Effect of titanium and rare earth microalloying on microsegregation,eutectic carbides of M2 high speed steel during ESR process

The effects of RE and Ti microalloying during electroslag remelting(ESR)process on the microsegregation and morphology of eutectic M2C carbides in M2 high speed steel were investigated.The results show that the addition of 0.2 wt%RE can alleviate the segregation of C,W,Mo,V and Cr,while the morphology of eutectic M2C carbides hardly changes.The microalloying with the addition of 0.5 wt%Ti has the lowest degree of microsegregation due to the improvement of primary dendrites by the effective heterogeneous nucleating agent of(Ti,V)(C,N)particles.The addition of Ti makes the mo rphology of M2C carbides change from rod-like or maze-like shape into a coarse feathery shape,exhibiting anisotropic facet growth characteristics.For the microalloying of 0.2 wt%RE and 0.5 wt%Ti,the segregation of the main metal alloying elements is slightly more severe than that of the addition of only RE or Ti.Under the combined action of RE and Ti,the feathery eutectic M2C becomes thinner and shorter and tends to be isolated or distributed in a discontinuous network.

Influence of rare earths on eutectic carbides in AISI M2 high speed steel

The effect of rare earths on the morphology and microstructure of eutectic carbides in M2 high speed steel was studied. The results showed that rare earths promoted the forrmation of fishbone-like M6C eutectic carbides, compared to plate-like M2C carbides in ingots without modification. The formation of M6C was expected to be caused by rare earth inclusions which acted effectively as the substratc for nucleation of M6C carbides during solidification. M2C and M6C eutectic carbides exhibited different stability during heating. M2C eutectic carbides were much less stable than M6C carbides, and decomposed at high temperatures, favoring the spheroidization and refmement of carbides inhigh speed steels.

Influence of semi-solid isothermal treatment on eutectic carbide in Cr12MoV steel

In-situ observation of eutectic solidification of Cr12MoV steel was conducted using high temperature confocal laser-scanning microscopy. The semi-solid isothermal treatment temperature of the steel was determined by thermodynamic calculation using Thermo-cal software. At the same time, the influences of isothermal treatment temperature and time on eutectic carbides in the steel were also studied. The results show that when the liquid metal cools at the rate of 47 ℃·min^-1, the eutectic reaction occurs rapidly at 1,214.7 ℃ in one second with the reticular liquid around austenite dendrites, transforming into a network of eutectic structure. After being held at 1,300 ℃ for 30 min, the carbide network is broken due to the impingement of refined primary austenite dendrites and secondary dendrites arms, and the thickness of eutectic structure is reduced.

Effect of RE on Granulation of Eutectic Carbide in Ledeburite Steel

The effect of RE on granulation of eutectic carbide in ledeburite steel was studied. The mechanism of RE action was also discussed. The results show that by addition of RE compounds, the austenitic grains and eutectic carbide are fined, and the amount of divorced eutectic increases. Moreover, crystal defects, such as twins in M 7C 3, increase and the segregation of Cr and Mo decreases, which reduces the stability of carbide. Thus RE can accelerate the dynamic processes of eutectic carbide granulation. The satisfactory result of granulation of carbide was obtained in the ledeburite steel modified by RE compounds.

Microstructure and Eutectic Carbide Morphology of the High Speed Steel Strips Produced by Twin Roll Strip Casting Process

The M2 high-speed steel strip was produced by using the laboratory scale twin roll strip caster. The microstructure and eutectic carbide morphology of thus produced products were observed and analyzed, and the comparison of those with conventional products was carried out. The effects of the processing parameters such as the melting temperature, the pouring temperature, rolling speed and separating force on the microstructure and eutectic carbide morphology and their distribution were analyzed. The spheroidizing process of the strips in the annealing process was investigated. The relations between the growth and spheroidizing of the eutectic carbide and the annealing technology were obtained, and the mechanism of the twin roll strip casting process improving the eutectic carbide spheroidizing was discussed. The theoretical instruction for determining the subsequent treatment process was provided.

Morphological Variation of Eutectic Carbide in Twin-Roll Casting Strip of W9Cr4Mo2

The netlike eutectic carbide in twin-roll casting strip of W9Cr4V2 was dissolved and broken up gradually with increasing heating temperature during annealing treatment.Almost all eutectic carbides exist in granular form with heating temperature up to 950 ℃.It is considered that the refining of lamellar spacing made it possible for eutectic carbide to be granulated.

Effect of Rare Earth on Microstructures and Properties of High Speed Steel With High Carbon Content

The effects of rare earth （RE） on the microstructures and properties of high carbon high speed steel （HCHSS） were investigated. The results show that when suitable RE is added to the HCHSS, the effect of RE on the austenite and eutectic carbides is obvious. The austenite grain and coarse eutectic structure are refined, and flake carbides in the eutectic structures become short and fine. After heat treatment, most of the eutectic carbides are spheroidized and distributed in a uniform manner. The hardness and red hardness of modified HCHSS are slightly increased; impact toughness is greatly increased by 37.81% and reaches 10.17 J/cm^2. The mechanism by which RE improves the structures and properties of HCHSS is also analyzed.

Influence of Rare Earth Elements on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Cast High-Speed Steel Rolls

The influence of rare earth （RE） elements on the solidification process and eutectic transformation and mechanical properties of the high-V type cast, high-speed steel roll was studied. Test materials with different RE additions were prepared on a horizontal centrifugal casting machine. The solidification process, eutectic structure transformation, carbide morphology, and the elements present, were all investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry （DSC） and scanning electron microscopy energy dispersive spectrometry （SEM-EDS）. The energy produced by crack initiation and crack extension was analyzed using a digital impact test machine. It was found that rare earth elements increased the tensile strength of the steel by inducing crystallization of earlier eutectic γ-Fe during the solidification process, which in turn increased the solidification temperature and thinned the dendritic grains. Rare earth elements with large atomic radius changed the lattice parameters of the MC carbide by forming rare earth carbides. This had the effect of dispersing longpole M C carbides to provide carbide grains, thereby, reducing the formation of the gross carbide and making more V available, to increase the secondary hardening process and improve the hardness level. The presence of rare earth elements in the steel raised the impact toughness by changing the mechanism of MC carbide formation, thereby increasing the crack initiation energy.

Influence of Cerium on Solidification Microstructure of M2 High Speed Steel

The influence of Ce on the solidification microstructures of M2 high speed steel was studied. The results show that Ce has the effect of alleviating the segregation of alloying elements such as W and Mo in high speed steel. With the addition of Ce, the amount of eutectic carbides is decreased and the flakes of the carbides are refined. Ce mainly segregates onto the interface between the eutectic carbide and austenite, and a Dart of Ce enters M2C carbide. Ce can also enhance the breaking and spheroidizing of the network eutectic carbides during high temperature heat treatment.

Solidification microstructure of M2 high speed steel by different casting technologies

The present work investigated the solidification microstructure of AISI M2 high speed steel manufactured by different casting technologies, namely iron mould casting and continuous casting. The results revealed that the as-cast structure of the steel was composed of the iron matrix and the M2C eutectic carbide networks, which were greatly refined in the ingot made by continuous casting process, compared with that by the iron mould casting process. M2C eutectic carbides presented variation in their morphologies and growth characteristics in the ingots by both casting methods. In the ingot by iron mould casting, they have a plate-like morphology and grow anisotropically. However, in the ingot made by continuous casting, the carbides evolved into the fiber-like shape that exhibited little characteristics of anisotropic growth. It was noticed that the fiber-like M2C was much easier to decompose and spheroidize after heated, as a result, the carbides refined remarkably, compared with the case of plate-like carbides in the iron mould casting ingot.

Delayed Fracture Behavior of CrMo Type High Strength Steel Containing Vanadium

The netlike eutectic carbide in twin roll casting strip of W9Cr4V2 was dissolved and broken up gradually with increasing heating temperature during annealing treatment. Almost all eutectic carbides exist in granular form with heating temperature up to 950 ℃. It is considered that the refining of lamellar spacing made it possible for eutectic carbide to be granulated.

Influence of Rare Earth on Property of Low Chromium Semi-Steel

The influence of rare earth( RE) content on mechanical properties and abrasion resistance of low chromium semi-steel was studied by means of metallographic examination,scanning electron microscopic examination and mechanical property test. The experiment results show that RE can improve the comprehensive properties,especially in combination with proper heat treatment. The optimum properties of low chromium semi-steel modified by RE of 0. 25 % could be obtained by normalization at 950 ℃ for 3 h. The main reason is the change in morphology and distribution of eutectic carbide and the precipitation of granular carbides.

Study on Liquid Structure of Iron-Rich Fe-Si Alloy

The influence of rare earth (RE) content on mechanical properties and abrasion resistance of low chromium semi steel was studied by means of metallographic examination, scanning electron microscopic examination and mechanical property test. The experiment results show that RE can improve the comprehensive properties, especially in combination with proper heat treatment. The optimum properties of low chromium semi steel modified by RE of 0 25 % could be obtained by normalization at 950 ℃ for 3 h. The main reason is the change in morphology and distribution of eutectic carbide and the precipitation of granular carbides.

BEHAVIOUR OF Ti IN AS-CAST MEDIUM MANGANESE AUSTENITIC STEEL

The majority of Ti is found to be preferentially precipitated in the form of TiC from medium manganese steel melt.The TiC may contribute to the heterogeneous nuclei of fine austenite crystallization,to the retardation of dislocation movement as well as to pile-up and proliferate the dislocations,thus,the matrix of the as-cast steel will be effectively strength- ened.It was also found that the TiC can be acted as the heterogeneous nuclei of the nodular eutectic carbide formation and caused the dispersion o fan abundance of the carbide in the interstices between austenite dendrite arms.

Eutectic precipitates and microstructure of electroslag remelted 15Cr-22Ni austenitic heat-resistant steel with varying Nb contents

The microstructure,eutectic carbides and intermetallic compounds in as-cast ingots with varying Nb contents produced by electroslag remelting were studied.The solidification behavior,microsegregation of alloying elements and its influence on precipitates were analyzed.The increase in Nb content from 0.64 to 1.40 wt.%has no effect on the dendrite morphology and secondary dendrite arm spacing.The total area fraction of eutectic NbC and Laves phase in as-cast ingots increases with the increase in Nb content.The eutectic precipitates in the ingot with 0.64 wt.%Nb are mainly NbC,and the others are Fe_(2)Nb-type Laves phase.Increasing the Nb content of the steel significantly promotes the precipitation of Laves phases and lowers the precipitation temperature of NbC eutectic carbides.Eutectic carbide M_(2)C is precipitated only in the ingot with 1.4 wt.%Nb.The average concentration of Nb in both interdendritic and intragranular regions increases with the increase in Nb content of the steel,leading to a change in the morphology of Fe_(2)Nb-type Laves phase from honeycomb to blocky.Increasing the Nb content exerts little effect on the microsegregation degrees of Si,Mo,Cr and Ni in the steel.

Evolving Mechanism of Eutectic Carbide in As-cast AISI M2 High-speed Steel at Elevated Temperature

The evolution in type, size and shape of carbides in as-cast American Iron and Steel Institute （AISI） M2 high-speed steel before and after annealing were investigated. The micromechanism which was responsible for those changes was also analyzed and discussed. At the initial stage of reheating, metastable M2C-type carbide decomposed continuously. M6C-type carbide nucleated at the interface of M2C/γ firstly and grow from surface to center. Then MC-type carbide nucleated at both surface of M6C/M6C and inner of M6C. With the increasing decomposition of the metastable M2C-type carbide, the rod-shaped construction of eutectic carbide began neck- ing, fracturing and spheroidizing gradually. Held enough time or reheated at higher temperature, particle-shaped product aggregated and grew up apparently, while secondary carbide precipitated in cell and grew up less sig- nificantly than the former. Based on the above microstructural observation, the thermodynamic mechanism for decomposition of M2C carbide, for spheroidization of products, and for the growth of particles were analyzed. The rate equations of carbides evolution were derived, too. It shows that the evolving rate is controlled by diffusion coefficients of alloy atoms, morphology of eutectic carbides and heating temperature.

Effect of Mischmetal on As-cast Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of M2 High Speed Steel

High speed steel has been widely used in various fields due to their excellent red hardness and good wear resistance. However, the influence of mischmetal （Ce-La） on the as-cast microstructures and mechanical properties of high speed steel has rarely been reported. Thus, the microstructure and mechanical properties of M2 high speed steel with addition of mischmetal （Ce-La） were investigated. The morphology and distribution of the eutectic carbides of the steel were observed by using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, and the impact toughness and bending strength were tested. The results show that adding mischmetal has an obvious effect on the microstructure and mechanical properties of M2 high speed steel. The coarse eutectic structure is refined, the weak connection of the carbide networks is broken and the flake carbides become short and fine. More networks of eutectic carbides dissolve into the matrix. When a suitable adding content of mischmetal is selected, for example, 0.3 mass%, the impact strength and bending strength can increase by 27% and 10.76% compared with that without misehmetal, respectively.

A New Approach for Refining Carbide Dimensions in M42 Super Hard High-speed Steel

Obtaining small carbides is crucial but difficult for high-speed steels.A new approach for refining carbide dimensions in M42 super hard high-speed steel by increasing cooling rate and spheroidizing treatment was proposed.The morphologies and properties of eutectic carbides formed at different cooling rates were investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy（SEM）,energy dispersive spectroscopy（EDS）,X-ray diffraction（XRD）,transmission electron microscopy（TEM）,electron back-scattered diffraction（EBSD）and differential scanning calorimeter（DSC）.The results show that eutectic carbides change from a lamellar shape into a curved-rod shape as cooling rate increases.Despite different morphologies,the two carbides are both of M2C type with a hexagonal close-packed structure and display a single crystal orientation in one eutectic colony.The morphology of M2C mainly depends on the growing process of eutectic carbides,which is strongly influenced by cooling rate.Compared with lamellar carbides,M2C carbides with curved-rod shapes are less stable,and decompose into M6 C and MC at lower temperatures.They are more inclined to spheroidize during heating,which ultimately and distinguishably refines the carbide dimensions.As small carbides are much easier to dissolve into matrices during austenization,the process described herein improves the supersaturation of alloying elements in martensite,which leads to an increment of hardness in M42 steel.

Plasma Transferred Arc Surface Alloying of Cr-Ni-Mo Powders on Compacted Graphite Iron

A Cr-Ni-Mo overlayer was deposited on the surface of compacted graphite iron（CGI）by the plasma transferred arc（PTA）alloying technique.The microstructure of Cr-Ni-Mo overlayer was characterized by optical microscopy（OM）,scanning electron microscopy（SEM）equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy（EDS）,and X-ray diffractometer（XRD）.Results show that the cross-section consists of four regions：alloying zone（AZ）,molten zone（MZ）,heat affected zone（HAZ）,and the substrate（SUB）.The microstructure of AZ mainly consists of cellularγ-（Fe,Ni）solid solution,residual austenite and a network of eutectic Cr7C3 carbide while the MZ area has a typical feature of white cast iron（M3C-type cementite）.The martensite/ledeburite double shells are observed in the HAZ.With decreasing the concentration of Cr-Ni-Mo alloys,the fracture mode changes from ductile in the AZ to brittle in the MZ.The maximum hardness of the AZ（450 HV0.2）is lower than that of the MZ（800 HV0.2）.The eutectic M3 C and M7C3 carbides increase the microhardness,while the austenite decreases that of the AZ.