RESIDUAL AUSTENITE AND STRAIN-INDUCED MARTENSITE IN LASER HARDENING LAYER ON GRAY IRON

The distribution of residual austenite in the laser hardening laver on the gray cast iron and the change in the amount of residual austenite during sliding wearing have been investigated by X-ray diffractometer.The thin foils of the hardening layer worn down have been observed by electron microscopy.It was revealed that two types of martensite are strain-induced by slid- ing wearing under load of 1.72 MPa on the hardening layer of residual austenite.The strain induced martensite is profitable to improve the sliding wearing resistance.

Anomalous residual austenite formation in root of welding layers of 9% Cr/CrMoV dissimilar welded joint

The morphology and distribution of residual austenite in the welded zone of 9% Cr/CrMoV dissimilar welded joint were observed by color metallographic method. Moreover, the details of the distribution, shape, length, length-to-width ratio, and the content of residual austenite in each welding layer were systematically characterized using Image-Pro Plus image analysis software. Different from the techniques such as X-ray diffraction, vibrating sample magnetometer, and electron backscatter diffraction that only involve the content of residual austenite, color metallographic method can offer much more details of the residual austenite, including the location, shape, size, and content, helping evaluate the overall characteristics of the residual austenite produced in the weld. It is interesting that a large amount of block-like and film-like residual austenite was found in the root of each welding layer, while rare at the top. The area fraction of residual austenite located in this zone was approximately 7.5% compared with only 0.5% at the top. In addition, the average area, length, and length-to-width ratio of dispersed residual austenite were quantitatively evaluated to be （4.7 ± 0.6）μm2, （5.1 ±0.6） μm, and （1.1 ± 0.1） μm, respectively. This variety of residual austenite was resulted from the tempering effect by latter welding layer on the previous one and different cooling rates in these two regions during the welding process.

Test and application of 60 kg·m^(−1) bainite rails for heavy-haul railway

Purpose-In order to develop high-strength,high-toughness and high-wear-resistance rails suitable for the development and application of heavy-haul railways.Design/methodology/approach-Based on the trial production of 60 kg·m^(−1) bainite rails,the Zeiss inverted optical microscope,transmission electron microscope and static hydraulic universal tester were used to test the microstructure and property of rail base metal and welded joints.Meanwhile,a trial laying of rails,wing rails of frogs and switch rails for turnouts was performed to systematically analyze their strength,toughness and wear resistance.Findings-The results show that the base metal of 60 kg·m^(−1) bainite rail is of a uniform microstructure,with a carbide-free bainite matrix,a few of stable residual austenite and M/A islands,and it features high hardness,good wear resistance and good strength-toughness balance.The welded joint is of a uniform microstructure and has good properties.Originality/value-A bainite rail,laid in a curve section of heavy-haul railway is able to serve for 48 months with a gross traffic tonnage of nearly 600 million tons,whose service life is more than one time longer than that of pearlite rail;the service life of the wing rail of frog and the switch rail for turnout with 60 kg·m^(−1) bainite rails is 3-4 times longer than that with U75V rails,and no serious damage occurs.The bainite rails also have strong peeling and spalling resistance.

An optimized hardness model for carburizing-quenching of low carbon alloy steel

Research has been conducted about the hardness prediction for the carburizing and quenching process based on an optimized hardness simulation model,in accordance with the calculation rule of mixed phases.The coupling field model incorporates carburizing field analysis,temperature field analysis,phase transformation kinetics analysis and a modified hardness calculation model.In determination of the calculation model for hardness,calculation equations are given to be applied to low carbon content(x(C)<0.5%) for the child phases and the martensite hardness is calculated for high carbon content(x(C)>0.5%) in alloy.Then,the complete carburizing-quenching hardness calculation model is built,and the hardness simulation data are corrected considering the influence of residual austenite(RA) on hardness.Hardness simulations of the carburizing and quenching process of 17CrNiMo6 samples have been performed using DEFORM-HT_V10.2 and MATLAB R2013 a.Finally,a series of comparisons of simulation results and measured values show a good agreement between them,which validates the accuracy of the proposed mathematical model.

Microstructural Transformation and Precipitation of an Ultra-high Strength Steel under Continuous Cooling

We investigated phase transition and precipitation of ultra-high strength steel（UHSS）in a new ＂short process＂ with controlled rolling and controlled cooling.Thermalexpansion test combined with metallographic observation was used to research the continuous cooling transformation（CCT）curve.Moreover,the microstructuraltransformation and precipitation law was revealed by morphologicalobservation and alloying elements by electron probe micro-analyzer（EPMA）.Transmission electron microscopy（TEM）was utilized to analyze the composition and grain orientation of microstructure.The study showed that the measured criticaltransformation temperatures of Ac1 and Ac3 were 746 and 868 ℃,respectively.The CCT curve indicated that the undercooled austenite was transformed into proeutectoid ferrite and bainite with HV 520 in a broad range of cooling rate 0.1^（-1） ℃·s^（-1）.When subjected to a cooling rate of 1 ℃·s^（-1）,the undercooled austenite was divided into small-sized blocks by formed martensite.With further increase of cooling rate,micro-hardness increased dramatically,the microstructure of specimen was mainly lathe bainite（LB）,granular bainite（GB）,lath martensite（LM）and residualaustenite.By diffraction test analysis,it was identified that there was K-S orientation relationship between martensite and austenite for {110}_α//{111}_γ,{111}_α//{101}_γ.EPMA clearly showed that carbon diffused adequately due to staying for a long time at high temperature with a lower cooling rate of 2 ℃·s-1.Phase transition drive force was lower and the residualaustenite existed in the block form of Martensite austenite island（M-A）.With the increase of cooling rate to 10 ℃·s^（-1）,the block residualaustenite reduced,the carbon content of residualaustenite increased and α phase around the residualaustenite formed into a low carbon bainite form.

Hydrogen Embrittlement of Advanced High-Strength Steel for Automobile Application:A Review

The hydrogen embrittlement(HE)fracture of advanced high-strength steels used in lightweight automobiles has received increasing public attention.The source,transmission,and movement of hydrogen,characterization parameters,and test methods of HE,as well as the characteristics and path of HE fractures,are introduced.The mechanisms and modes of crack propagation of HE and hydrogen-induced delayed fracture are reviewed.The recent progress surrounding micro and macro typical fracture characteristics and the influencing factors of HE are discussed.Finally,methods for improving HE resistance can be summarized as follows:(1)reducing crystalline grain and inclusion sizes(oxides,sulfides,and titanium nitride),(2)controlling nano-precipitates(niobium carbide,titanium carbide,and composite precipitation),and(3)increasing residual austenite content under the reasonable tension strength of steel.

Multi-dimensional controllability analysis of precision ball bearing integrity

Many factors affect the integrity of precision ball bearings.In this study,the multi-dimensional controllability of precision ball bearings produced in different company brands(bearing A and bearing B)were studied and compared.The geometric errors(flatness,parallelism,roundness and cylindricity of inner and outer rings,roundness,groove and roughness of inner and outer rings)and vibration errors of bearings were analyzed.Concurrently,the residual stress,residual austenite content,element content ratio,metamorphic layer and temperature-vibration displacement coupling test were also analyzed.Based on the above analysis conclusion,the bearing fatigue life test was carried out for 2150 h.The reliability of the conclusion is proved again as follows.When the residual austenite content in the raceway of precision ball bearing is 10%,the axial residual stress is 877.4 MPa;the tangential residual stress is 488.1 MPa;the carbon content is 6%;the test temperature of bearing is the lowest;and the service life is prolonged.

Tempering Process to Improve Hardness Uniformity of Plastic Mould Steel

A new design of copper-bearing non-quenched plastic mold steel is presented and explained. Two kinds of microstrueture can be obtained from this new type copper-bearing steel via cooling with different cooling rates, bain- ite and a mixed microstructure consisting of ferrite and bainite. It is found that, after proper tempering process, the hardness will be increased. Moreover, the hardness difference between different microstructures will be reduced. For further investigation, the samples tempered at different temperatures were examined by XRD and 3PAP （three di- mensional atom probe） analysis. Results show that the improvement is contributed mainly by the precipitation of Cu phase and transformation of residual austenite.

Embrittlement Mechanism due to Slow Cooling During Quenching for M152 Martensitic Heat Resistant Steel

The mechanism of brittleness of M152 martensitic heat resistant steel due to slow cooling during quenching was experimentally investigated. The mechanical property tests and microstructure observation were conducted by TEM and XRD. The results showed that the presence of irreversible brittleness during slow cooling of quenching for M152 steel is attributed to the continuous M23C6 precipitation along prior austenite grain boundaries and M2C along prior residual austenite film. The residual austenite in the steel was unstable and decomposed after the precipitation of second phase during the process of slow cooling of quenching. The low cooling rate within the temperature range from 820 ℃ to 660 ℃ plays a key role in impact toughness, and the precipitation of second phase in the same temperature range results in irreversible brittleness.