金相学史话(4):合金钢的早期发展史

A Brief History of Metallography: Ⅳ.Early Developments of Alloy Steels

Faraday进入皇家学院 (RoyalInstitution)后 ,在 182 0 - 182 2年间从事包括铜、镍、铬及贵金属在内的合金钢研究 ,尽管未发展出有实际用途的钢种 ,也可算是合金钢研究的先驱。 185 6年转炉炼钢法出现后 ,钢产量猛增 ,Mushet高碳高钨自淬火刀具钢应运而生 (1868) ,逐渐发展成 18 4 1高速钢 (190 6)。Hadfield在 1882年研制出高碳高锰奥氏体耐磨钢 ,成分至今未变。他还研制出硅钢片 ,并在 190 3年制出第一台铁损小的变压器。Brearley在 1913年研制出低碳高铬 (1Cr13)马氏体不锈钢 ,在这之后 ,铬镍奥氏体不锈钢才问世。本世纪初汽车工业的兴起 ,促进了合金结构钢的发展(合金钢牌号前面冠以SAE就是美国汽车工程师学会的缩写 ) ,而两次世界大战都伴随有合金钢的产量及品种的大发展。

After getting a position at the Royal Institution, Faraday was involved in 1820-1822 in a study of alloy steels containing Cu,Cr,Ni,and precious metals. Though no practical steels resulted from this study,Faraday was still considered a pioneer in the development of alloy steels. Bessemer converter steel making was developed in 1856 and steel production hereafter increased tremendously. Under this circumstance, Mushet's self\|quenching steel with high carbon and high tungsten contents was developed in 1868 to manufacture cutting tools, followed by a gradual development to the 18\|4\|1 high speed steel in 1906. Hadfield invented in 1882 the high\|carbon, high\|manganese austenitic steel known to have a high wear resistance, and this composition was still used today. He invented later the silicon steel used for transformer sheets of low iron loss and made in 1903 the first transformer using this steel. Brearley in 1913 developed the low carbon, high chromium martensitic steel used for stainless cutlery, followed later by chromium\|nickel austenitic stainless steel. The rapid expansion of the automobile industry in the beginning of 20 th century was accompanied by an equal rapid development of alloy steels and the abbreviation SAE of the Society of Automotive Engineers was used for the designation of structural steels, such as the SAE4340 steel. The two World Wars also witnessed a very rapid development of alloy steel production both in quantity and in variety.