IMPROVED PROCESSING FOR MICROSTRUCTURES AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF A COMMERCIAL PIPELINE STEEL

The transformation productions of hot-deformation simulation experiments were investigated using a Gleeble-1500 hot simulator for a commercial pipeline steel. Based on the investigation results, the improved thermo-mechanical control processing (TMCP) schedules containing a two stage multi-pass controlled rolling coupled with moderate cooling rates were applied to hot rolling experiments and acicular ferrite dominated microstructure was obtained. Microstructures and mechanical properties of hot rolled plates were related to TMCP processing, and regression equations describing the relation between processing parameters and mechanical properties in the current TMCP were developed, which could be used to predict mechanical properties of the experimental steel during commercially processing. It was found that with an increase in cooling rate after hot rolling, grain size in the microstructure became smaller, the amount of polygonal ferrite decreased and acicular ferrite increased, and accordingly mechanical properties increased.

HYDROGEN EFFECT ON DEFORMATION BEHMIOR OF TITANIUM ALLOY AT HIGH TEMPERATURE

The effect of hydrogen on the deformation behavior of three typical kinds of titanium alloys, pure Ti, Ti-6Al-4V and Ti-15V-3Cr-3Al-3Sn (Ti-15-3), at high temperature has been investigated by short time creep test. XRD and TEM techniques are used to examine the changes in their microstructures. The results show that deformation rutes of pure Ti and Ti-6Al-4V alloy can be greatly increased by hydorgen charping due to an increase of β phase volume in their microstructures. β→α transformation is found to occur in unchanged Ti-15-3 alloy during creep process. The addition of 0. 73wt% hydrogen can completely inhibit the deformation-induced transformation and strengthen the metastable β phase in Ti-15-3 alloy, resulting in a dramatic decrease of deformation rate of this alloy at 700° C.

Cu-assisted austenite reversion and enhanced TRIP effect in maraging stainless steels

Control of the formation and stability of reverted austenite is critical in achieving a favorable combination of strength,ductility,and toughness in high-strength steels.In this work,the effects of Cu precipitation on the austenite reversion and mechanical properties of maraging stainless steels were investigated by atom probe tomography,transmission electron microscopy,and mechanical tests.Our results indicate that Cu accelerates the austenite reversion kinetics in two manners:first,Cu,as an austenite stabilizer,increases the equilibrium austenite fraction and hence enhances the chemical driving force for the austenite formation,and second,Cu-rich nanoprecipitates promote the austenite reversion by serving as heterogeneous nucleation sites and providing Ni-enriched chemical conditions through interfacial segregation.In addition,the Cu precipitation hardening compensates the strength drop induced by the formation of soft reverted austenite.During tensile deformation,the metastable reverted austenite transforms to martensite,which substantially improves the ductility and toughness through a transformation-induced plasticity(TRIP)effect.The Cu-added maraging stainless steel exhibits a superior combination of a yield strength of~1.3 GPa,an elongation of~15%,and an impact toughness of~58 J.

High-power passively Q-switched 2 μm all-solid-state laser based on a Bi_2Te_3 saturable absorber

By using the ultrasound-assisted liquid phase exfoliation method, Bi_2Te_3 nanosheets are synthesized and deposited onto a quartz plate to form a kind of saturable absorber(SA), in which nonlinear absorption properties around 2 μm are analyzed with a home-made mode-locked laser. With the as-prepared Bi_2Te_3 SA employed,a stable passively Q-switched all-solid-state 2 μm laser is successfully realized. Q-switched pulses with a maximum average output power of 2.03 W are generated under an output coupling of 5%, corresponding to the maximum single-pulse energy of 18.4 μJ and peak power of 23 W. The delivered shortest pulse duration and maximum repetition rate are 620 ns and 118 k Hz under an output coupling of 2%, respectively. It is the first presentation of such Bi_2Te_3 SA employed in a solid-state Q-switched crystalline laser at 2 μm, to the best of our knowledge. In comparison with other 2 D materials suitable for pulsed 2 μm lasers, the saturable absorption performance of Bi_2Te_3 SA is proved to be promising in generating high power and high-repetition-rate 2 μm laser pulses.

Effect of Preparation Technique on Microstructure and Hydrogen Storage Properties of LaNi(3.8)Al(1.0)Mn(0.2) Alloys

La Ni3.8Al1.0Mn0.2 alloy was prepared by vacuum induction melting and melt-spinning.The effects of different preparation techniques of the as-cast,cast then annealed,as-spun and spun then annealed alloys on the microstructure and hydrogen storage properties were investigated.The results indicated that the non-Ca Cu5 phases in the alloy became tinier and more dispersive after annealing or melt-spinning compared to those of the as-cast one.But in the spun then annealed alloy,the non-Ca Cu5 phases disappeared and only a single-phase with Ca Cu5 type structure was found.For all the alloys,the cell volume was increased in an order of as-cast 〈 spun then annealed 〈 cast then annealed 〈 as-spun,and the change of plateau pressure showed the opposite trend with that of the cell volume.The plateau could be flattened after melt-spinning or annealing,and the spun then annealed alloy showed the minimum plateau slope.The absorption kinetics of the alloy was promoted after melt-spinning or annealing.It is suggested that the change in cell volume and compositional homogeneity resulting from different preparation techniques contribute to the difference of the hydrogen storage properties of the investigated alloys.