Influence of hot rolling on the microstructure of lean duplex stainless steel 2101

In this work, the microstructure and the strain partitioning of lean duplex stainless steel 2101 (LDX 2101) during different hot-rolling processes are investigated by optical microscopy and electron-backscattered diffraction (EBSD). The results show that the LDX 2101 exhibits poor thermoplasticity at high temperature. The four-pass hot-rolled plates show fewer edge-cracking defects and superior thermoplasticity compared with the two-pass hot-rolled plates prepared at different temperature. The phase boundary is the weakest site in the LDX 2101. The cracks are initiated and propagated along the phase boundaries during the hot-rolling process. According to the EBSD analysis, the increase of the hot-rolling pass can dramatically improve the strain distribution in ferrite and austenite phases and promote the strain transmission in the constituent phases, thereby improving the coordinated deformation ability of the two phases. This effect further in- creases the thermoplasticity and reduces the formation of edge cracks in LDX 2101.

Mechanism of hot-rolling crack formation in lean duplex stainless steel 2101

The thermoplasticity of duplex stainless steel 2205（DSS2205） is better than that of lean duplex steel 2101（LDX2101）, which undergoes severe cracking during hot rolling. The microstructure, microhardness, phase ratio, and recrystallization dependence of the deformation compatibility of LDX2101 and DSS2205 were investigated using optical microscopy（OM）, electron backscatter diffraction（EBSD）, Thermo-Calc software, and transmission electron microscopy（TEM）. The results showed that the phase-ratio transformations of LDX2101 and DSS2205 were almost equal under the condition of increasing solution temperature. Thus, the phase transformation was not the main cause for the hot plasticity difference of these two steels. The grain size of LDX2101 was substantially greater than that of DSS2205, and the microhardness difference of LDX2101 was larger than that of DSS2205. This difference hinders the transfer of strain from ferrite to austenite. In the rolling process, the ferrite grains of LDX2101 underwent continuous softening and were substantially refined. However, although little recrystallization occurred at the boundaries of austenite, serious deformation accumulated in the interior of austenite, leading to a substantial increase in hardness. The main cause of crack formation is the microhardness difference between ferrite and austenite.

Effect of dislocation structure evolution on low-angle grain boundary formation in 7050 aluminum alloy during aging

The effect of dislocation structure evolution on low-angle grain boundary formation in 7050 aluminum alloy during aging was studied by using optical microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and electron backscatter diffraction analysis of misorientation angle distribution, cumulative misorientation and geometrically necessary dislocation （GND） density. Experimental results indicate that coarse spindle-shaped grains with the dimension of 200 μm- 80 μm separate into fine equiaxed grains of 20μm in size as a result of newborn low-angle grain boundaries formed during the aging process. More specifically, the dislocation arrays, which are rearranged and formed due to scattered dislocations during earlier quenching, transform into low-angle grain boundaries with aging time. The relative frequency of 3°-5° low-angle grain boundaries increases to over 30%. The GND density, which describes low-angle grain boundaries with the misorientation angle under 3°, tends to decrease during initial aging. The inhomogeneous distribution of GNDs is affected by grain orientation. A decrease in GND density mainly occurs from 1.83 × 10^13 to 4.40 × 10^11 m^-2 in grains with 〈111〉 fiber texture. This is consistent with a decrease of unit cumulative misorientation. Precipitation on grain boundaries and the formation of a precipitation free zone （PFZ） are facilitated due to the eroding activity of the Graft etchant. Consequently, low-angle grain boundaries could be readily viewed by optical microscopy due to an increase in their electric potential difference.

Work Hardening Behavior and Stability of Retained Austenite for Quenched and Partitioned Steels

Both microstrueture and mechanical properties of low alloy steels treated by quenching and partitioning （Q＆P） process were examined. The mixed microstructure of martensite and large-fractioned retained austenite （about 27.3%） was characterized and analyzed, excellent combinations of total elongation of 19% and tensile strength of 1 835 MPa were obtained, and three-stage work hardening behavior was demonstrated during tensile test. The en hanced mechanical properties and work hardening behavior were explained based on the transformation induced plas ticity effect of large fractioned austenite.

Strengthening Mechanisms for Ti-and Nb-Ti-micro-alloyed High-strength Steels

The strengthening mechanisms of hot-rolled steels micro alloyed with Ti （ST-TQS00） and Nh Ti （NT TQ500） were investigated by examining the microstructures of steels using optical microscope （OM）, scanning elec tron microscope （SEM） and transmission electron microscope （TEM）. The results revealed ahnost no differences in the solute solution strengthening and fine grained strengthcning of the two steels, whereas the contributions of pre cipitation strengthening and dislocation strengthening were different for ST-TQ500 and NT-TQ500. The measured precipitation strengthening effect of ST-TQ500 was 88 MPa higher than that of NT-TQ500： this difference was pri marily attributed to the stronger precipitation effect of thc Ti-containing nanoscale particles. The dislocation strengthening effect of ST TQ500 was approximately 80 MPa lower than that of NT-TQ500. This is tbought to be related to differences in deformation behavior during the finishing rolling stage; the inhibition of dynamic recrystallization from Nb in NT-TQ500 （Nb-Ti） may lead to higher density of dislocations in the microstructure.

Effects of Cr content on corrosion behaviour and corrosion products of spring steels

Neutral salt spray corrosion experiments of spring steels with different Cr contents were carried out for different corrosion periods. The optical microscope was used to observe the macroscopic corrosion morphology of the steel surface. The corrosion pit morphology of steel surface was observed by laser scanning confocal microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, and three-dimensional simulation was carried out. At the same time, the corrosion products (rust layer) were qualitatively and quantitatively analysed by X-ray diffraction. As the results show, Cr is beneficial to improving corrosion resistance of the experimental steel matrix, and the higher the content of Cr, the stronger the corrosion resistance will be. With increase in Cr content in steel, the development of corrosion process will be more effectively suppressed. With the increase in Cr content, the denser the corrosion products, the stronger the bond with the metal matrix is. The corrosion products have obvious stratification;the outer layer is mainly composed of c-FeOOH, which is relatively loose and not firmly integrated with the matrix, while the inner layer contains a-FeOOH and Fe3O4, which are relatively dense and closely integrated with the matrix. The types of corrosion are constantly changing during different phases of corrosion.

Influence of Al-Si additions on mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of Mg-8Li dual-phase alloys

Sheet samples of Mg-8Li,Mg-8Li-3Al,Mg-8Li-3AlSi and Mg-8Li-5AlSi alloys were obtained by hot rolling.Optical microscope,microhardness tester,nanoindentor,X-ray diffractometer and electrochemical analyzer were adopted to investigate the microstructures,micro-mechanical properties and corrosion resistance.Roller was preheated to 150°C before rolling process,and rolling reduction designed was about20% per pass with a total rolling reduction of 84%.The rolled plates were annealed at 200°C for 120 min.The tensile tests were performed at room temperature.Experimental results showed that both the strength and corrosion resistance of theα＋βdual-phase of Mg-Li alloy were significantly improved with adding Al-Si elements.The strength enhancement was attributed to the solid solution of Al into theα-Mg matrix and into theβ-Li matrix as well as to the precipitation strengthening of Mg2 Si particles.Besides,the dendrite grains ofα-Mg transformed to equiaxed ones with addition of Al into alloy Mg-Li.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of 20Si2CrNi3MoV steel treated by HDQP process

A combined process of hot-deformation plus two-step quenching and partitioning （HDQP） treatment was applied to a low carbon 20Si2CrNi3MoV steel, and transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, Vickers hardness and tension test were used to characterize the microstructure and mechanical properties. More stable retained austen ite due to fine microstructures and typical curved micromorphology is obtained, and the newly-treated steel obtains more retained austenite because of the effect of hot deformation. The retained austenite fraction increases and then decreases with the increasing quenching temperature from 200 to 350 ℃. The maximum retained austenite fraction （18.3 % ） and elongation （15 % ） are obtained to enhance the ductility.

Effect of surface self-nanocrystallization and Si infiltration on Si diffusion behavior, hardness and magnetic properties of pure Fe

Surface nanocrystallization of pure Fe was performed using an improved surface treatment process. The phase transformation and Si infiltration depth of the pure Fe before and after surface mechanical attrition treatment （SMAT） were compared by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The results indicated that nanocrystallization of Fe surface was achieved using SMAT, which resulted in deeper penetration of Si. Prolonging time of SMAT and Si infiltration also resulted in increasing microhardness, with the hardness first increasing with increasing distance from the surface and then decreasing. Furthermore, longer Si infiltration time, nanocrystallization of Si and longer SMAT time resulted in higher saturation magnetization （MS）. The greatest Si penetration depth （150 μm）, maximum hardness （280 HV）, and maximum MS （1.849 × 10^6 A/m） were achieved after SMAT for 45 min and Si infiltration for 9 h. The interaction between adjacent grains after surface nanocrystallization leads to a region of the magnetic domain wall structure located at the grain boundary, which causes the remanence enhancement effect.