Development in oxide metallurgy for improving the weldability of high -strength low-alloy steel-Combined deoxidizers and microalloying elements

The mechanisms of oxide metallurgy include inducing the formation of intragranular acicular ferrite(IAF)using micron-sized inclusions and restricting the growth of prior austenite grains(PAGs)by nanosized particles during welding.The chaotically oriented IAF and refined PAGs inhibit crack initiation and propagation in the steel,resulting in high impact toughness.This work summarizes the com-bined effect of deoxidizers and alloying elements,with the aim to provide a new perspective for the research and practice related to im-proving the impact toughness of the heat affected zone(HAZ)during the high heat input welding.Ti complex deoxidation with other strong deoxidants,such as Mg,Ca,Zr,and rare earth metals(REMs),can improve the toughness of the heat-affected zone(HAZ)by re-fining PAGs or increasing IAF contents.However,it is difficult to identify the specific phase responsible for IAF nucleation because ef-fective inclusions formed by complex deoxidation are usually multiphase.Increasing alloying elements,such as C,Si,Al,Nb,or Cr,con-tents can impair HAZ toughness.A high C content typically increases the number of coarse carbides and decreases the potency of IAF formation.Si,Cr,or Al addition leads to the formation of undesirable microstructures.Nb reduces the high-temperature stability of the precipitates.Mo,V,and B can enhance HAZ toughness.Mo-containing precipitates present good thermal stability.VN or V(C,N)is ef-fective in promoting IAF nucleation due to its good coherent crystallographic relationship with ferrite.The formation of the B-depleted zone around the inclusion promotes IAF formation.The interactions between alloying elements are complex,and the effect of adding dif-ferent alloying elements remains to be evaluated.In the future,the interactions between various alloying elements and their effects on ox-ide metallurgy,as well as the calculation of the nucleation effects of effective inclusions using first principles calculations will become the focus of oxide metallurgy.

Progress in the technological development of oxide metallurgy for manufacturing steel plates with excellent HAZ toughness

In the present study, the market needs for the （HAZ） toughness are analyzed, and the mechanism of the development of steel plates with excellent heat affected zone decrease in the HAZ toughness during high-heat input welding is discussed.The important countermeasure for improving the HAZ toughness is to employ the technology of oxide metallurgy ,namely,to make use of fine inclusion particles for improving the microstructure of HAZ. The progress and theories of oxide metallurgy technologies developed in the Nippon Steel Corporation （ NSC）, the JFE Steel Corporation and the Kobe Steel Group are illustrated. Steel plates developed by these three companies with excellent HAZ toughness are introduced.

Banded structure control of low carbon microalloyed steel based on oxide metallurgy

Banded structure is a common harmful microstructure for low carbon microalloyed steel,which seriously shortens the service life of processed parts.In order to study the effect of oxide metallurgy on improving banded structure,the Ti-Zr deoxidized low carbon microalloyed steel that can play the oxide metallurgical role of inclusion was chosen as the research object,and the inclusion characteristics,microstructure and transverse and longitudinal mechanical properties after hot rolling were analyzed.The results showed the inclusion number density increased in all experimental steels after hot rolling,and a large number of long strip inclusions with aspect ratio greater than 3 appeared along the rolling direction.In addition,after hot rolling,there were element segregation bands in the experimental steels,and granular bainite bands were formed in the element enrichment zone.However,the intragranular ferrite generated in the cooling process destroyed the continuity of granular bainite bands,so that the microstructure anisotropy indexes of experimental steels were small.The mechanical properties analysis showed that the anisotropy of performance was mainly reflected in plasticity and toughness in the experimental steels.Among them,the difference ratio of elongation,section shrinkage and impact energy of No.2 steel was 1.69%,3.87% and 1.69%,respectively,which were less than those of No.1 steel and No.3 steel.The anisotropy of microstructure and mechanical properties of No.2 steel that full played the role of oxide metallurgy were improved,and the banded structure control of low carbon microalloyed steel can be realized by oxide metallurgy technology.

Excellent heat affected zone toughness technology improved by strong deoxidizers

Excellent heat affected zone(HAZ)toughness technology improved by strong deoxidizers(ETISI)technology has been developed by Baosteel.In the deoxidation process of molten steel by adding strong deoxidizers,the formation of micrometer inclusions and nano-meter precipitates in steel plates can be effectively controlled by a precise control of oxygen concentration.In the welding process with a high-heat input,the formation of acicular ferrite can be selectively promoted with the aid of the micrometer inclusions;the growth of γ grains can also be selectively restrained by the pinning effect of the nano-meter precipitates.After welding with a high-heat input of 400 kJ/cm,excellent HAZ toughness can be obtained in the steel plates with both of the above microstructures,and the average absorbed energy is greater than 200 J for the V-notch Charpy impact test at-20℃.

Development of steel plate for large-heat input welding by nanometer precipitates

The mechanism of the improvement of heat affected zone(HAZ) toughness with nanometer precipitates is discussed in this paper.The austenite grain growth during welding process can be effectively prevented with the aid of the pinning effect of fine particles,so that the steel plate can be improved in large-heat input welding performance.The oxide metallurgy technology with strong deoxidizers is developed in Baosteel.Large number of nanometer precipitates are formed during deoxidation,solidification and phase transformation processes.With the pinning effect of these fine particles,after welding with large-heat input of 400 kJ/cm,the average austenite grain size is 61μm in HAZ,the average energy absorbed value is 142 J for V-notch Charpy test at - 20℃.

Excellent Heat Affected Zone Toughness Technology Improved by Use of Strong Deoxidizers

Excellent Heat Affected Zone Toughness Technology Improved by use of Strong Deoxidizers (ETISD Technology) has been developed by Baosteel. When deoxidation of molten steel is conducted at the precisely controlled oxygen concentrations, the formation of the micro-meter inclusions and the nano-meter precipitates in the steel plate can be effectively controlled. During the welding process with high-heat input, the formation of acicular ferrite can be selectively promoted with the aid of micro-meter inclusions; the growth of γ grain can also be selectively restrained by the pinning effect of nano-meter precipitates. After welding with high-heat input of 400 kJ/cm, excellent heat affected zone toughness can be obtained for the steel plates with both of the above microstructures, and the average absorbed energy is greater than 200 J for V notch Charpy impact test at -20℃ .

Formation of Inclusion in Ti–Al Killed Low C–Mn Steel

The formation of inclusion in Ti–Al complex deoxidized C–Mn steel was investigated. When Al content in steel is very low([Al]=0.0005%), for 0.003%【[Ti]【0.007%, the inclusion is the Al2O3–SiO2–MnO–TiOx composite inclusion; for [Ti]≥0.009%, the inclusion is TiOx in the steel. When [Ti]=0.005%, [Al]【0.001%, the inclusion is the Al2O3–SiO2–MnO–TiOx composite inclusion; while [Al]】0.006%, inclusions would be pure Al2O3. The experimental results agree with the thermodynamics conclusions.