relatively high precipitation hardening was fabricated by lowering coiling temperature to 627 °C. The influence of coiling temperature on microstructure evolution and precipitation behavior was comprehensively investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy, electron back-scatter diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Both yield strength and tensile strength can be increased by around 100 MPa through decreasing coiling temperature to 627 °C, whereas there is nearly no deterioration in ductility. In addition, The grain boundary precipitation of (Fe, Cr, Mn)_xC_y-type carbides can be effectively suppressed by lowering coiling temperature. Regardless of coiling temperature, both interphase precipitation consisting of curved and planar shape and random precipitation can be observed. Moreover, the sheet spacing can be refined from 29 nm–47 nm to 18 nm–27 nm by lowering coiling temperature from 721 °C to 627 °C. This small sheet spacing provides a greater precipitation hardening. Compared with a coiling temperature of 721 °C, the precipitation hardening can be increased by around 100 MPa for a coiling temperature of 627 °C.     

Effects of post-annealing on the microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir processed Al–Mg–TiO2 nanocomposites

Aluminum matrix nanocomposites were fabricated via friction stir processing of an Al–Mg alloy with pre-inserted TiO₂ nanoparticles at different volume fractions of 3%, 5% and 6%. The nanocomposites were annealed at 300–500 °C for 1–5 h in air to study the effect of annealing on the microstructural changes and mechanical properties. Microstructural studies by scanning and transmission electron microscopy showed that new phases were formed during friction stir processing due to chemical reactions at the interface of TiO₂ with the aluminum matrix alloy. Reactive annealing completed the solid-state reactions, which led to a significant improvement in the ductility of the nanocomposites (more than three times) without deteriorating their tensile strength and hardness. Evaluation of the grain structure revealed that the presence of TiO₂ nanoparticles refined the grains during friction stir processing while the in situ formed nanoparticles hindered the grain growth upon the post-annealing treatment. Abnormal grain growth was observed after a prolonged annealing at 500 °C. The highest strength and ductility were obtained for the nanocomposites annealed at 400 °C for 3 h.     

Effect of finishing rolling temperature on fire resistance and dynamic strain aging behavior of a structural steel

The influence of finishing rolling temperature (FRT) on dynamic strain aging (DSA) behavior and high-temperature resistance of a fire resistant steel microalloyed with Mo and Nb was investigated by means of tensile tests performed at temperatures ranging from 25 to 600 °C and strain rates of 10⁻⁴ to 10⁻¹ s⁻¹. In these steels, DSA manifestations are less intense than those observed for carbon steels and they take place at higher temperatures. The precipitation behavior of the steels was also considered. Hardness of samples heat treated at 100–600 °C displayed a maximum at 400 °C. Samples treated at this temperature and tensile tested at 600 °C did not show a higher yield stress than the untreated specimens. Results obtained indicated that DSA in the fire resistant steel might have a contribution for its fire resistance. The empirical activation energies related to the appearance of serrations on the stress–strain curves and to the maxima on the variation of tensile strength with temperature suggested that the high-temperature strengthening associated with DSA in this steel is the dynamic interaction of interstitial-substitutional solute dipoles and dislocations. The steel with lower FRT is more susceptible to DSA because of its higher amount of carbon in solid solution and showed better results in terms of high-temperature resistance.     

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.     

Effect of strain-modified particles on the formation of fined grains and the properties of AA7050 alloy

With a new two-pass deformation, a fine-grained AA7050 alloy was obtained owing to small particles which can affect the grain refinement. The banded structures were produced in the elongated grain interiors after the 1st-pass deformation at 300 °C. And deformation bands containing dislocation arrays and small spherical particles were obtained. A few new fined grains appeared along the elongated grain boundaries. After the 2nd-pass deformation at 430 °C, isolated chains of new fine grains were developed in the elongated grain interiors. The boundary glide and the increase of grain boundary misorientation due to cumulative strain could refine the elongated grains. The pinning effect of the particles accelerated the formation of deformation bands. The increase of deformation temperature promoted the rapid evolution of grain refinement during the deformation. The strength of the fine-grained AA7050 alloy was enhanced while the ductility was decreased.     

Influence of heated forming tools on corrosion behavior of high strength aluminum alloys

In this study forming tools temperated at 24 °C and 350 °C were used to systematically investigate the influence of different cooling rates on the mechanical and corrosion properties of a high strength aluminum alloy AA7075 within a novel thermo-mechanical process that combines forming and quenching simultaneously. The samples formed within heated tools reveal higher ductility and lower material strength compared to the parts processed in cold tools. In addition, the corrosion behavior changed between samples formed with 24 °C forming tools and 350 °C forming tools, respectively. Through cyclic polarization in chloride containing aqueous media a change in the hysteresis and shift of open circuit potential was observed. Metallographic investigation revealed that there was also a very different corrosion morphology for the samples formed within the heated tools. No change in average grain size could be detected but changes of the microstructure in subgrain scale that occur during the forming within the heated tools are responsible for this effect. In further research, the effect of various cooling rates on mechanical and corrosion behavior and the microstructure will be investigated by variation of the forming tool temperature.     

Effect of reversion of strain induced martensite on microstructure and mechanical properties in an austenitic stainless steel

Effect of reversion of strain induced α′ martensite on mechanical properties of an austenitic stainless steel has been examined. The α′ martensite formed by cold rolling (40%) at 0 °C has been reverted to austenite by carrying out annealing in the temperature range of 300–800 °C for 1 h. Microstructural investigation has demonstrated the enhanced reversion with increasing annealing temperature without any perceptible grain growth up to 800 °C. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis has revealed that 40% cold rolling has resulted in the formation of 32% martensite. The residual martensite content has been found to be about 8% after reversion at 800 °C. Different stages of reversion behavior has been examined by differential scanning calorimetric measurement. The variation of dσ/dε with ε is examined to identify different stages of work hardening of the investigated steel. Both tensile strength and percent elongation values increase with increasing annealing temperature up to 500 °C. Beyond that annealing treatment results in the drop of tensile strength value with the consequent increase in percent elongation. Attractive strength–ductility combination (22.80 GPa%) has been achieved after annealing of the 40% cold deformed specimen at 800 °C for 1 h. The fractographic observation corroborates the tensile results.     

Influence of peritectic phase transformation on hot ductility of high aluminium TRIP steels containing Nb

Abstract

Increasing Al from 0·05 to 1% in Nb containing transformation induced plasticity steel resulted in deepening and considerable widening of the hot ductility trough. Further increase in the Al level to 1·5% produced a trough similar to the low Al steel but having better ductility in the temperature range of 650–800°C. This improved ductility could be ascribed to its finer austenite grain size. Nb(CN) was able to precipitate readily in these steels and was important in influencing the hot ductility of the 0·05 and 1·5%Al steel in the temperature range of 750–1000°C, with ductility improving as the particle size increased with test temperature. No AlN was found in 0·05%Al containing steel, and there was no significant dendritic precipitation of AlN in 1·5%Al containing steel, although precipitation of AlN in plate form was readily observed. In 1%Al steel, copious dendritic precipitation of AlN was present at the γ grain boundaries, leading to rock candy fracture. The poor ductility shown in 1%Al containing steel is due to a combination of this dendritic precipitation, which took place only in a steel of peritectic carbon composition, and its coarse grain size. Both low and 1·5%Al containing steels had compositions outside the peritectic range. It is strongly advised that for this type of steel, the composition should be designed to fall outside the peritectic carbon range.     

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.     

Processing of a new high strength high toughness steel with duplex microstructure (Ferrite + Austenite)

In this investigation a new third generation advanced high strength steel (AHSS) has been developed. This steel was synthesized by austempering of a low carbon and low alloy steel with high silicon content. The influence of austempering temperature on the microstructure and the mechanical properties including the fracture toughness of this steel was also examined. Compact tension and cylindrical tensile specimens were prepared from a low carbon low alloy steel and were initially austenitized at 927 °C for 2 h and then austempered in the temperature range between 371 °C and 399 °C to produce different microstructures. The microstructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and optical metallography. Test results show that the austempering heat treatment has resulted in a microstructure consisting of very fine scale bainitic ferrite and austenite. A combination of very high tensile strength of 1388 MPa and fracture toughness of 105 MPa √m was obtained after austempering at 371 °C.     

Effect of thermal ageing on microstructure,mechanical properties,and fracture behaviour of 50 % cold rolled duplex stainless steel (alloy 2507)

The paper deals with cold rolling and ageing on microstructure and mechanical properties of 2507 duplex stainless steel. Microstructure depicts acicular/Widmanstätten austenite and δ-ferrite with dissimilar volume fraction (∼0.55 for ferrite and ∼0.45 for austenite). Cold rolling and ageing at 950 °C, 1000 °C and 1050 °C result in equiaxed austenite for samples solution treated at 1040 °C and elongated at 1300 °C. By lowering ageing temperature from 1050 °C to 950 °C, structure becomes finer from ∼20 μm to <10 μm grain size. The sigma (σ) phase appears after ageing at 950 °C. Micro-hardness reveals maximum hardness for the hot rolled, solutionized (1040 °C) water quenched, and cold rolled (50 %) sample (380 HV_δF 100 and 430 HV_γ 100), whereas the tensile results reveal the hot rolled, solution treated (1300 °C, 1040 °C), cold rolled and aged at 950 °C samples show higher strength (yield strength=625 MPa, 567 MPa and ultimate tensile strength=892 MPa, 826 MPa) and lower ductility (23 %, 32 %) due to the σ-phase. The solution treated (1040 °C), cold rolled, aged at 1050 °C sample exhibits attractive strength and ductility combination (∼30 GPa %). Fractography supports the tensile results.     

Effect of prior austenite on reversed austenite stability and mechanical properties of low carbon medium manganese steel heavy plate

The effect of prior austenite on reversed austenite stability and mechanical properties of Fe‐0.06C‐0.2Si‐5.5Mn‐0.4Cr (wt.%) annealed steels was elucidated. With the decrease of austenitizing temperature from 1250 °C to 980 °C, the prior austenite changed from complete recrystallization to partial recrystallization, and the average austenite size was reduced. The volume fraction of reversed austenite was increased from 26.32 % to 30.25 % because of high density of grain boundaries and dislocations. The martensite transformation temperature of annealed steels was increased from ～115 °C to ～150 °C, and both of thermal and mechanical stability of reversed were reduced. There was no significant different in tensile properties, however, the impact toughness was enhanced from 100 J to 180 J at ?60 °C. The excellent impact toughness in annealed steel (austenitized at 980 °C) was obtained because of higher density of high misorientation grain boundaries, more volume fraction of reversed austenite and reduced segregation at grain boundaries.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of a low carbon carbide-free bainitic steel co-alloyed with Al and Si

A low carbon, low alloy steel has been investigated for producing low carbon carbide-free bainitic microstructure by co-addition of alloying elements of aluminum and silicon. The influence of heat treatment process on microstructure, impact toughness as well as tensile properties was investigated by light optical microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and mechanical property tests. The results demonstrate that the co-addition of aluminum and silicon in the investigated steel plays an effective role in suppressing the precipitation of cementite. A desired microstructure consisting of mainly fine-scale carbide-free bainitic ferrite and thin film-like retained austenite located between the ferrite laths was obtained and accordingly an excellent combination of toughness, ductility and strength was achieved by optimized heat treatments, i.e. by isothermal treatment at 320 °C for ∼84 min or more. The microstructure-mechanical property relationships are discussed.     

Effects of inter-critical temperatures on martensite morphology,volume fraction and mechanical properties of dual-phase steels obtained from direct and continuous annealing cycles

Homogenizing and normalizing heat treatments were performed on low carbon–manganese steel. Then, direct and continuous annealing heat treatments were carried out at 800 °C, 770 °C, 750 °C and 725 °C. Finally; dual phase ferrite–martensite steel was obtained. Thereafter, hardness and tensile tests were applied at ambient temperature, and impact tests for the initial sample and the dual-phase steels obtained from continuous and direct annealing heat treatment in the temperature ranges of (−67 to +70), (−70 to +60), (−70 to +29), respectively, were accomplished. The ductile–brittle transition temperature (DBTT) and the fracture modes of the samples were obtained, and the fracture surface of the steel was observed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results revealed that the best mechanical properties in dual-phase steels, like impact toughness and flexibility, appear at the inter-critical temperature of 725 °C for both continuous and direct annealing cycles. The (DBTT) for the specimens obtained from direct and continuous annealing and the initial sample were −49 °C, −6 °C, and −34 °C, respectively. The dual-phase specimen achieved through the direct annealing method had better toughness and impact properties than the initial specimen or the one obtained through continuous annealing.     

Mechanical response of nanocrystalline steel obtained by mechanical attrition

The mechanical properties of bulk specimens of nanocrystalline 0.55% C steel with a grain size of 30 nm and a relative density higher than 97% have been determined. Samples were obtained by cold compaction and warm sintering at 425 °C of nanocrystalline powders obtained by mechanical attrition in a planetary ball mill. In both processes an Ar protective atmosphere was used in order to avoid oxygen contamination. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis indicated that a volume-averaged grain size of 30 nm is maintained after the warm consolidation processes. TEM studies also showed equiaxed ferrite with no dislocations inside the grains. However, the grain size distribution was no homogeneous as large grains of 100 nm were observed. An average hardness of 8.5 GPa was obtained, in good agreement with other bulk specimens of nanocrystalline Fe or eutectoid carbon steel prepared by other authors. Compression tests of bulk specimens at a strain rate of 10⁻⁴ s⁻¹ showed a compression strength near 2,500 MPa with an absolute lack of ductility. Nanoindentation measurements at room temperature provided a strain rate sensitivity parameter of 0.012, indicating that the deformation mechanism is somehow governed by diffusion mechanisms.