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.

A study on centrifugal casting of high speed steel roll

High speed steel (HSS) rolls can replace traditional rolls such as alloyed cast iron rolls and powder metallurgical (PM) hard alloy rolls. The main reasons for the replacement are that the wear resistance of low-cost alloyed cast iron rolls is poor and the cost of high-quality PM hard alloy rolls is very high. By means of centrifugal casting, HSS rolls having excellent wear resistance have been manufactured. The hardness of the HSS roll is 6.5~67 HRC, the range of variation is smaller than 2 HRC and its impact toughness is 15 J/cm^2. The wear rate of HSS rolls used in the pre-finishing stands of high-speed hot wire-rod rolling mill reaches 2.5×10^(-4)mm per ton steel. Furthermore, the manufacturing cost of HSS rolls is significantly lower than that of PM hard alloy rolls; it is only 30 percent of that of PM hard alloy rolls.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of a new type of austempered boron alloyed high silicon cast steel

In the present paper, a new type of austempered boron alloyed high silicon cast steel has been developed, and its microstructures and mechanical properties at different temperatures were investigated. The experimental results indicate that the boron alloyed high silicon cast steel comprises a dendritic matrix and interdendritic eutectic borides in as-cast condition. The dendritic matrix is made up of pearlite, ferrite, and the interdendritic eutectic boride is with a chemical formula of M2B （M represents Fe, Cr, Mn or Mo） which is much like that of carbide in high chromium white cast iron. Pure ausferrite structure that consists of bainitic ferrite and retained austenite can be obtained in the matrix by austempering treatment to the cast steel. No carbides precipitate in the ausferrite structure and the morphology of borides remains almost unchanged after austempering treatments. Secondary boride particles precipitate during the course of austenitizing. The hardness and tensile strength of the austempered cast steel decrease with the increase of the austempering temperature, from 250℃ to 400 ℃. The impact toughness is 4-11 J.cm^-2 at room temperature and the impact fracture fractogragh indicates that the fracture is caused by the brittle fracture of the borides.

Microstructure and Property of High Carbonic-Chromium Cast Steel with Different Hot Deformation Ratio

The microstructure and properties of high carbonic-chromium cast steel subjected to different hot deformation ratios were studied.The experimental results show that the microstructure and properties of high carbonic-chromium cast steel are obviously improved after hot deformation,and the best mechanical properties of the cast steel can be obtained under hot deformation ratio of 40 %-50 %,which leads to the morphology change of eutectic carbide and the precipitation of granular carbides.

Experimental research on electromagnetic continuous casting high-speed steel composite roll

A high speed steel composite roll billet was fabricated, which is regular in shape, smooth in surface, slight in trace, compact in internal structure, free of slag inclusion, shrinkage cavity, cracks and other flaws, and good in macro quality of junction surface using a vertical continuous casting machine. The interface zone microstructure of bimetallic in billet of high speed steel composite roll was analyzed by metallurgical microscope(OM), X-ray diffractmeter(XRD), scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis(EDS). The results indicate that the microstructure of roll billet is composed of chilled solidified layer, dendrite zone, interfacial zone of bimetal and core material zone. The microstructure of outer shell material is composed of martensite + bainite + residual austenite + some small labyrinth-shape, small-short lath-shape, or dollop-shape eutectic carbides. The microstructure of core material is slice-shape pearlite and a little ferrite along boundary of cells. The interface region microstructure of bimetallic composite roll consists of diffusion region, chilled solidified layer and columnar grain region.

Process for improving the ladle free- opening rate for high aluminum steel in continuous casting

Steel 20Mn23AlV is a type of high aluminum steel with a very low ladle free-opening rate. The aluminum composition of 20Mn23AlV ranges from 1.6% to 2.45% ,which is significantly higher than other types of steel. According to the real condition of 40 t ladle in steel-making plant of Baosteel Special Steel Company, previous works show that the key factors affecting the ladle free-opening rate of high aluminum steel in continuous casting are：sand material, accessories baking, ladle nozzle cleaning, the process and amount of adding sand, and the rate of argon stirring during refining. Therefore, improving the ladle filler sand quality, baking all of the raw materials, controlling the addition of ladle filler sand, cleaning the ladle nozzle, and optimizing argon stirring during the refining process can resolve the problem of a low ladle free-opening rate of high aluminum steel caused by the long ladle time of liquid steel.

Effect of casting technology on microstructure and phases of high carbon high speed steel

The as-cast microstructures of high carbon high speed steels （HC-HSS） made by sand casting, centrifugal casting and electromagnetic centrifugal casting, respectively, were studied by using of optical microscopy （OM） and D/max2200pc X-ray diffraction. The results show that the microstructure of as-cast HC- HSS is dominated by alloy carbides （W2C, VC, Cr7C3）, martensite and austenite. The centrifugal casting and electromagnetic centrifugal casting apparently improve the solidification structure of HCoHSS. With the increase of magnetic intensity （B）, the volume fraction of austenite in the HC-HSS solidification structure increases significantly while the eutectic ledeburite decreases. Moreover, the secondary carbides precipitated from the austenite are finer with more homogeneous distribution in the electromagnetic centrifugal castings. It has also been found that the lath of eutectic carbide in ledeburite becomes finer and carbide phase spacing in eutectic ledeburite increases along with the higher magnetic field strength.

Centrifugal Casting of High Speed Steel/Nodular Cast Iron Compound Roll Collar

The centrifugal casting of compound HSS/nodular cast iron roll collar was studied,and the factors affecting transition zone quality were analyzed.The pouring temperature and interval in pouring are the main factors affecting transition zone quality.By controlling process parameter and flux adding during casting,high quality roll collar was obtained.The cause,why in the casting of HSS part,segregation appears easily,was analyzed and the countermeasure eliminating segregation was put forward,the measure eliminating heat treatment crackling was also put forward.

Spheroidization and Ostwald Growth of Carbide in Isothermal Process of Hot-Deformed High Carbon Chromium Cast Steel

In isothermal spheroidizing process,the spheroidization and growth of the carbide formed in hot-deformed high-carbon chromium cast steel at high temperature were investigated.The results showed that the spheroidizing growth of carbide proceeds in such a way that the bigger carbide particles swallow the smaller ones,and the short rhabdoid carbides dissolve and are spheroidized by itself.When the samples were held at 720℃ for more than 3 h,the spheroidization is not obvious.The feature of the process is the size increment and the amount decrement of carbide particles.The empirical equation for growth rate of carbides was obtained.The volume fraction of carbides keeps constant.The growth process agrees well with Ostwald Ripening Law.

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.

Development of centrifugal casting high speed steel rolls

The present study aims at developing the high speed steel (HSS) as rollmaterials to replace the traditional roll materials such as the alloy cast iron and powdermetallurgical (PM) hard alloy. The HSS roll billet was formed by centrifugal casting, and the billetwas rough machined alter soften annealing heat treatment, then it was quenched and tempered to getsuitable hardness and toughness. After that the HSS roll was finish machined to the final dimensionof phi 285 mm in the outer diameter, phi 160 mm in the inner diameter and 120 mm in width and itssurface hardness was tested. Finally the HSS roll was used in high speed wire rod mill. The testresults show that a high and homogeneous hardness can obtain on the work surface of HSS rolls, thesurface hardness is 63-65HRC and its variation is smaller than 2HRC. The impact toughness of thiskind of HSS is about 16 J/cm^2. The results of on-line service investigation in high speed wire rodmill indicate that the HSS rolls have excellent wear resistance, the steel rolling quantity per mmof HSS rolls is 3120 t, the service life-span of HSS rolls is 4 times longer than that of highchromium cast iron rolls and it is close to that of the PM hard alloy rolls. The manufacturingburden of HSS rolls is obviously lower than that of the PM hard alloy rolls, it is only 25 percentof that of the PM hard alloy rolls.

Advanced manufacturing technologies of large martensitic stainless steel castings with ultra low carbon and high cleanliness

The key manufacturing technologies associated with composition, microstructure, mechanical properties, casting quality and key process control for large martensitic stainless steel castings are involved in this paper. The achievements fully satisfeid the technical requirements of the large 700 MW stainless steel hydraulic turbine runner for the Three Gorges Hydropower Station, and become the major technical support for the design and manufacture of the largest 700 MW hydraulic turbine generator unit in the world developed through our own efforts. The characteristics of a new high yield to tensile strength (R p0.2/R m ) ratio and high obdurability martensitic stainless steel with ultra low carbon and high cleanliness are also described. Over the next ten years, the large martensitic stainless steel castings and advanced manufacturing technologies will see a huge demand in clean energy industry such as nuclear power, hydraulic power at home and abroad. Therefore, the new high yield o tensile strength (R p0.2/R m ) ratio and high obdurability martensitic stainless steel materials, the fast and flexible manufacturing technologies of large size castings, and new environment friendly sustainable process will face new challenges and opportunities.

Development and Application of Die-Casting High Speed Steel Rolls

Due to its high hardness,good red hardness and excellent wear resistance at high temperature,high speed steel(HSS)is fit for the roll manufacture.In order to overcome the segregation of centrifugal casting of HSS roll,die-cast processes were developed and its effects on the properties of the HSS roll were investigated.It was found that pressure,pressing time and speed are three important factors affecting shrinkage cavity.For pouring temperature of 1 400-1 450 ℃,pressure of 150-160 MPa,pressing time of 120-150 sand pressing speed of 14-16mm/s,a compact HSS roll was obtained,which has no segregation and small working allowance.In the high speed wire rod rolling mill,service life of the HSS roll is 5to 8times longer than that of high nickel chromium infinite chilled cast iron roll.

Investigation of longitudinal surface cracks in a continuous casting slab of high-carbon steel

Based on a series of related investigations, a mechanism for the formation of longitudinal surface cracks on a continuous casting slab of high-carbon steel was investigated. High-temperature tensile tests performed on slab samples,metallographic and scanning electron microscopy studies, as well as heat flux and shell thickness in continuous casting predicted on the basis of a mathematical model were conducted. The results showed that high- carbon steel exhibited a much lower liquidus temperature and a wider brittle temperature range immediately after solidification compared with those of low-carbon steel. Concentrations of elements K and Na, which are contained in the mold fluxes, were not observed in the cracks during this study. The calculated results showed that the heat flux and the shell thickness were uneven along the mold width and that the shell was thinner and close to the center line of the slab surface. The longitudinal cracks were observed in situ using confocal laser scanning microscopy, to first occur close to the solidification front,where the ductility was extremely low;in addition ,the shell growth was slower than in other regions, which led to a thinner shell and depressed shrinkage owing to a lack of lubrication by the mold fluxes below the meniscus. Furthermore, the pouring temperature of high-carbon steel is - 100 ~C lower than that of low-carbon steel,so the formation of a stable liquid flux near the meniscus within a short time at the beginning of casting is difficult. The amounts of liquid slag film and crystalline slag film were insufficient to provide adequate lubrication between the shell and the mold, which resulted in greater friction force that induced or aggravated cracks. Therefore, the homogeneity of mold fluxes and initial solidification in the mold should be improved to reduce the concentration of slab surface defects.

Development of Centrifugal Cast High Speed Steel Roll with High Wear Resistance for Pre-Finishing Stands of a Hot Rod-Wire Mill

The present study aims at developing high speed steel (HSS) as roll materialsto replace traditional roll materials such as the alloy cast iron and powder metallurgical (PM)hard alloy, because low-cost alloy cast iron rolls have poor wear resistance and the cost ofhigh-quality PM hard alloy rolls is too high to be accepted by some users. By means of a centrifugalcasting method, HSS rolls with excellent wear resistance have been developed. Its hardness is 65-67 HRC, and its variation is smaller than 2HRC; its impact toughness excels 15J/cm^2. Usingpre-finishing stands of a high-speed hot wire-rod rolling mill, the wear rate of HSS rolls per onethousand ton of steel is 0. 25mm. However, the manufacturing burden of HSS rolls is obviously lowerthan that of PM hard alloy rolls; it is only 30% of that of PM hard alloy rolls.

Layer Structure Analysis of Low-Carbon Steel Containing Rare Earth by High-Temperature Carburizing of Liquid Cast-Iron

The layer structure of low-carbon steel containing RE by high-temperature (T>1200 ℃) carburizing of liquid cast-iron was studied and the diffusion activation energy of carbon was calculated by metallographic microscpe, chemical analysis etc. The result shows that the technology of carburizing in liquid cast-iron can expedite caburization distinctly and changes the carburizing layer structure. The carburizing rate is 60～80 times of that of the traditional technology, and there is about 43% decrease in the activation energy compared with gas-carburization. In outer structure layer, cementite is formed simultaneously both on the crystal boundary reticularly and inside the crystal grains stripedly. In inner carburizing layer, there is undissolved blocky ferrite in reticular cementite. Besides, rare earth element can expedite carburization process.

Effect of electromagnetic stirring in mold on the macroscopic quality of high carbon steel billet

An industrial plant trial for optimizing the process parameters in a round billet continuous casting mold with electromagnetic stirring （M-EMS） was performed, in which the influences of stirring parameters with M-EMS on the solidification macrostructure of high carbon steel were investigated. The results show that the billet quality is not well controlled under the condition of working current and frequency with EMS, in which the subsurface crack of grade 1.0-2.0 ups to 38.09%, the central pipe of grade 1.0-1.5 reaches to 14.28%, and the central porosity of grade 1.5 is 14.29%. The parameters of current 260 A and frequency 8 Hz as the final optimum scheme has a remarkable effect for improving the macroscopic quality of billet, in which the subsurface crack, central pipe and skin blowhole are all disappeared, and the central porosity and carbon segregation are also well improved.

Influence of carbon content on microstructure and mechanical properties of Mn13Cr2 and Mn18Cr2 cast steels

In this paper, a comparison study was carried out to investigate the influence of carbon content on the microstructure, hardness, and impact toughness of water-quenched Mn13Cr2 and Mn18Cr2 cast steels. The study results indicate that both steels' water-quenched microstructures are composed of austenite and a small amount of carbide. The study also found that, when the carbon contents are the same, there is less carbide in Mn18Cr2 steel than in Mn13Cr2 steel. Therefore, the hardness of Mn18Cr2 steel is lower than that of Mn13Cr2 steel but the impact toughness of Mn18Cr2 steel is higher than that of Mn13Cr2 steel. With increasing the carbon content, the hardness increases and the impact toughness decreases in these two kinds of steels, and the impact toughness of Mn18Cr2 steel substantially exceeds that of Mn13Cr2 steel. Therefore, the water-quenched Mn18Cr2 steel with high carbon content could be applied to relatively high impact abrasive working conditions, while the as-cast Mn18Cr2 steel could be only used under working conditions of relatively low impact abrasive load due to lower impact toughness.

Effect of Rare Earth Elements on Thermal Fatigue of High Ni－Cr Alloy Cast Iron

The effect of RE on crack forming and developing of hot rolled high Ni-Cr alloy cast iron during thermal fatigue test was investigated.It shows that the serviceable life of hot rolled high Ni-Cr alloy cast iron can be improved by RE.The number of cycle before fracture was increased by 42%～163%.The optimum of RE addition is 0.05 wt%～0.15wt%.

Study on Carburizing Kinetics of Low-carbon Steel at High-temperature and Short-term

In this paper, the carburizing kinetics of low-carbon steel at high-temperature and short-term in liquid cast-iron were studied by metallographic microscope, chemical analysis and so on, and the microstructure of carburized layer was also analyzed. The results show that the carburizing rate of low-carbon steel at high-temperature and short-term is so fast, and the microstructure of carburized layer possess higher carbon content, and cementite, pearlite and ferrite exist in carburized layer structure simultaneously. Besides, the kinetic equations of permeating layer forming have been presented, and the carburizing mechanism was preliminary discussed also.