Mechanical Behavior and Microstructure Evolution during Tensile Deformation of Twinning Induced Plasticity Steel Processed by Warm Forgings

The mechanical behavior and microstructural evolution of an Fe-30Mn-3Al-3Si twinninginduced plasticity(TWIP)steel processed using warm forging was investigated.It is found that steel processed via warm forging improves comprehensive mechanical properties compared to the TWIP steel processed via cold rolling,with a high tensile strength(R_(m))of 793 MPa,a yield strength(R_(P))of 682 MPa,an extremely large R_(P)/R_(m)ratio as high as 0.86 as well as an excellent elongation rate of 46.8%.The microstructure observation demonstrates that steel processed by warm forging consists of large and elongated grains together with fine,equiaxed grains.Complicated micro-defect configurations were also observed within the steel,including dense dislocation networks and a few coarse deformation twins.As the plastic deformation proceeds,the densities of dislocations and deformation twins significantly increase.Moreover,a great number of slip lines could be observed in the elongated grains.These findings reveal that a much more dramatic interaction between microstructural defect and dislocations glide takes place in the forging sample,wherein the fine and equiaxed grains propagated dislocations more rapidly,together with initial defect configurations,are responsible for enhanced strength properties.Meanwhile,larger,elongated grains with more prevalently activated deformation twins result in high plasticity.

Effect of Mn addition on microstructure and mechanical properties of GX40CrNiSi25-12 austenitic heat resistant steel

Three types of steels were designed on the basis of GX40CrNiSi25-12 austenitic heat resistant steel by adding different Mn contents(2wt.%,6wt.%,and 12wt.%).Thermodynamic calculation,microstructure characterization and mechanical property tests were conducted to investigate the effect of Mn addition on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the austenitic heat resistant steel.Results show that the matrix structure in all the three types of steels at room temperature is completely austenite.Carbides NbC and M_(23)C_(6)precipitate at grain boundaries of austenite matrix.With the increase of Mn content,the number of carbides increases and their distribution becomes more uniform.With the Mn content increases from 1.99%to 12.06%,the ultimate tensile strength,yield strength and elongation increase by 14.6%,8.0%and 46.3%,respectively.The improvement of the mechanical properties of austenitic steels can be explained by utilizing classic theories of alloy strengthening,including solid solution strengthening,precipitation strengthening,and grain refinement.The increase in alloy strength can be attributed to solid solution strengthening and precipitation strengthening caused by the addition of Mn.The improvement of the plasticity of austenitic steels can be explained from two aspects:grain refinement and homogenization of precipitated phases.

Microstructure Characteristics and Possible Phase Evolution of the Coal Gangue-Steel Slag Ceramics Prepared by the Solid-State Reaction Methods

Industrial wastes such as steel slag and coal gangue etc.were chosen as raw materials for preparing ceramic via the conventional solid-state reaction method.With steel slag and coal gangue mixed in various mass ratios,from 100%steel slag to 100%coal gangue at 10%intervals,microstructure and possible phase evolution of the coal gangue-steel slag ceramics were investigated using X-ray powder diffraction,scanning electron microscopy,mercury intrusion porosimetry and Archimedes boiling method.The experimental results suggest that the phase compositions of the as-prepared ceramics could be altered with the increased amount of coal gangue in the ceramics.The anorthite-diopside eutectic can be formed in the ceramics with the mass ratios of steel slag to coal gangue arranged from 8:2 to 2:8,which was responsible for the melting of the steel slag-coal gangue ceramics at relatively high temperature.Further investigations on the microstructure suggested that the addition of the proper amount of steel slag in ceramic compositions was conducive to the pore formation and further contributed to an increment in porosity.

Unveiling the cellular microstructure-property relations in martensitic stainless steel via laser powder bed fusion

Laser powder bed fusion(LPBF)is a widely recognized additive manufacturing technology that can fabricate complex components rapidly through layer-by-layer formation.However,there is a paucity of research on the effect of laser scanning speed on the cellular microstructure and mechanical properties of martensitic stainless steel.This study systematically investigated the influence of laser scanning speed on the cellular microstructure and mechanical properties of a developed Fe11Cr8Ni5Co3Mo martensitic stainless steel produced by LPBF.The results show that increasing the laser scanning speed from 400 to 1000 mm/s does not lead to a noticeable change in the phase fraction,but it reduces the average size of the cellular microstructure from 0.60 to 0.35μm.The scanning speeds of 400 and 1000 mm/s both had adverse effects on performances of sample,resulting in inadequate fusion and keyhole defects respectively.The optimal scanning speed for fabricating samples was determined to be 800 mm/s,which obtained the highest room temperature tensile strength and elongation,with the ultimate tensile strength measured at(1088.3±2.0)MPa and the elongation of(16.76±0.10)%.Furthermore,the mechanism of the evolution of surface morphology,defects,and energy input were clarified,and the relationship between cellular microstructure size and mechanical properties was also established.

Influence of band microstructure on carbide precipitation behavior and toughness of 1 GPa-grade ultra-heavy gauge low-alloy steel

This study investigated the influence of band microstructure induced by centerline segregation on carbide precipitation behavior and toughness in an 80 mm-thick 1 GPa low-carbon low-alloy steel plate.The quarter-thickness(1/4t)and half-thickness(1/2t)regions of the plate exhibited similar ductility and toughness after quenching.After tempering,the 1/4t region exhibited~50%and~25%enhancements in both the total elongation and low-temperature toughness at-40°C,respectively,without a decrease in yield strength,whereas the toughness of the 1/2t region decreased by~46%.After quenching,both the 1/4t and 1/2t regions exhibited lower bainite and lath martensite concentrations,but only the 1/2t region exhibited microstructure bands.Moreover,the tempered 1/4t region featured uniformly dispersed short rod-like M_(23)C_(6)carbides,and spherical MC precipitates with diameters of~20–100 nm and<20 nm,respectively.The uniformly dispersed nanosized M_(23)C_(6)carbides and MC precipitates contributed to the balance of high strength and high toughness.The band microstructure of the tempered 1/2t region featured a high density of large needle-like M3C carbides.The length and width of the large M3C carbides were~200–500 nm and~20–50 nm,respectively.Fractography analysis revealed that the high density of large carbides led to delamination cleavage fracture,which significantly deteriorated toughness.

Microstructural evolution and strengthening mechanism of aligned steel fiber cement-based tail backfills exposed to electromagnetic induction

Cemented tailings backfill(CTB)not only boosts mining safety and cuts surface environmental pollution but also recovers ores previously retained as pillars,thereby improving resource utilization.The use of alternative reinforcing products,such as steel fiber(SF),has continuously strengthened CTB into SFCTB.This approach prevents strength decreases over time and reinforces its long-term durability,especially when mining ore in adjacent underground stopes.In this study,various microstructure and strength tests were performed on SFCTB,considering steel fiber ratio and electromagnetic induction strength effects.Lab findings show that combining steel fibers and their distribution dominantly influences the improvement of the fill’s strength.Fill’s strength rises by fiber insertion and has an evident correlation with fiber insertion and magnetic induction strength.When magnetic induction strength is 3×10^(-4) T,peak uniaxial compressive stress reaches 5.73 MPa for a fiber ratio of 2.0vol%.The cracks’expansion mainly started from the specimen’s upper part,which steadily expanded downward by increasing the load until damage occurred.The doping of steel fiber and its directional distribution delayed crack development.When the doping of steel fiber was 2.0vol%,SFCTBs showed excellent ductility characteristics.The energy required for fills to reach destruction increases when steel-fiber insertion and magnetic induction strength increase.This study provides notional references for steel fibers as underground filling additives to enhance the fill’s durability in the course of mining operations.

Effect of ball milling time on the microstructure and compressive properties of the Fe–Mn–Al porous steel

In the present work,Fe–Mn–Al–C powder mixtures were manufactured by elemental powders with different ball milling time,and the porous high-Mn and high-Al steel was fabricated by powder sintering.The results indicated that the powder size significantly decreased,and the morphology of the Fe powder tended to be increasingly flat as the milling time increased.However,the prolonged milling duration had limited impact on the phase transition of the powder mixture.The main phases of all the samples sintered at 640℃ were α-Fe,α-Mn and Al,and a small amount of Fe2Al5 and Al8Mn5.When the sintering temperature increased to 1200℃,the phase composition was mainly comprised of γ-Fe and α-Fe.The weight loss fraction of the sintered sample decreased with milling time,i.e.,8.3wt% after 20 h milling compared to15.3wt% for 10 h.The Mn depletion region(MDR) for the 10,15,and 20 h milled samples was about 780,600,and 370 μm,respectively.The total porosity of samples sintered at 640℃ decreased from ~46.6vol% for the 10 h milled powder to ~44.2vol% for 20 h milled powder.After sintering at 1200℃,the total porosity of sintered samples prepared by 10 and 20 h milled powder was ~58.3vol% and ~51.3vol%,respectively.The compressive strength and ductility of the 1200℃ sintered porous steel increased as the milling time increased.

Research on microstructure and properties of boron/Q235 steel laser welded dissimilar joints under synchronous thermal field

The mechanical mismatch effect frequently occurs in the dissimilar materials welded joints, thus leading to plastic gradient at the interface between the weld and heat-affected zone(HAZ). In this work, the boron steel and Q235 steel were selected for laser tailor welding,which obtained boron/Q235 steel tailor-welded blanks(TWBs). The method of welding with synchronous thermal field(WSTF) was utilized to eliminate the mismatch effects in TWBs. The WSTF was employed to adjust cooling rates of welded joints, thereby intervening in the solidification behaviors and phase transition of the molten pool. Boron/Q235 steel was welded by laser under conventional and WSTF(300-600 ℃) conditions, respectively. The results show that the microstructure of weld and HAZ(boron) was adequately transitioned to ferrites and pearlites instead of abundant martensite by WSTF. Meanwhile, the discrepancy of microhardness and yield strength between various regions of welded joints was greatly reduced, and the overall plasticity of welded joints was enhanced by WSTF. It is indicated that WSTF can effectively contribute to reducing plastic gradient and achieving mechanical congruity in welded joints by restraining the generation of hardbrittle phase, which could significantly improve the formability of TWBs in subsequent hot stamping.

Effect of B_(2)O_(3) enrichment on microstructural inhomogeneity of high strength steel weldments

The present work attributes the role of boron on the high strength steel submerged arc weld using an undermatching filler wire.Mild steel filler wire was used for welding in constant machine parameters setting to evaluate the joint strength due to the enrichment of boron.To change the chemical composition of the weld metal,boron trioxide powder was blended with virgin flux in various proportions(2.5%−12.5%),which led to an increase in boron weight percentage in the range of 0−0.0065.The results show that weld metals(WM)optical micrographs depict the various types of ferrites,pearlites and secondary phases like martensite-austenite(M-A).Acicular ferrite content was influenced by the boron trioxide addition.Heat affected zone(HAZ)micrographs were not showing appreciable changes with oxide enrichment.Hardness and toughness of weld metals showed the mixed trend with B_(2)O_(3) enrichment whereas,small reduction in ultimate tensile strength(UTS)and yield strength(YS)was observed.

Erratum to:Microstructure and texture evolution of nonoriented silicon steel during the punching process

The original online version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake.The author’s name in the original online version is incorrect,which is:Xiang Fang,Wei Wang,François Brisset,Anne-Laure Helberg,and Thierry Baudin The correct version is given below.

Dissimilar welding of high nitrogen stainless steel and low alloy high strength steel under different shielding gas composition:Process,microstructure and mechanical properties

Ar-N_(2)-O_(2)ternary shielding gas is employed in dissimilar welding between high nitrogen steel and low alloy steel.The effect of O_(2)and N_(2)is investigated based on the systematical analysis of the metal transfer,nitrogen escape phenomenon,weld appearance,nondestructive detection,nitrogen content distribution,microstructure and mechanical properties.There are two nitrogen sources of the nitrogen in the weld:high nitrogen base material and shielding gas.The effect of shielding gas is mainly reflected in these two aspects.The change of the droplet transfer mode affects the fusion ratio,N2in the shielding gas can increase nitrogen content and promote the nitrogen uniform distribution.The addition of 2%O_(2)to Ar matrix can change the metal transfer from globular transfer to spray transfer,high nitrogen base material is thereby dissolved more to the molten pool,making nitrogen content increase,ferrite decrease and the mechanical properties improve.When applying N2-containing shielding gas,arc stability becomes poor and short-circuiting transfer frequency increases due to the nitrogen escape from droplets and the molten pool.Performance of the joints is improved with N_(2)increasing,but internal gas pores are easier to appear because of the poor capacity of low alloy steel to dissolve nitrogen,The generation of pores will greatly reduce the impact resistance.4-8%N2content in shielding gas is recommended in this study considering the integrated properties of the dissimilar welded joint.

Microstructure and toughness of thick-gauge pipeline steel joint via double-sided friction stir welding combined with preheating

Fusion welding easily causes microstructural coarsening in the heat-affected zone(HAZ) of a thick-gauge pipeline steel joint. This is most significant in the inter-critically coarse-grained HAZ(ICCGHAZ), which considerably deteriorates the toughness of the joint. In the present work, 11-mm thick pipeline steel was joined by preheating and double-sided friction stir welding(FSW). A comparative study on the microstructure and toughness in the ICCGHAZs for FSW and gas metal arc welding(GMAW) was performed. The toughness in the ICCGHAZ for FSW was improved significantly than that in the ICCGHAZ for GMAW. Generally, the nugget zone(NZ) has a coarse microstructure in the FSW steel joint formed at the highest peak temperature. However, in the current study, the microstructure in the one-pass NZ was remarkably refined owing to the static recrystallization of ferrite. An excellent toughness was achieved in the NZ of the pipeline steel joint that employed FSW.

Microstructure,Properties and Crack Suppression Mechanism of High-speed Steel Fabricated by Selective Laser Melting at Different Process Parameters

To enrich material types applied to additive manufacturing and enlarge application scope of additive manufacturing in conformal cooling tools,M2 high-speed steel specimens were fabricated by selective laser melting(SLM).Effects of SLM parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of M2 high-speed steel were investigated.The results showed that substrate temperature and energy density had significant influence on the densification process of materials and defects control.Models to evaluate the effect of substrate temperature and energy density on hardness were studied.The optimized process parameters,laser power,scan speed,scan distance,and substrate temperature,for fabricated M2 are 220 W,960 mm/s,0.06 mm,and 200℃,respectively.Based on this,the hardness and tensile strength reached 60 HRC and 1000 MPa,respectively.Interlaminar crack formation and suppression mechanism and the relationship between temperature gradient and thermal stress were illustrated.The inhibition effect of substrate temperature on the cracks generated by residual stresses was also explained.AM showed great application potential in the field of special conformal cooling cutting tool preparation.

Friction welding influence on microstructure,microhardness and hardness behavior of CrNiMo steel(AISI 316)

For joining high Cr,Ni and Mo austenitic stainless steel(AISI 316)by direct drive friction welding(DDFW),with friction weld-ing conditions:rotation speed of 3000 r/min,friction time of 10 s,friction pressure of 130 MPa,forge time of 5 s and forge pressure of 260 MPa.The results of microstructure showed that the temperature at the interface reached 819℃while forge applied between 357-237℃,which subdivided welded joint into four distinct regions of highly plastically deformed zone(HPDZ),thermo-mechanically affected zone(TMAZ),heat affected zone(HAZ)and the base metal,with grain size about 10µm,100µm,90µm and 30µm respectively.These re-gions were created due to dynamic recrystallization(DRX)at the interface and thermo-mechanical deformation with heat diffusion in the neighboring regions.Whereas,high level of microhardness about 300 HV0.1 and hardness roughly 240 Hv10 at the interface due to HPDZ creation while low level of 240 HV0.1 for microhardness and moderately of 205 HV10 for hardness in neighboring regions.

Effect of nitrogen content on the microstructure and mechanical properties of titanium-bearing nonquenched and tempered steel after hot forging

The microstructure and mechanical properties of titanium(Ti)-bearing medium-carbon nonquenched and tempered steel with different nitrogen content before and after hot forging were investigated through smelting,forging,and laboratory tests.The results show that the grain size of nonquenched and tempered steel was gradually refined,and the ferrite content gradually increased with an increase in nitrogen content.The grain size of the material with low nitrogen content increased abnormally,and its impact properties significantly decreased after hot forging.The grain size of nonquenched and tempered steel with higher nitrogen content was slightly larger than that before forging,and the tensile and yield strength increased,but the impact toughness was not significantly reduced.The Ti-bearing nonquenched and tempered steel showed better strength and toughness after hot forging with the addition of 0.010%0.015%nitrogen.

Microstructure and high temperature tribological behavior of laser cladding Ni60A alloys coatings on 45 steel substrate

The crack-free Ni60 A coating was fabricated on 45 steel substrate by laser cladding and the microstructure including solidification characteristics, phases constitution and phase distribution was systematically investigated. The high temperature friction and wear behavior of the cladding coating and substrate sliding against GCr15 ball under different loads was systematically evaluated. It was found that the coating has homogenous and fine microstructure consisting of γ（Ni） solid solution, a considerable amount of network Ni-Ni3 B eutectics, m^23C6 with the floret-shape structure and Cr B with the dark spot-shape structure uniformly distributing in interdendritic eutectics. The microhardness of the coating is about 2.6 times as much as that of the substrate. The coating produces higher friction values than the substrate under the same load condition, but the friction process on the coating keeps relatively stable. Wear rates of the coating are about 1/6.2 of that of the substrate under the higher load（300 g）. Wear mechanism of the substrate includes adhesion wear, abrasive wear, severe plastic deformation and oxidation wear, while that of the coating is merely a combination of mild abrasive wear and moderate oxidation wear.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of pulsed laser welded Al/steel dissimilar joint

Pulsed laser welding was used in joining pure aluminum to stainless steel in a lap joint configuration. It is found that the mechanical properties of the laser joints were closely correlated with the bead geometry, i.e., penetration depth. In order to study the correlation, two typical laser welds with different penetration depths were analyzed. In high penetration depth (354 μm) joint, Al-rich Fe?Al IMCs with microcracks were formed at the Al/fusion zone (FZ) interface. The joint strength was found to be (27.2±1.7) N/mm and three failure modes were observed near the Al/FZ interface. In low penetration depth (108 μm) joint, Fe-rich Fe?Al IMCs without any defect were formed at the Al/FZ interface. The joint strength was found to be (46.2±1.9) N/mm and one failure mode was observed across the FZ.

Effect of normalizing cooling process on microstructure and precipitates in low-temperature silicon steel

Microstructure, precipitate and magnetic characteristic of fmal products with different normalizing cooling processes for Fe-3.2%Si low-temperature hot-rolled grain-oriented silicon steel were analyzed and compared with the hot-rolled plate by optical microscopy （OM）, transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, and energy dispersive spectrometry （EDS）. The results show that, the surface microstructure is uniform, the proportion of recrystallization in matrix increases, and the banding textures are narrowed; the precipitates, whose quantity in normalized plate is more than that in hot-rolled plate greatly, are mainly A1N, MnS, composite precipitates （Cu,Mn）S and so on. Normalizing technology with a temperature of 1120 ℃, holding for 3 min, and a two-stage cooling is a most advantaged method to obtain oriented silicon steel with sharper Goss texture and higher magnetic properties, owing to the uniform surface microstructures and the obvious inhomogeneity of microstructures along the thickness. The normalizing technology with the two-stage cooling is the optimum process, which can generate more fine precipitates dispersed over the matrix, and be beneficial for finished products to get higher magnetic properties.

Bi-modal microstructure in a powder metallurgical ferritic steel

Ferritic steel with a nominal composition of Fe-14Cr-3W-0.42Ti-0.32Y was prepared by mixing gas-atomized prealloyed powder and mechanically alloyed powder. The microstructure is much different fxom other ferritic steels with the same composition and prepared via only mechanically alloyed powder. A bi-modal structure, which consists of pure ferritic grains and martensitic grains, was obtained after hot forging and air cooling. A phase transformation of αbcc→γfcc→α＇bcc was also discovered in microstructural observation. The bi-modal microstructure shows a good combination of high strength and high ductility.

Effects of Nb on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 38MnB5 steel

The effects of the microalloying element niobium(Nb) on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the hot stamped steel 38 Mn B5 were investigated. The impact of Nb addition on the microstructure was studied through scanning electron microscopy(SEM), transmission electron microscopy(TEM), and X-ray diffraction(XRD). The experimental results indicated that the microstructures of the steel containing Nb were finer than those of the steel without Nb. Moreover, Nb mainly presented as a second-phase particle in 38MnB5 steel, and the particles included Nb carbonitrides. In addition, the tensile strength and elongation of the hot rolled and hot stamped steels were also measured, and they demonstrated that the appropriate addition of Nb was beneficial to the mechanical properties of 38 MnB5. Under the same conditions, the tensile strength of 38 MnB5 Nb was higher than that of 38 MnB5, which increased from 2011 to 2179 MPa. The yield strength also increased from 1316 to 1476 MPa, and the elongation increased from 5.92% to 6.64%. Overall, Nb had a positive effect on the performance of the hot stamped steel.