MICROSTRUCTURE EVOLUTION AND MECHANICAL HARDENING OF HYPEREUTECTOID PEARLITIC STEEL DURING COLD ROLLING

The microstructure evolution of different cold rolling reductions （from 0 to 81.6%） was studied by SEM （scanning electron microscopy） and TEM （transmission electron microscope）. The study showed that the orientation multiplicity of pearlitic lamellas resulted in inhomogeneous deformation of different pearlitic lamellas, and with the increase of reduction, the microstructure underwent a course of ＂homogeneity → inhomogeneity → homogeneity＂. The result of XRD （X-ray diffraction） analysis indicated that cementite did not decompose and dissolve into ferrite; the results of the mechanical property test suggested that the relationship between Rp0.2 （yield strength） and ε （true strain） was in good agreement with Hollomon relationship. With the equation Rp0.2 = 1465ε^0.18, the yield strength of the steel in different reductions could be well predicted.

A microstructure-based analysis of cyclic plasticity of pearlitic steels with Hill's self-consistent scheme incorporating general anisotropic Eshelby tensor

A pearlitic steel is composed of numerous pearlitic colonies with random orientations, and each colony consists of many parallel lamellas of ferrite and cementite. The constitutive behavior of this kind of materials may involve both inherent anisotropy and plastic deformation induced anisotropy. A description of the cyclic plasticity for this kind of dual-phase materials is proposed by use of a microstructure-based constitutive model for a pearlitic colony, and the Hill＇s self-consistent scheme incorporating anisotropic Eshelby tensor for ellipsoidal inclusions. The corresponding numerical algorithm is developed. The responses of pearlitic steel BS 11 and single-phase hard-drawn copper subjected to asymmetrically cyclic loading are analyzed. The analytical results agree very well with experimental ones. Compared with the results using isotropic Eshelby tensor, it is shown that the isotropic approximation can provide acceptable overall responses in a much simpler way.

Modelling of temperature and strain rate dependent behaviour of pearlitic steel in block braked railway wheels

Block braked railway wheels are subjected to thermal and rolling contact loading.The thermal loading results in high temperatures and thermal stresses which cause slow time dependent processes such as creep,relaxation and static recovery of the wheel material.At the same time,the rolling contact loading implies a very fast mechanical load application.This paper is focused on material modeling of pearlitic steel for a wide range of loading rates at elevated temperatures.The starting point is a viscoplasticity model including nonlinear isotropic and kinematic hardening.The Delobelle overstress function is employed to capture strain rate dependent response of the material.The model also includes static recovery of the hardening to capture slower viscous(diffusion dominated)behaviour of the material.Experiments for the pearlitic wheel steel ER7 in terms of cyclic strain-controlled uniaxial tests with hold-time,uniaxial ratchetting tests including rapid cycles and biaxial cyclic tests with tension/compression and torsion are used to calibrate the material model.These experiments were performed under isothermal conditions at different temperatures.In the ratchetting tests,higher loading rates are obtained and these have been used to calibrate the high strain rate response of the viscoplasticity model.The paper is concluded with a numerical example of a block braked wheel where the importance of accounting for the viscoplasticity in modelling is highlighted.

Characteristic of Near-surface Microstructure and Its Effects on the Torsion Performance of Cold Drawn Pearlitic Steel Wires for Bridge Cables

The characteristic of near-surface microstructure and its effects on the torsion performance of cold-drawn pearlitic steel wires for bridge cables were investigated by focused ion beam-scanning electron microscope,transmission electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry.The samples with similar tensile strength before and after hot-dip galvanizing process are,respectively,characterized as delaminated and non-delaminated in torsion test which indicates that the tensile strength is independent of the toughness value(i e,reduction area and torsion ability).It is interesting to find that there exists submicron granular ferrite on near-surface of the wires,which can be attributed to dislocation rearrangement and sub-grains rotation during cold drawing and hot-dip galvanizing process.And their distribution can suggest homogeneousness of deformation degree to a certain extent:the closer to the surface of their distribution,the more homogeneous deformation of the wires.There is a close relationship between the thermal stability of the cementite layer and distribution of granular ferrite:differential scanning calorimetry(DSC)analysis shows that the sample is accompanied by submicron granular ferrite which is located closer to the surface has higher thermal stability under galvanizing temperature(450°C).A new mechanism of the torsion delamination of pearlitic steel wires is discussed in terms of the thermal stability of the cementite layer and distribution of granular ferrite.

Effect of deformation parameters on the austenite dynamic recrystallization behavior of a eutectoid pearlite rail steel

Understandings of the effect of hot deformation parameters close to the practical production line on grain refinement are crucial for enhancing both the strength and toughness of future rail steels.In this work,the austenite dynamic recrystallization(DRX)behaviors of a eutectoid pearlite rail steel were studied using a thermo-mechanical simulator with hot deformation parameters frequently employed in rail production lines.The single-pass hot deformation results reveal that the prior austenite grain sizes(PAGSs)for samples with different deformation reductions decrease initially with an increase in deformation temperature.However,once the deformation temperature is beyond a certain threshold,the PAGSs start to increase.It can be attributed to the rise in DRX volume fraction and the increase of DRX grain with deformation temperature,respectively.Three-pass hot deformation results show that the accumulated strain generated in the first and second deformation passes can increase the extent of DRX.In the case of complete DRX,PAGS is predominantly determined by the deformation temperature of the final pass.It suggests a strategic approach during industrial production where part of the deformation reduction in low temperature range can be shifted to the medium temperature range to release rolling mill loads.

The application of back-scattered electron imaging for characterization of pearlitic steels

The microstructures of pearlitic steel wire rods and steel wires are commonly characterized by secondary electron imaging (SEI)technique using scanning electron microscopy(SEM).In this work,a back-scattered electron imaging(BSEI)method is proposed to determine the microstructures of undeformed and deformed pearlitic steels with nanometer scale pearlite lamellae.The results indicate that BSEI technique can characterize the pearlite lamellas veritably and is effective in quantitative measurement of the mean size of pearlite interlamellar spacing.To some extent,BSEI method is more suitable than SEI technique for studying undeformed and not severely deformed pearlitic steels.

Microstructure and texture evolution in fully pearlitic steel during wire drawing

The evolution of morphology of pearlite and crystallographic texture of ferrite matrix in fully pearlitic steels during wire drawing were quantitatively investigated. The study revealed that a fiber structure of the pearlite morphology and a 〈110〉 fi- ber texture of the ferrite matrix begin to take shape and develop gradually with increasing strain. The growth rates of the fiber structure and the 〈110〉 texture are different in different regions within the wires with increasing drawing strain. There is a close relationship between the pearlite morphology and the crystalline texture during wire drawing. The pearlite interlamellar spacing （ILS） and thickness of cementite lamellae （To） decrease gradually both in longitudinal and transverse sections. The definition of pearlite colony should be reconsidered for describing microstructure of the wire drawing deformed pearlitic steels.

Structure evolution of the Fe_(3)C/Fe interface mediated by cementite decomposition in cold-deformed pearlitic steel wires

Cold-drawn pearlitic steel wire is irreplaceably used in industry owing to its outstanding mechanical property which is dominated by the cementite/ferrite(Fe_(3)C/Fe) interfaces in the material. However, the fine structures of the Fe3C/Fe interfaces in the deformed wires are less known to date. In this work, transmission electron microscopic investigation was performed on the atomic structures of the interfaces with the Isaichev orientation relationship(OR) in the wires with progressive deformation strains. In addition to the effect of the dislocation/interface interactions, this work revealed that the deformation-induced partial decomposition of cementite plays an important role in the interface reconstruction during deformation. The interfacial carbon vacancies generated by cementite decomposition and particularly, the amorphization of cementite layers in the sample with ε > 1 could effectively annihilated the interfacial dislocations and consequently relaxed the interfacial stress. The correlations between the interface structure changes and the mechanical properties of the wires were discussed.

Fracture Characteristics of Fully Pearlitic Steel Wire in Tension and Torsion

The fracture characteristics of fully pearlitic steel wires with fine and randomly oriented lamellae have been investigated after tension and torsion, respectively. It is found that the predominant fracture mode under small pre- deformation is dimple. The analysis of the colony size and the lamellar structure near the fracture surface indicates that each dimple roots from one colony. A simulation of tensile deformation with several pearlitic colonies based on the real scanning electron microscopy （SEM） observation shows that the plastic deformation concentrates and the stress t^hxialit~＂ is larger ~it the boundaries bf colonies. It demonstrates the microe/＇a^ks initialize at colony boundaries. Thus, the colony size is a significant factor for fracture behaviors under small pre-deformation. On the other hand, the fracture surface is investigated after large pre-deformation via torsion. The results show that fracture characteristics vary with radius from dimples, elongated dimples to the fibrous structure. It indicates that the fracture charac-teristics are dependent on the pre-deformation. The fracture mode under large pre-deformation becomes an anisotropic fibrous structure instead of dimples.

Deformation bands in fully pearlitic steel during wire drawing

The deformation of fully pearlitic steels during wire drawing has been investigated for botb longitudinal section and transverse section by back-scattered electron imaging （BSEI）, electron back-scattered diffraction （EBSD）, and transmission electron mi- croscope （TEM）. The results show that a large number of deformation bands （DBs） composed of a mixture of kink-like bands and shear-like bands were observed both in the longitudinal section and the traverse section of the drawn wires. The formation of such bands involves two aspects： heterogeneous deformation in the scale of pearlite colonies and instability of fer- rite-cementite interfaces due to stress concentration during wire drawing. The development of suck bands in fully pearlitic steels dominates the formation of metallograpbic texture, reduces the pearlite interlamellar spacing and promotes the development of 〈 110〉 fiber crystalline texture of ferrite matrix during wire drawing.

Granular Carbides-Assisted Ultrafine-Ferrite Fabrication in the Pearlitic Steel Without Severe Plastic Deformation and Annealing

The evolution of ferrite grain and cementite lamella during cold rolling in a granular carbide–pearlite steel has been investigated.Particular attention has been given to a quantitative characterization of changes in the ferrite grains.Electron backscattered diff raction and transmission electron microscopy observations show that the ultrafi ne ferrite(~388 nm)can be produced through low equivalent strain cold rolling without severe plastic deformation(SPD)and annealing.The average grain size of ferrite depends on the volume fraction,shape and distribution of granular carbides as well as interlamellar spacing of pearlite.A general explanation of granular carbides-assisted grain refi nement is that the embedded carbides between natural barrier will signifi cantly facilitate dislocation nucleation during cold rolling.Dislocation reaction occurs more drastically and quickly near these granular carbides.Such reactions promote the formation of high-angle grain boundaries.The formation of ultrafi ne ferrite grains and subgrains in steel after cold rolling toε=1.4 strain makes the strength and ductility increased simultaneously compared withε=0.6 cold-rolled steel.The results suggest a new material design strategy to obtain ultrafi ne-grained structure via the granular carbides assistance.

A MICROSTRUCTURE-BASED ANALYSIS FOR CYCLIC PLASTICITY OF DUAL-PHASE PEARLITIC RAIL STEELS

Based on the assumption that a representative element of apearlitic steel is an aggregate of numerous spherical pearliticcolonies with randomly distributed orientations, and that each colonyis com- posed of many parallel fine lamellas of ferrite andcementite, a description for the dual-phase pearlitic steel isobtained by making use of a microstructure-based constitutiveequation for a single dual-phase pearlitic colony and the Hill'sself-consistent scheme. The elastoplastic response of dual-phasepearlitic steel BS11 subjected to asymmetrically cyclic loading isanalyzed, and a comparison with the experimental results showssatisfacto- ry agreement. The non-proportional cyclic plasticity ofBS11 is also analyzed, in which stress develops along a semi-circlein a biaxial tension/compression and shear stress plane, as istypically experienced by the sur- face elements in rolling andsliding contact.

VARIATION OF SUBSTRUCTURES OF PEARLITIC HEAT RESISTANT STEEL AFTER HIGH TEMPERATURE AGING

The observations of dislocations, substructures and other microstructural details were conducted mainly by means of transmission electron microscope (TEM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) for 12CrlMoV pearlitic heat-resistant steel. It is shown that during the high temperature long-term aging, the disordered and jumbled phase-transformed dislocations caused by normalized cooling are recovered and rearranged into cell substructures, and then the dislocation density is reduced gradually. Finally a low density linear dislocation configuration and a stabler dislocation network are formed and ferritic grains grow considerably.

Effects of laser pulse energy on surface microstructure and mechanical properties of high carbon steel

Surface microstructure and mechanical properties of pearlitic Fe–0.8%C(mass fraction) steel after laser shock processing(LSP) with different laser pulse energies were investigated by scanning electron microscopy(SEM),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),X-ray diffraction(XRD) and microhardness measurements.After LSP,the cementite lamellae were bent,kinked and broken into particles.Fragmentation and dissolution of the cementite lamellae were enhanced by increasing the laser pulse energy.Due to the dissolution of carbon atoms in the ferritic matrix,the lattice parameter of α-Fe increased.The grain size of the surface ferrite was refined,and the microstructure changed from lamellae to ultrafine micro-duplex structure(ferrite(α)+cementite(θ)) with higher laser pulse energy,accompanied by the residual stress and microhardness increase.

Microstructure Evolution and Its Effects on the Mechanical Behavior of Cold Drawn Pearlite Steel Wires for Bridge Cables

The microstructure evolution and its effects on the mechanical performance of 2000 MPa bridge cable steel wires were investigated by transmission electron microscope(TEM),electron backscatter diffraction(EBSD),X-ray diffractometer(XRD)and mechanical tests.Experimental results reveal that,with the increasing strain from 0 to 1.42,a fiber structure and a<110>fiber texture aligned with the wire axis are gradually developed accompanied by cementite decomposition and the formation of sub-grains;the tensile strength increases linearly from 1510 to 2025 MPa,and the reduction of the area is stable with a slight decline from 44%to 36%.After annealing at 450℃for different times,pronounced changes in the microstructure occur.Cementite lamella fragment into coarser globules corresponding to a remarkable spheroidization process,while ferrite domains recover and recrystallize,and this process is associated to modifications in the mechanical properties.Furthermore,based on the observations on dislocation lines crossing through cementite lamellae,a possible mechanism of cementite decomposition is discussed.

DETERMINATION AND APPLICATION OF LARSON-MILLER PARAMETER FOR HEAT RESISTANT STEEL 12CrlMoV AND 15CrMo

Based on the analysis and processing on relative empirical formula and data, C-values in Larson-Miller (P) expression, P= T(C + Igt), have determined for pearlitic heat resistant steel 12Cr1MoV and 15CrMo(20.62 and 20.30). The simulation experiments of high temperature aging, heated from 1.5 to 873 hours, have been designed and performed for its verification. And in combination with published information and the present nearly quantitative works, it has further been verified that both the degradations of microstructures and mechanical properties show a good accuracy and practicability using the Larson-Miller parameter with the present determined C-values. Finally, the effects of carbon content on C-value are analyzed by the empirical electron theory of solids and molecules (EET).

Microstructure-Fatigue Crack Propagation Kinetics Relationships of Rail Steels

Microstructural analysis and fatigue crack propagation behavior of three types of rail steels, was performed. These are premium pearlitic, austenitic manganese （AM） and bainitic rail steels. Rectangular un-notched and notched test specimens were machined from railheads of each material using electrical discharge machining （EDM） and used for the mechanical properties and fatigue evaluation respectively. Bainitic steel has the highest yield strength, ultimate strength, and strain to failure as compared to both pearlitic and austenitic manganese steels. Fatigue studies showed that the crack speed for the bainitic steel is lower than that for the pearlitie and the AM steels over the entire range of the energy release rate. The bainitic steel exhibits a higher rate of crack deceleration in the second stage, as indicated by the lower slope of the fatigue crack propagation kinetics curve in comparison with the pearlitic and manganese rail steels. This attests to the superior fatigue damage tolerance of the bainitic rail steel in comparison to pearlitic and austenitic manganese rail steels. Microstructural analysis of the three rail steels revealed that bainitic steel has a more intricate structure than AM and pearlitic steels. AM steel shows very few signs of being work hardened or toughened, which usually increases the mechanical properties of the material. As the number of alloying elements increase, the microstructure of the steel becomes more complex, resulting in the increase of mechanical properties and fatigue fracture resistance of bainitic rail steel.

SLOW PROPAGATION OF FATIGUE CRACK NEAR THRESHOLD

The effect of pearlite interlamellar spacing(d)from 0.31 to 0.77 μm of T8 steel on fatigue crack propagation near threshold has been investigated at different stress ratios(R).The closure stress intensity factor(K_(cl)),the threshold value(ΔK_(th))and crack tip opening dis- placement range(ΔCOD)were measured.The results show that pearlite interlamellar spac- ing in this range has no effect on K_(cl),but has effect on the threshold value in low stress ratio. The threshold value is higher for materials with larger interlamellar spacing.No matter what the stress ratio is,during the propagation near threshold,the propagation rate will be the same,provieded the crack tip opening displacement range is the same. Metallurgical examinations were also carried out to show that the crack propagation path is sensitive to mierostructure.The crack always propagates along either boundary of pearlite colony or ferrite lamellar in pearlite.

Effect of Rolling Process on Microstructure and Properties of 95CrMo Drill Steel

In order to improve the strength and toughness of 95CrMo steel and explore a short flow process, a direct rolling process was employed, and the effect of finishing rolling process on microstructure and mechanical properties was investigated. The results show that, with the decrease of finishing rolling temperature, inter-lamellar spacing in- creases, the strength as well as hardness has a general increase, and secondary cementite is distributed uniformly but represents a remarkable decrease in size. Based on Hall-Petch type equation, an effective relationship of yield strength and pearlite structure parameters was established. The correlation coefficients between the measured and calculated strength were more than 0.95, which indicated a high reliability of the relationship. By analyzing the individual strength contributions of pearlite structures, yield strength was found to have a more great dependence on pearlite inter-lamellar spacing than colony size.

Comparison of Impact Properties for Carbon and Low Alloy Steels

The impact properties of hot rolled carbon steel （used for the manufacture of reinforcement steel bars） and the quenched ＆ tempered （Q＆T） low alloy steel （used in the pressure vessel industry） were determined. The microstructure of the hot rolled carbon steel contained ferrite/pearlite phases, while that of the quenched and tempered low alloy steel contained bainite structure. Impact properties were determined for both steels by instrumented impact testing at temperatures between -150 and 200℃. The impact properties comprised total impact energy, ductile to brittle transition temperature, crack initiation and propagation energy, brittleness transition temperature and cleavage fracture stress. The Q＆T low alloy steel displayed much higher resistance to ductile fracture at high test temperatures, while its resistance to brittle fracture at low test temperatures was a little higher than that of the hot rolled carbon steel. The results were discussed in relation to the difference in the chemical composition and microstructure for the two steels.