Refinement of packet size in low carbon bainitic steel by special thermo-mechanical control process

The packet size of bainitic steel can be refined by a specialrelaxation-precipitation-control phase transformation (RFC) technology. When processed by RPCprocess, the low carbon bainitic steel composes of two kinds of main intermediate transformationphases. One is ultra-fine lath-like bainitic ferrite and the lath is less than 1μm in width andabout 6 μm in length; the alignment of laths forms a refined packet, and the size of packets isabout 5-7 μm in length and about 3-4μm in width. The other is acicular structure. The morphologyand distribution of these acicular structures are influenced by relaxation process, the thin andshort acicular structures cut the prior austenite grain and refine the bainitic packet size. For theoptimum relaxation time, the packet size can be refined to the finest. The mechanical propertiesare influenced by relaxation time and the 800 MPa grade low carbon bainitic steel with excellenttoughness can be obtained by RPC process.

Redistribution of Boron during Ferrite Reaction in Nb-B Microalloyed Steel

By contrast of microstructure and boron distribution in the same area of samples, the behavior of boronduring ferrite reaction in Nb-B microalloyed steel was studied. Boron atoms have segregated to original austeniteboundaries betfore ferrite reaction starts during isothermal treatment. The concentration of boron in small Pieces offerrite foming along austenite boundaries may be remarkably higher than that in austenite matrix, but it will reducegradually when the ferrite continuously grows. There is no obvious boron segregation on interface of γ/α and α/α.These facts indicate that ferrite growth is not controlled by diffusion of boron in austenite.

Electrically Tunable Wafer-Sized Three-Dimensional Topological Insulator Thin Films Grown by Magnetron Sputtering

Three-dimensional(3 D)topological insulators(TIs)are candidate materials for various electronic and spintronic devices due to their strong spin-orbit coupling and unique surface electronic structure.Rapid,low-cost preparation of large-area TI thin films compatible with conventional semiconductor technology is the key to the practical applications of TIs.Here we show that wafer-sized Bi2Te3 family TI and magnetic TI films with decent quality and well-controlled composition and properties can be prepared on amorphous SiO2/Si substrates by magnetron cosputtering.The SiO2/Si substrates enable us to electrically tune(Bi1-xSbx)2Te3 and Cr-doped(Bi1-xSbx)2 Te3 TI films between p-type and n-type behavior and thus study the phenomena associated with topological surface states,such as the quantum anomalous Hall effect(QAHE).This work significantly facilitates the fabrication of TI-based devices for electronic and spintronic applications.

Microstructure evolution during reheating of a Nb-bearing steel Ⅱ. Dislocation-precipitate interaction

Cooled in water after the isothermal relaxation of deformed austenite for different times, a Nb-bearing microalloyed steel always exhibits the synthetic microstructure in which bainitic ferrite dominates. Strain-induced precipitates do not occur in an unrelaxed sample while they distribute outside dislocations in the sample relaxed for long time. Most of the strain induced precipitates distribute along dislocations in the sample relaxed for proper time. After bainitic transformation, the dislocations formed in the deformed austenite remain to be pinned by the precipitates so that the thermostability of the bainitic ferrite is improved. Coarsening of the precipitates accompanied by their distribution density change has caused the first hardness peak of bainite during reheating. The second hardness peak is attributed to the precipitates, which nucleate in bainite. Dislocations inside the laths getting rid of the pinning of precipitates and their polygonization play the precursor to the evolution of microstructures during reheating.

Formation and evolution of layered structure in dissimilar welded joints between ferritic-martensitic steel and 316L stainless steel with fillers

Dissimilar high-energy beam(HEB)welding is necessary in many industrial applications.Different composition of heat-affected zone(HAZ)and weld metal(WM)lead to variation in mechanical properties within the dissimilar joint,which determines the performance of the welded structure.In the present study,appropriate filler material was used during electron beam welding(EBW)to obtain a reliable dissimilar joint between reduced-activation ferritic-martensitic(RAFM)steel and 316L austenitic stainless steel.It was observed that the layered structure occurred in the weld metal with 310S filler(310S-WM),which had the inferior resistance to thermal disturbance,leading to severe hardening of 310S-WM after one-step tempering treatment.To further ameliorate the joint inhomogeneity,two-step heat treatment processes were imposed to the joints and optimized.δ-ferrite in the layered structure transformed intoγ-phase in the first-step normalizing and remained stable during cooling.In the second-step of tempering,tempered martensite was obtained in the HAZ of the RAFM steel,while the microstructure of 310S-WM was not affected.Thus,the optimized properties for HAZ and 310S-WM in dissimilar welded joint was both obtained by a two-step heat treatment.The creep failure position of two dissimilar joints both occurred in CLAM-BM.

Characterization of Compactness of Rust Layers on Weathering Steels by an Adsorption/Dehydration Test of Ethanol

A new method for evaluating the compactness of rust layers on steels has been proposed in the present study. The method includes adsorption and dehydration process of anhydrous ethanol. The protective ability of rust layers can be qualitatively reflected by the adsorption/dehydration rates. The specific surface area and porosity of rust layers can be calculated by a quantitative model. The results from the present method are consistent with electrochemical tests, N2 adsorption and X-ray diffraction analysis. The method characterizes the compactness of rust layers rather than that of corrosion products removed from the metal surfaces, which is generally practiced in classic N2 adsorption method. Furthermore, the method can reflect the compactness of inner rust layers, to which N2 adsorption is unavailable. The method provides a new approach for the study of rust layers.

Formation and Evolution of Microstructures in Fe–9%Cr Heat-Resistant Steel

Microstructures of casting samples of Fe-9%Cr steel and samples subjected to different heat treatments were investigated to determine their formation and evolution mechanism. The results show that there is no macroscopic segregation in the casting Fe-9%Cr steel. During cooling from solidification temperature to room temperature, 6-ferrite → austenite transformation is obviously influenced by cooling rate, while subsequent transformation of austenite does not obviously depend on the cooling rate. In the casting; samples, a great number of precipitates distribute inside martensitic laths while there are almost no precipitates inside δ-ferrite. When the casting samples were reheated to and isothermally held at 800 ℃, the original precipitates and the lath boundaries disappeared gradually. Meanwhile, new precipitates nucleate and grow at the prior lath boundaries.

Evolution of Microstructures of a Low Carbon Bainitic Steel Held at High Service Temperature

Low carbon bainitic steel derives the high strength mainly from high density of dislocations rather than carbon and alloy element content, so it tends to evolve into equilibrium microstructure with low density of dislocations under thermal disturbance. In the present investigation, granular bainite and lath-like bainitic ferrite were produced respectively in Mo-free low-carbon steels by changing cooling rate;. It has been found that granular bainite possesses a lower strength at room temperature than bainitic ferrite, but it exhibits a slower decrease of strength with temperature increasing. Dislocation density in both granular bainite and bainitic ferrite decreases via recovery and recrystallization at high temperature. However, when reheating of bainite is carded out at temperature below 600 ℃, a long time will be needed for incubation of recrystallization, during which the hardness of bainite maintains stable. The property makes bainite, especially granular bainite, become a potential microstructure for matrix of high strength fire-resistant steel.

Abnormal relationship between rust particles size and rust layer compactness of weathering steels

In order to reveal evolution of the rust layer during atmospheric corrosion, commercial weathering steel （WS） 09CuPCrNi and a recently developed bainite WS were subjected to a salt fog test. The protection and compactness of the rust layer were evaluated by electrochemical analysis, absorption-desorption test, etc. The experimental results indicate that more compact rust layer could be derived from the rust particles with larger size. The well-established notion that the rust particle growth can induce the decrement of corrosion resistance of WS. However, the present investigation shows that the notion might not be universally accurate. The unusual result means that the rust particles might grow anisotropically during corrosion.