Oxide and Sulfide Dispersive Precipitation and Effects on Microstructure and Properties of Low Carbon Steels

Electron microscopic investigation on low carbon steel strips produced by the CSP process has been carried out. Large number of oxide dispersive precipitates have been observed in the ferrite matrix of the steel strips. Dimension of them is about 10~20 nm. Electron diffraction study showed that the structure of these precipitates consists with cubic system spinel structure. Their lattice parameter is about 0.83 nm. The results implied that they should be complex oxides of Fe, Al et al. Small sulfide particles with 100-300 nm in size have also been observed. Remarkable strengthening and grain refinement effects can be obtained by the precipitations. The oxygen and sulfur in steels could play beneficial role under certain conditions.

Effects of Deformation on Bainite Transformation During Continuous Cooling of Low Carbon Steels

Hot deformation experiments were carried out on Gleeble 1500 thermo-mechanical simulator. The bainite transformation after deformation was investigated by optical microstructure analysis. The results indicated that the deformation accelerated the bainite transformation when the deformation was carried out at high temperature and no or little ferrite was precipitated before bainite transformation; when the deformation was carried out at low temperature, the deformation hindered the bainite transformation because a lot of ferrite precipitated before bainite transformation.

Aspects of microstructure in low carbon steels produced by the CSP process

The solidification structure, microstructure evolution during rolling andprecipitates with nanometers in dimension of the low carbon steels produced by CSP process with thinslabs have been studied in recent years. Important differences in microstructure and mechanicalproperties between the CSP products and the conventional one were observed. These differences mayarise from the much rapider solidification rate and cooling rate after casting of the thin slabs.Some aspects of the microstructure for the low carbon steels of the CSP thin slabs are summarizedand compared with the conventional one.

Austenite Recrystallization and Controlled Rolling of Low Carbon Steels

The dynamic recrystallization and static recrystallization in a low carbon steel were investigated through single-pass and double-pass experiments. The results indicate that as the deformation temperature increases and the strain rate decreases, the shape of the stress-strain curve is changed from dynamic recovery shape to dynamic recrystallization shape. The austenite could not recrystallize within a few seconds after deformation at temperature below 900 ℃. According to the change in microstructure during deformation, the controlled rolling of low carbon steel can be divided into four stages： dynamic recrystallization, dynamic recovery, strain-induced ferrite transformation, and rolling in two-phase region. According to the microstructure after deformation, the controlled rolling of low carbon steel can be divided into five regions： non-recrystallized austenite, partly-recrystallized austenite, fully-recrystallized austenite, austenite to ferrite transformation, and dual phase.

Effect of silicon and prior deformation of austenite on isothermal transformation in low carbon steels

Isothermal transformation （TTT） behavior of the low carbon steels with two Si contents （0.50 wt pct and 1.35 wt pct） was investigated with and without the prior deformation. The results show that Si and the prior deformation of the austenite have significant effects on the transformation of the ferrite and bainite. The addition of Si refines the ferrite grains, accelerates the polygonal ferrite transformation and the formation of M/A constituents, leading to the improvement of the strength. The ferrite grains formed under the prior deformation of the austenite become more homogeneous and refined. However, the influence of deformation on the tensile strength of both steels is dependent on the isothermal temperatures. Thermodynamic calculation indicates that Si and prior deformation reduce the incubation time of both ferrite and bainite transformation, but the effect is weakened by the decrease of the isothermal temperatures.

Effects of Zr on acicular ferrite formation in HAZ of Ti-bearing low carbon steels with high heat input of weld thermal simulations

To research the effect of Zr addition on inhibiting austenite grain growth of Ti-bearing low carbon steels, two steels with different Zr contents were prepared using a laboratory vacuum induction furnace. The performance of HAZ under weld thermal simulations was investigated. The impact toughness, microstmcture and the second-phase particle performance of HAZ under weld thermal simulations were investigated. The HAZ toughness was improved from 13 J to 87 J by addition of 0.010 % Zr into the steel, with the fracture mechanism changing from cleavage fracture to toughness fracture, which was mainly attributed to the second-phase particles that were potent to nucleate acicular ferrite in HAZ during welding. It was concluded that the second-phase particles TiOx ＋ MnS, ZrO2 ＋ MIlS or TiO/＋ ZrO2 ＋ MnS were nucleated on ZrO2 or TiOx （x = 1.5,2）. This method can be applied to grain refinement by promoting the acicular ferrite formation and growth during large-scale welding, as in the cases of thick steel plates requiring higher heat inputs during welding.

Effect of Mg Addition on the Ferrite Grain Boundaries Misorientation in HAZ of Low Carbon Steels

The relation between the Mg treatment and ferrite grain boundaries misorientation was investigated. The orientation imaging microscopy technique based on electron backscattered diffraction technique （EBSD） was used in this work. （t was found that the addition of 0.005 wt% Mg to the steel could evidently increase the ratio of acicular ferrite crystals appearing at large angles boundaries to each other, which was attributed to the nucleation of the second-phase particles by the Mg treatment. The FBSD techniques provide a power- ful method to characterize and quantify the ferrite grain boundaries misorientation, in order to relate it to toughness.

Effect of Niobium on Transformations From Austenite to Ferrite in Low Carbon Steels

Niobium has an important effect on the transformation behaviour,grain size refinement and precipitation strengthening during hot rolling and subsequent cooling in low carbon steels,with even a low content of niobium having a strong effect on the transformation rate from austenite to ferrite.However,the effects of niobium on transformation behaviour have not been fully characterised and understood to date.This paper examines in detail austenite grain growth as a function of austenitisation time in high strength low alloy (HSLA) steels with three different niobium contents,together with the effect of niobium on the isothermal transformation kinetics from austenite to ferrite as a function of temperature.It is shown that austenite has the slowest grain growth rate in the steel with the highest niobium content.When austenite grain sizes are consistent,the steel with the highest niobium content was found to have the slowest transformation rate from austenite to ferrite.

Microstructure Evolution at Different Cooling Rates of Low Carbon Microalloyed Steels

In low carbon microalloyed steels （C 〈 0.1%）, the content of V, Nb and Ti affects the phases transformation kinetic during cooling in the rolling process. The final microstructure determines the required mechanical properties such as high formability, high toughness and adequate strength. For this reason it is relevant to identify and determine the volume fraction of the ferrite, bainite and martensite present in the structure. The microalloying elements： V, Nb and Ti promote carbides precipitation during cooling. The precipitates control the grain size refinement during hot rolling process and the mechanical properties of the steel. In this sense it is necessary to increase the knowledge on the microstructure evolution at different cooling rates. In this paper, the results obtained on two low carbon microalloyed steels （with C contents between 0.11%-0.06%） are reported. An integrated methodology including dilatometry in combination with microscopy techniques was applied. By EBSD （Electron Backscatter Diffraction） technique and microhardness measurements, the structural study was completed. Through a thermodynamic simulation using Fact Sage the type of precipitates in the studied steels structure at the temperature range between 950 ℃ and 450 ℃, were predicted. The information on the evolution of the steel structure at rolling process conditions is relevant to consider changes in processing conditions.

Effect of Mg Addition on Inhibiting Austenite Grain Growth in Heat Affected Zones of Ti-Bearing Low Carbon Steels

To study the effect of Mg addition on inhibiting weld heat affected zones （HAZ） austenite grain growth of Ti-bearing low carbon steels, two steels with and without Mg treated were prepared using a laboratory vacuum. The welding testing was simulated by Gleeble 3500 thermomechanical simulator. The performance of HAZ was investiga ted that the toughness was improved from 3.3 to 185 J by adding 0. 005%Mg （in mass percent） to the steel, and the fracture mechanism changed from cleavage fracture to toughness fracture. Through in-situ observation by a confocal scanning laser microscope, a significant result was found that the austenite grain of the steel with Mg treated was still keeping fine-grained structure after holding at 1 400℃ and lasting for 300 s. This inhibition of austenite grain growth was mainly attributed to the formation of pinning particles after the addition of Mg. The obtained results pro pose a potential method for improving HAZ toughness of structure steels.

Transformation Behavior of Low Carbon Steels Containing Two Different Si Contents

Continuous cooling transformation behaviors of low carbon steels with two Si contents （0. 50% and 1. 35%） were investigated under undeformed and deformed conditions. Effects of Si contents, deformation, and cooling rates on γ transformation start temperature （Ar3）, phase microstructures, and hardness were studied. The results show that, in the ease of the deformation with the true strain of 0. 4, the length of bainitic ferrite laths is significantly decreased in low Si steel, whereas, the M/A constituent becomes more uniform in high Si steel. An increase in cooling rates lowers the Ar3 greatly. The steel with higher level of Si exhibits higher Ar3, and higher hardness both under undeformed and deformed conditions compared with the steel with a lower Si content. Especially, the influence of Si on At3 is dependent on deformation. Such effects are more significant under the undeformed condition. The hardness of both steels increases with the increase of cooling rates, whereas, the deformation involved in both steels reduces the hardness.

Thermodynamic Research on Precipitates in Low Carbon Nb-Microalloyed Steels Produced by Compact Strip Production

Microalloying element Nb in low carbon steels produced by compact strip production （CSP） process plays an important role in inhibiting recrystallization, decreasing the transformation temperature and grain refinement.With decreasing the rolling temperature, dislocations can be pinned by carbonitrides and the strength is increased. Based on the two sublattice model, with metal atom sublattice and interstitial atom sublattice,a thermodynamic model for carbonitride was established to calculate the equilibrium between matrix and carbonitride. In the steel produced by CSP, the calculation results showed that the starting temperature of precipitation of Ti and Nb are 1340℃ and 1040℃, respectively. In the range of 890-950℃, Nb rapidly precipitated. And the maximum of the atomic fraction of Nb in carbonitride was about 0.68. The morphologies and energy spectrum of the precipitates showed that （NbTi） （CN） precipitated near the dislocations. The experiment results show that Nb rapidly precipitated when the temperature was lower than 970℃, and the atomic fraction of Nb in carbonitride was about 60%-80%. The calculation results are in agreement with the experiment data. Therefore the thermodynamic model can be a useful assistant tool in the research on the precipitates in the low carbon steels produced by CSP.

Friction and wear behavior and mechanism of low carbon microalloyed steel containing Nb

Dry sliding friction and wear test of Nb containing low carbon microalloyed steel was carried out at room temperature,and the effect of Nb on the wear behavior of the steel,as welll as the mechanism was studied.Scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometry(EDS) were employed to analyze the morphology and composition of the worn surface,and the structure evolution of the plastic deformation layer.The carbide content and type in the steel were analyzed by the electrolytic extraction device and X-ray diffraction(XRD).The experimental results demonstrate that the addition of 0.2% Nb can refine the grain and generate Nb C to improve the wear resistance of the steel.By enhancing the load and speed of wear experiment,the wear mechanism of the test steel with 0.2% Nb changes from slight oxidation wear to severe adhesion wear and oxidation wear.Compared with the load,the increase in the rotation speed exerts a greater influence on the wear of the test steel.

Migration of δ/γ Interface in Low Carbon Steels during Continuous Cooling

The δ-ferrite to γ-austenite phase transformation process of low carbon steel was observed in-situ under a confocal scanning laser microscope and the influence of manganese and chromium on the migration of δ/γ interphase boundary during theδ to γphase transformation was studied. It was found that the δ/γ interphase boundary becomes unstable with the decrease of temperature, from planar to curved morphology during theδ to γ phase transformation of Fe-0.08C steel and Fe-0.08C-0.8Mn steel. But in Fe-0.08C-0.8Cr steel, the δ/γ interphase boundaries are stable with planar morphology during the whole δ-ferrite to γ-austenite transformation. The destabilization of δ/γ inter- phase boundary in Fe-0.08C and Fe-0.08C-0.8Mn steels results from high degree of supercooling and sub-boundaries in 7, respectively. The stabilization of δ/γ interphase boundary in Fe-0.08C-0.8Cr steel results from the slow diffu- sion rate of carbon atom induced by the addition of chromium.

Effects of Mn on Microstructures and Properties of Hot Rolled Low Carbon Bainitic Steels

Two kinds of Mn-Si-Mo low carbon steels were designed to study the effects of Mn on the microstructures and properties of hot rolled low carbon bainitic steels.To reduce the production cost,a very low Mo content of 0.13%was added in both steels.After hot rolling,the mechanical properties of samples were tested.Microstructure was observed and analyzed by optical microscope and transmission electron microscope.The results show that the strength of tested steels increases with the increase in Mn content,while the elongation decreases.When Mn content increases,the bainite microstructure increases.The results can provide a theoretical basis for composition design and industrial production of low cost low carbon bainitic steels.

Effects of C and Mn elements on deformation-enhanced ferrite transformation in low carbon (Mn) steels

Effects of C and Mn contents on the deformation-enhanced ferrite transformation （DEFT） in low carbon （Mn） steels have been investigated by hot compression. The microstructures of 2-4μm ultra-fine equiaxed ferrite grains with minors distributed homogeneously can be obtained by DEFT in all the tested steels. The more pronounced refinement is achieved as the C or Mn content increasing because of the higher-density nucleating sites and lower growth rate. The effectiveness of C on the level of refinement is more obvious than that of Mn.

Abrasive Wear Characteristics of Carbon and Low Alloy Steels for Better Performance of Farm Implements

The low stress abrasion behaviours of heat treated mild, medium carbon and high C - low Cr steels, which are generally used in making farm implements, have been investigated. The simple heat treatment greatly improves the hardness, tensile strength and abrasion resistance of medium carbon and high C - low Cr steels. The results indicate that the material removal during abrasion is controlled by a number of factors, such as hardness, chemical composition, microstructure and heat treatment conditions. The conclusion is that the heat treated high C - low Cr steel and mild steel carburized by using coaltar pitch provide the best hardness and abrasion resistance and thus appear to be the most suitable materials for making agricultural tools.

Formability of friction stir processed low carbon steels used in shipbuilding

The stretch formability of a low carbon steel processed by friction stir processing （FSP） was studied under biaxial loading condition applied by a miniaturized Erichsen test. One-pass FSP decreased the ferritic grain size in the processed zone from 25 μm to about 3 μm, which also caused a remarkable increase in strength values without considerable decrease in formability under uniaxial loading. A coarse-grained （CG） sample before FSP reflected a moderate formability with an Erichsen index （EI） of 2.73 mm. FSP slightly decreased the stretch formability of the sample to 2.66 ram. However, FSP increased the required punch load （FEI） due to the increased strength by grain refinement. FSP reduced considerably the roughness of the free surface of the biaxial stretched samples with reduced orange peel effect. The average roughness value （Ra） decreased from 2.90 in the CG sample down to about 0.65 μm in fine-grained （FG） sample after FSP. It can be concluded that the FG microstructure in low carbon steels sheets or plates used generally in shipbuilding provides a good balance between strength and formability.

Static and Metadynamic Recrystallization of Low Carbon Steels During Mechanical Deformation

Static and metadynamic recrystallization models were developed with the coefficients determined by multiple nonlinear regression analyses to describe microstructure evolution in low carbon steels. The effects of initial grain size, deformation temperature, strain, and strain rate on the austenitic recrystal-lized volume fraction and grain size were studied using a Gleeble machine. The results show that deformation reduces the grain size when the recrystallized volume fraction is large. The static recrystallized volume fraction increases with increasing deformation temperature, strain, and strain rate, and decreasing initial grain size. The grain size during metadynamic recrystallization is independent of the deformation strain and the initial grain size. The recrystallized volume fraction, the grain size, and the grown grain size calculated by the correlations are consistent with the measured values.