Structure and properties of Fe−Cr−Mn steels after quenching with preheating in the intercritical temperature interval

Conclusions The quenching of high-alloy chromium-manganese steels, which includes preheating in the intercritical (+) temperature interval and subsequent short-term austenitizing, the latter eliminating homogenization of the -solid solution, increases the dispersity of the martensite and stabilizes the austenite.In this case, the strength and plastic properties of the steels are improved as compared with normal quenching.Mariupol' Metallurgical Institute. Translated from Metallovedenie i Termicheskaya Obrabotka Metallov, No. 6, pp. 45–47, June, 1990.     

Effect of NiAl phase on the mechanical properties of Cr−Mn−Ni steels

Metal Science and Heat Treatment -     

Growth of austenite from as-quenched martensite during intercritical annealing in an Fe–0.1C–3Mn–1.5Si alloy

The growth of austenite from as-quenched martensite during intercritical annealing was studied in a quaternary Fe–0.1C–3Mn–1.5Si alloy. Fine austenite grains either grew from interlath-retained austenite films or were newly nucleated at lath and martensite packet boundaries. Both types grew to a size comparable to the width of the martensite lath. It was found both metallographically and by dilatometry that the austenite grew to an amount in excess of the volume fraction at final equilibrium. Simulation by DICTRA, which assumed local equilibrium at the α/γ boundary, confirmed that the development of austenite is composed of three stages: initial negligible-partitioning growth controlled by rapid carbon diffusion in ferrite, which is gradually replaced by carbon diffusion in austenite; intermediate slow growth, controlled by diffusion of Mn and/or Si in ferrite; and a final stage controlled by diffusion of substitutional elements in austenite for final equilibration, which may result in the shrinkage of austenite. The formation of austenite in excess of the equilibrium amount is considered to occur due to very slow substitutional diffusion in the growing austenite compared to the boundary migration.     

Effect of cooling rate and Fe/Mn weight ratio on volume fractions of α-AlFeSi and β-AlFeSi phases in Al−7.3Si−3.5Cu alloy

The crystallization behavior of iron intermetallic compounds in Al?7.3Si?3.5Cu alloy was investigated using thermal analysis, metallography, and a thermodynamic simulation performed with the Scheil module of ThermoCalc^®. We observed that β-AlFeSi disappeared when both high (>3.5°C/s) and low cooling rates (<0.1°C/s) were used. The elimination of β-AlFeSi at low cooling rates may be attributable to a decrease in the magnitude of microsegregation associated with low cooling rates. The disappearance of β-AlFeSi at high cooling rates may be related to growth difficulties when this phase precipitates during solidification of eutectic Al?Si: β-AlFeSi precipitation approaches the solidification onset of eutectic Al?Si when the cooling rate is increased. Moreover, the cooling rate at which the β-AlFeSi phase is suppressed should depend on the chemical composition of the alloy. According to thermodynamic simulations, the alloy composition determines the precipitation onset temperature of both β-AlFeSi (T _β) and eutectic Al?Si (T _eut). The cooling rate at which the β-AlFeSi phase disappears may be even higher as the difference betweenT _β andT _eut increases.     

Effect of thermal treatment and ball milling on microstructure and phase transformation of Ni−Mn−Ga−Nb alloys

To clarify phase transformation evolution of Nb-doped Ni−Mn−Ga bulk alloys after aging and ball milling, the microstructure and phase transformation of the aged and ball-milled dual-phase Nb-doped Ni−Mn−Ga alloys were investigated by SEM, EDS, XRD, DSC and susceptibility measurements. The as-cast alloys were mainly composed of the second phase with layer-shape and presented a reduced martensitic transformation with increasing the second phase content. The second phase transformed from layer-shape to dense bar-shape and the martensitic transformation was enhanced after being quenched at 1173 K. After aging at 673 and 873 K, the 3% Nb alloy with less second phase exhibited a single-step phase transformation, whereas the 6% Nb and 9% Nb alloys with more second phase exhibited a two-step martensitic transformation and Curie transition. The martensitic transformation and Curie transition of the as-milled dual-phase particles disappeared and were retrieved after annealing at 1073 K due to the recovery of high ordered structure of the matrix.     

Effect of elevated-temperature annealing on microstructureand properties of Cu−0.15Zr alloy

Cu−0.15Zr (wt.%) alloy with uniform and fine microstructure was fabricated by rapid solidification followed by hot forging. Evolution of microstructure, mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of the alloy during elevated-temperature annealing were investigated. The alloy exhibits good thermal stability, and its strength decreases slightly even after annealing at 700 °C for 2 h. The nano-sized Cu₅Zr precipitates show significant pinning effect on dislocation moving, which is the main reason for the high strength of the alloy. Additionally, the large-size Cu₅Zr precipitates play a major role in retarding grain growth by pinning the grain boundaries during annealing. After annealing at 700 °C for 2 h, the electrical conductivity of samples reaches the peak value of 88% (IACS), which is attributed to the decrease of vacancy defects, dislocations, grain boundaries and Zr solutes.     

Effect of the sample sizes and the sampling conditions on the results of chemical analysis of castings of Cu−Sn and Cu−Sn−Pb alloys

In horizontal continuous casting of semifinished products made of alloys of the Cu−Sn and Cu−Sn−Pb systems segregation of tin and lead complicates the problem of obtaining the specified composition. The aim of this work consists in determining the size of the sample and the conditions for taking it in casting for which the specified chemical composition of the casting will be uniform over the entire volume. Translated from Metallovedenie i Termicheskaya Obrabotka Metallov, No. 10, pp. 34–35, October, 1998.     

Effect of microalloying on the structure and properties of alloys in the Al−Si−Cu system

Conclusions  

Effect of the magnetic state of ferrite on transformations in Fe−C alloys

Conclusions Retardation of the austenite transformation in the interval end of the pearlite—austenite transformation to start of the ferrite—austenite transformation in low-carbon steels, which coincides with the magnetic transformation in ferrite, is connected with the fact that the latter inhibits diffusional transport of the interstitial atoms.Alma-Ata Institute of Railroad Transportation Engineers. Translated from Metallovedenie i Termicheskaya Obrabotka Metallov, No. 2, pp. 11–12, February, 1990.     

Effect of aging and ball milling on the phase transformation of Ni50Mn25Ga17Cu8−xZrx alloys

This study investigated phase transformation of Ni₅₀Mn₂₅Ga₁₇Cu_8-xZr_x (x = 0, 4, 8) alloys after aging and ball milling. For the Cu₄Zr₄ and Zr₈ dual phase alloys, aging has enhanced magnetic susceptibility and magnetic exchange of the matrix, resulting in an increase of the Curie temperature of austenitic matrix. The decrease of martensitic transformation temperatures for the Cu₄Zr₄ alloy and the increase of martensitic transformation temperatures for the Zr₈ alloy after aging should be related to the dissolution and precipitation of the second phase in the matrix, respectively. Ball milling is effective to smash the Cu₄Zr₄ and Zr₈ alloys to fine particles, but cannot fracture the Cu₈ alloy to particles, indicating an inherent high ductility and strength of the Cu₈ alloy. Therefore, the macroscopic brittleness of the polycrystalline Cu₈ alloy was mainly caused by the weak grain boundaries. For the Cu₄Zr₄ and Zr₈ particles, the martensitic transformation and Curie transition of austenitic matrix disappeared and the Curie transition of second phase remained after ball milling. After post-annealing at 800 °C, the Curie transition of austenite was recovered due to the restoration of atomic order, but the martensitic transformation cannot be retrieved which might be caused by the grain refinement of the austenitic matrix after ball milling.     

Effects of carbon addition and aging on the shape memory effect of Fe–Mn–Si–Cr–Ni alloys

The effects of carbon content and aging treatment on the microstructures and shape recovery ratio of Fe–Mn–Si–Cr–Ni alloys were studied. It was found that the carbon content possessed significant effects on the shape recovery ratio of Fe–Mn–Si–Cr–Ni alloys. The shape memory effect of alloys containing different carbon amount could be improved through aging.     

On the effect of strain on peritectic reactions and transformations in Fe–Ni and Fe–Cu binary alloys

Abstract

Differential thermal analysis (DTA) experiments conducted on Fe–Ni and Fe–Cu alloys showed undercooling below the equilibrium peritectic temperatures, T_P . The intervals between the observed liquidus and peritectic temperatures were on average 11°C and 8°C larger than the intervals obtained from equilibrium phase diagrams of Fe–Ni and Fe–Cu respectively. The transformation from δ-Fe to γ-Fe during the peritectic reaction is associated with density change and strain build up at the δ-Fe/γ-Fe interface. Thermodynamic calculations showed that by introducing the strain energy at the δ-Fe/γ-Fe interface, T_P dropped 9 K below its equilibrium value and the increase in the liquidus-to-peritectic temperature interval was in reasonable agreement with the experimental observations. The growth rate of γ-Fe during a peritectic transformation was calculated based on the strain-induced undercooling in T_P and the results showed partial agreement with observations obtained from CSLM directional solidification experiments conducted earlier on Fe–Ni alloys.     

Effect of Mn and MnS on corrosion properties of domestic pipeline steels and welds

Base metals of domestic pipeline steels were used to study the effect of Mn on corrosion properties of SSCC( Sulfide Stress Corrosion Cracking), and welds were carried out to study the effect of MnS on corrosion properties of HIC ( Hydrogen Induced Cracking) both in solutions with wet hydrogen sulfide ( H2 S ). They were respectively conducted by referring to the standards of SSCC and HIC. Testing results revealed that with the increase of content Mn, the resistance of SSCC will be decreased, from the point of metallurgic view, and it is Mn element not C element to lead to the testing results of SSCC. Meanwhile, even under the condition without inclusions MnS, HIC in welds still occurred. That is to say, MnS is not necessary for HIC, the presence of local banded structures in which Mn and P are inclined to aggregate cause to the phenomena of HIC.     

Effect of deformation and annealing on the formation and reversion of ε-martensite in an Fe–Mn–C alloy

Microstructure and texture evolution during cold rolling and subsequent annealing were studied in an Fe–22 wt.% Mn–0.376 wt.% C alloy. During rolling the deformation mechanisms were found to be dislocation slip, mechanical twinning, deformation-induced ε-martensite transformation and shear banding. At higher strains, the brass-type texture with a spread towards the Goss-type texture dominated. A decrease in the Cu- and S- components was attributed to the preferential transformation to ε-martensite in Cu- and S-oriented grains. The texture of ε-martensite was sharp and could be described as {1 1 2 9}〈3 3 6 2〉. The orientation relationship {1 1 1}^γ//{0 0 0 1}^ε and 〈110〉^γ//〈1 1 –2 0〉^ε between ε-martensite and austenite was observed but only certain variants were selected. On subsequent annealing, the ε-martensite transformed reversely to austenite by a diffusionless mechanism. Changes in length along rolling, normal and transverse directions on heating were anisotropic due to a combination of volume expansion and shape memory effects. The S-texture component increased significantly due to transformation from the ε-martensite.     

Relation between phase transformations and mechanical properties of alloys in the Ti−Al−W−Zr system

Conclusions  

Effects of Mg content on microstructure and mechanical properties of low Zn-containing Al−xMg−3Zn−1Cu cast alloys

Effects of Mg content on the microstructure and mechanical properties of low Zn-containing Al?xMg? 3Zn?1Cu cast alloys (x=3?5, wt.%) were investigated. As Mg content increased in the as-cast alloys, the grains were refined due to enhanced growth restriction, and the formation of η-Mg(AlZnCu)₂ and S-Al₂CuMg phases was inhibited while the formation of T-Mg₃₂(AlZnCu)₄₉ phase was promoted when Mg content exceeded 4 wt.%. The increase of Mg content encumbered the solution kinetics by increasing the size of eutectic phase but accelerated and enhanced the age-hardening through expediting precipitation kinetics and elevating the number density of the precipitates. As Mg content increased, the yield strength and tensile strength of the as-cast, solution-treated and peak-aged alloys were severally improved, while the elongation of the alloys decreased. The tensile strength and elongation of the peak-aged Al?5Mg?3Zn?1Cu alloy exceed 500 MPa and 5%, respectively. Precipitation strengthening implemented by T′ precipitates is the predominant strengthening mechanism in the peak-aged alloys and is enhanced by increasing Mg content.     

Physical nature of structural and phase transformations in Cu-Al α solid solutions upon low-temperature irradiation and subsequent annealing

Methods of X-ray diffraction analysis and measurements of residual resistivity have been used to study effects of electron irradiation in the temperature range of 250–330 K on the structural and phase state of the Cu-15 at % Al solid solution. The results obtained are explained by the presence in the Cu-Al alloys of an inhomogeneous short-range order of two types, i.e., low-temperature, α₂ type; and high-temperature, γ₂ type.