Hot deformation behavior and hot-metal-gas-forming process of V micro-alloyed high manganese steel

The hot deformation behavior of a newly designed V micro-alloyed high manganese steel(HMnS)was investigated in order to guide the development of the hot-metal-gas-forming process.Single-pass hot compression experiments were conducted in the temperature range of 950–1100°C and the strain rate range of 0.05–10 s^(−1),and the stress–strain curves and the corresponding softening mechanism of the V micro-alloyed HMnS were analyzed.Results show that two types of stress–strain curves,representing the work hardening(WH)-dynamic recovery(DRV)-dynamic recrystallization(DRX)mechanism and the WH–DRV mechanism,respectively,occur during the deformation process.Moreover,the WH–DRV–DRX mechanism gradually transforms into the WH–DRV mechanism with the increasing strain rate and decreasing deformation temperature.Two types of constitutive models considering the softening mechanism difference were established and verified by additional hot-deformation experiments.Hot processing map of the HMnS was established and correlated well with the microstructure evolution result.Based on the constitutive models and processing map,the optimal processing parameter range and flow stress of HMnS for the hot-metal-gas-forming were determined.

Improving flangeability of multiphase steel by increasing microstructural homogeneity

Multiphase microstructure significantly increases the strength,usually at the expense of flangeability because of lacking microstructure homogeneity.To further improve the strength-flangeability of multiphase steel,the microstructural homogeneity was advanced by adjusting the hard martensite/austenite(M/A)islands.The strength-flangeability was measured via uniaxial tensile tests and hole expansion tests.Their microstructures were characterized using a scanning electron microscope equipped with an electron backscatter diffraction detector and a transmission electron microscope.Nanoindentation tests were supplementally used to quantitatively reveal the microstructural homogeneity of the steels.Results show that the adjusted multiphase steel achieves an excellent ultimate tensile strength(~800 MPa)and flangeability(~135%hole expansion ratio).A promising homogeneous multiphase microstructure was obtained by controlling undercooled austenite transformed at about 600℃.This microstructure consists of soft polygonal ferrite,blocky bainitic ferrite,and hard M/A islands.The volume fraction of M/A islands is around 5%,and the average size is less than l pm.Detailed nanoindentation analysis indicated that the participation of M/A islands impressively influenced the microstructural homogeneity.Weakened strain partition and better mechanical compatibility were present in the adjusted multiphase steel since the plasticity initiation started late,which resulted in a positive flangeability.Moreover,avoiding M/A islands distributed in the chain along the rolling direction on the matrix hindered the possibility of voids coalescing into cracks and stabilized the flanging performance.

Effects of nano-ceramic additives on high-temperature mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of 310S austenitic stainless steel

A novel approach to reduce Ni content for the 310S austenitic stainless steel was proposed.The nano-ceramic additive(L)was applied to 310S steel to replace part of Ni element and reduce the cost.By means of thermal simulation,X-ray diffraction,field emission scanning electron microscopy,and electron backscattered diffraction,the effects of nanoceramic additives on high-temperature mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of the 310S steel were studied.The results indicate that the morphology and density of the(Fe,Cr)_(23)C_(6)carbides are varied,which play an important role in the high-temperature mechanical properties and corrosion behavior.After adding nano-ceramic additives,the high-temperature tensile strength and yield strength are improved simultaneously,in spite of a slight decrease in the total elongation.During high-temperature corrosion process,the mass gain of all the samples is parabolic with time.The mass gain is increased in the 310S steel with nano-ceramic additive,while the substrate thickness is significantly larger than 310S steel.The more stable and adherent FeCr_(2)O_(4)spinel form is the reason why the high-temperature corrosion resistance was increased.The(Fe,Cr)_(23)C_(6)carbides distribution along grain boundaries is detrimental to the high-temperature corrosion resistance.

Deformation behavior and microstructural evolution in ultra-highstrength dual-phase(UHS-DP1000)steel with different strain rates

The dynamic tensile behavior and deformation mechanism of ultra-high-strength dual-phase(UHS-DP1000)steel were investigated over a wide range of strain rates from 10^-4 to 10^3 s^-1.As the strain rate increases,the transition strain decreases from 2.73 to 1.92,and the martensite plastic deformation starts earlier.At strain rate of 10^-4-0.5 s^-l,the inhomogeneous plastic deformation ability increases because the dislocation density in the ferrite matrix increases.This leads to a decrease in uni form elongation and an increase in fracture elongation.When the strain rate increases from 0.5 to 500s^-l.the amount of mobile dislocation increases,which is the main reason for the enhancing uniform elongation and fracture elongation.Mea nwhile,because the dislocation motio n resistance rapidly in creases,the yield strength and ultimate tensile strength also increase.When the strain rate is higher than 500 s^-1.the hardening behavior caused by the dislocation motion resistance has not been offset by softening due to the mobile dislocation and adiabatic heating.The voids at the early stage of deformation could not uniformly form and grow,and thus the homogeneous plastic deformation ability decreases.

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.

Effects of strain rate on austenite stability and mechanical properties in a 5Mn steel

The austenite stability and the mechanical properties in a typical medium Mn grade steel,i.e.,5Mn steel,were investigated under a wide range of strain rates through the combination of experimental and theoretical methodologies.The obtained results indicate that austenite is more stable at a high strain rate,which is due to the suppression of the austenite to martensite transformation.This suppression is attributed to the increased stacking fault energy and the high deformation energy barrier.Moreover,the suppression of martensitic transformation also leads to the decrease in the ultimate tensile strength and the uniform elongation.Owing to the increase in an adiabatic heating temperature,an increase in the uniform elongation is acquired at a high strain rate.The obtained fundamental study results shed light on a wide application of the medium Mn steel under different strain rate conditions.

Low Cycle Fatigue Behavior and Deformation Mechanism of TWIP Steel

Low cycle fatigue behavior of TWIP （twinning induced plasticity） steel was investigated in axial symmetric tension-compression cyclic loading pattern. Fracture surfaces and microstructures were examined by optical, scanning electron and transmission electron microscopes. It was found that the fatigue life at the strain amplitude of 0.4 % is up to 15 000 cycles, which is much longer than TRIP780 and HSLAS00 steels. The strain hardening and softening features are significant until the strain amplitude comes to 1.25 ~. Persistent slip bands and tiny mechanical twinning layers were observed after fatigue deformation. Deformation mechanism of TWIP steel at low cycle fatigue process is not only twinning, but a complex of both twinning and persistent slip bands.

Effects of strain states on stability of retained austenite in medium Mn steels

Based on uniaxial tensile and plane strain deformation tests, the effects of strain states on the stability of RA （retained austenite） in medium Mn steels, which were subjected to IA （intercritical annealing） and Q＆P （quenching and partitioning） processing, were investigated. The volume fractions of RA before and after deformation were measured at different equivalent strains. The transformation behaviors of RA were also investigated. The stability of RA differed across two different transformation stages at the plane strain state： the stability was much lower in the first stage than in the second stage. For the uniaxial ten sion strain state, the stability of RA corresponded only to a single transformation stage. The main reason was that there were two types of transformations from RA in the medium Mn steel for the plane strain state. One type was that the martensite originated in the strain-induced stacking faults （SISF）. The other type was the strain-induced directly twin martensite at a certain equivalent strain. However, for the uniax- ial tension state, only the strain-induced twin martensite was observed. Dislocation lines and dislocation tangles were also observed in specimens deformed at different strain states. In addition, complex micro- structures of stacking faults and lath-like phases were observed within a grain at the plane strain state.