Research on Heredity of Coarse Ferrite Grains

The changes in austenite grain size of the specimens with coarse ferrite grains under different heat treatment process were investigated.The focus was on studying the effect of annealing on refining coarse ferrite grains,as well as the influence of the ferrite grain size on the main technical indicators of gas carburizing.The results show that coarse ferrite grains may not necessarily cause the coarse austenite grains,but may result in mixed austenite grains.After annealing treatment,the coarse ferrite grains can be significantly refined and homogenized.Moreover,the coarse ferrite grains have no significant effects on hardnessand intergranular oxidationof gas carburizing.

Grain boundary engineering for enhancing intergranular damage resistance of ferritic/martensitic steel P92

Ferritic/martensitic(F/M)steel is widely used as a structural material in thermal and nuclear power plants.However,it is susceptible to intergranular damage,which is a critical issue,under service conditions.In this study,to improve the resistance to intergranular damage of F/M steel,a thermomechanical process(TMP)was employed to achieve a grain boundary engineering(GBE)microstructure in F/M steel P92.The TMP,including cold-rolling thickness reduction of 6%,9%,and 12%,followed by austenitization at 1323 K for 40 min and tempering at 1053 K for 45 min,was applied to the as-received(AR)P92 steel.The prior austenite grain(PAG)size,prior austenite grain boundary character distribution(GBCD),and connectivity of prior austenite grain boundaries(PAGBs)were investigated.Compared to the AR specimen,the PAG size did not change significantly.The fraction of coincident site lattice boundaries(CSLBs,3≤Σ≤29)and Σ3^(n) boundaries along PAGBs decreased with increasing reduction ratio because the recrystallization fraction increased with increasing reduction ratio.The PAGB connectivity of the 6%deformed specimen slightly deteriorated compared with that of the AR specimen.Moreover,potentiodynamic polarization studies revealed that the intergranular damage resistance of the studied steel could be improved by increasing the fraction of CSLBs along the PAGBs,indicating that the TMP,which involves low deformation,could enhance the intergranular damage resistance.

MODELING OF FERRITE GRAIN GROWTH OF LOW CARBON STEELS DURING HOT ROLLING

For most commercial steels the prediction of the final properties depends on accurately calculating the room temperature ferrite grain size. A grain growth model is proposed for low carbon steels Q235B during hot rolling. By using this model, the initial ferrite grain size after continuous cooling and ferrite grain growing in coiling procedure can be predicted. In-plant trials were performed in the hot strip mill of Ansteel. The calculated final ferrite grain sizes are in good agreement with the experimental ones. It is helpful both for simulation of microstructure evolution and prediction of mechanical properties.

Surface Ferrite Grain Refinement and Mechanical Properties of Low Carbon Steel Plates

Considering the specialities of the steel plate production, the TMCP study has been carried out with Gleeble 2000 tester to explore the possibility of fine grained ferrite in the low carbon steel plates with the chemical composition of C 0.13--0.18, Si 0.12-0.18, Mn 0.50-0. 65, P 0. 010-0. 025, and S 0. 005-0. 028. The plates with thickness of 8. 7 mm in which the ferrite grain size is smaller than 8μm have been produced by special de- formation process in the laboratory. Furthermore, the trial production of special plain carbon steel plates of 16-25 mm in thickness and 2 000- 2 800 mm in width with fine grained ferrite has been successfully carried out in the Shougang Steel Plate Rolling Plant. The ferrite grain size is 5.5-7μm in the surface layers and 9.5-15μm in the central layer respectively. The yield strength is 320- 360 MPa, tensile strength is 440-520 MPa and the elongation is 25%- 34 %. It is very important for the rolling plants to improve the low carbon steel plates＇ mechanical properties. The results show that the ferrite grains in the surface layer can be refined effectively by the appropriate rolling process, and the strength can be also increased.

Development of grain boundary allotriomorphic ferrite/granular bainite duplex steel

A new hot-rolled low alloy high strength steel with grain boundaryallotriomorphic ferrite/granular bainite duplex microstructure has been developed through novelmicrostructure and alloying designs without any noble metal elements such as nickel and molybdenum.Its as-rolled microstructure and mechanical properties, fatigue crack propagation behavior comparedwith single granular bainitic steel as well as continuous cooling transformation, were investigatedin detail. The measured result of CCT (continuous cooling transformation) curve shows that suchduplex microstructure can be easily obtained within a wide air-cooling rate range. More importantly,this duplex microstructure has much better combination of toughness and strength than the singlegranular bainite microstructure. It is found that the grain boundary allotriomorphic ferrite in thisduplex microstructure can blunt the microcrack tip, cause fatigue crack propagation route branchingand curving, and thus it increases the resistance to fatigue crack propagation, improves steeltoughness. The mechanical properties of the above commercial duplex steel plates have achieved orexceeded 870 MPa ultimate tensile strength, 570 MPa yield strength, 18 percent elongation and 34 JCharpy V-notch impact energy at -40 deg C, showing good development potential.

Observations on the Formation of Ultrafine Ferrite Grain Size in Steels by Physical Simulation Routes

Some observations are reported on the simulation of two thermomechanical routes to produce ultrafine ferrite grainsize in steels. One C-Mn grade and Nb, Nb-Ti and Nb-high Ti bearing steels were used in the tests performed ona Gleeble simulator and a laboratory rolling mill. The routes included severe hot deformation of prior grain-refinedaustenite at the temperature close to Ar3 (DIF) and static recrystallization of fine-grained cold-rolled martensite(SRM). It was observed that the hot deformation induces the formation of ferrite above the Ar3 temperature of thesteel, but severe reductions are required for the complete transformation. Strain of 1.2 can result in about 70% offerrite with the grain size of about 1.4～2μm in all the studied steels. Similarly, in short annealing of cold-workedmartensite, the static recrystallization can also lead to a grain size of about 1.5 μm. The distribution of carbonvaries in the microstructures, carbon being in the second phase in the DIF route and in carbide particles in the SRMroute, which may have a significant influence on the mechanical properties and the thermal stability of ultrafine grainstructure.

Atomistic study on the microscopic mechanism of grain boundary embrittlement induced by small dense helium bubbles in iron

The helium bubbles induced by 14 MeV neutron irradiation can cause intergranular fractures in reduced activation ferritic martensitic steel,which is a candidate structural material for fusion reactors.In order to elucidate the susceptibility of different grain boundaries(GBs)to helium-induced embrittlement,the tensile fracture processes of 10 types of GBs with and without helium bubbles in body-centered cubic(bcc)iron at the relevant service temperature of 600 K were investigated via molecular dynamics methods.The results indicate that in the absence of helium bubbles,the GBs studied here can be classified into two distinct categories:brittle GBs and ductile GBs.The atomic scale analysis shows that the plastic deformation of ductile GB at high temperatures originates from complex plastic deformation mechanisms,including the Bain/Burgers path phase transition and deformation twinning,in which the Bain path phase transition is the most dominant plastic deformation mechanism.However,the presence of helium bubbles severely inhibits the plastic deformation channels of the GBs,resulting in a significant decrease in elongation at fractures.For bubble-decorated GBs,the ultimate tensile strength increases with the increase in the misorientation angle.Interestingly,the coherent twin boundary∑3{112}was found to maintain relatively high fracture strength and maximum failure strain under the influence of helium bubbles.

Sintering process and grain growth of Mn-Zn ferrite nanoparticles

The density, microstructure and magnetic properties of non-doped Mn-Zn ferrite nanoparticles sintered compacts were investigated. The compacts of non-doped Mn-Zn ferrite nanoparticles were sintered by segmented-sintering process at lower sintering temperature. The density of sintered samples was measured by Archimedes method, and the phase composition and microstructure were examined by XRD and SEM. The sintered Mn-Zn ferrite magnetic measurements were carried out with Vibrating Sample. The results show that the density of sintered compacts increases with the rising of sintering temperature, achieving 4.8245 g·cm-3 when sintered at 900 ℃, which is the optimal density of Mn-Zn functional ferrite needed and from the fractured surface of sintered samples, it can be seen that the grain grows well with small grain size and homogeneous distribution.

Grain Size Prediction after Continuous Cooling Transformation from Deformed Austenite to Ferrite

On the basis of transformation thermodynamics and kinetics theories,an algorithm for predicting ferrite grain size after continuous cooling transformation from deformed austenite to ferrite is suggested.The calculated results of computer simulation with the algorithm are in so good agreement with the measured ones in controlled rolling and controlled cooling experiments that the theoretical algorithm is feasible.

Effects of TiC on the microstructure and formation of acicular ferrite in ferritic stainless steel

The formation mechanism of acicular ferrite and its microstructural characteristics in 430 ferrite stainless steel with TiC additions were studied by theory and experiment.Using an"edge?to?edge matching"model,a 5.25 mismatch between TiC(FCC structure)and ferritic stainless steel(BCC structure)was identified,which met the mismatch requirement for the heterogeneous nucleation of 430 ferritic stainless steel.TiC was found to be an effective nucleation site for the formation of acicular ferrite in a smelting experiment,as analyzed by metallographic examination,Image-Pro Plus 6.0 analysis software,and SEM–EDS.Furthermore,small inclusions in the size of 2–4?m increased the probability of acicular ferrite nucleation,and the secondary acicular ferrite would grow sympathetically from the initial acicular ferrite to produce multi-dimensional acicular ferrites.Moreover,the addition of Ti C can increase the average microstrain and dislocation density of 430 ferrite stainless steel,as calculated by Williamson-Hall(WH)method,which could play some role in strengthening the dislocation.

Influence of rapid heating process on the microstructure and tensile properties of high-strength ferrite–martensite dual-phase steel

Three low-carbon dual-phase （DP） steels with almost constant martensite contents of 20vo1% were produced by intercritical annealing at different heating rates and soaking temperatures. Microstructures prepared at low temperature （1043 K, FH1） with fast-heating （300 K/s） show banded ferrite/martensite structure, whereas those soaked at high temperature （1103 K, FH2） with fast heating reveal blocky martensite uniformly distributed in the fine-grained ferrite matrix. Their mechanical properties were tested under tensile conditions and compared to a slow-heated （5 K/s） reference material （SH0）. The tensile tests indicate that for a given martensite volume fraction, the yield strength and total elongation values are noticeably affected by the refinement of ferrite grains and the martensite morphology. Metallographic observations reveal the formation of microvoids at the ferrite/martensite interface in the SH0 and FH2 samples, whereas microvoids nucleate via the fracture of banded martensite particles in the FH1 specimen. In addition, analyses of the work-hardening behaviors of the DP microstructures using the differential Crussard-Jaoul technique demonstrate two stages of work hardening for all samples.

Microstructural Features During Strain Induced Ferrite Transformation in 08 and 20Mn Steels

The microstructure evolution during strain induced ferrite transformation was followed in thermal-simulation tests of clean 08 and 20Mn steels. The influences of carbon equivalence and initial austenite grain size on ferrite grain refinement and the volume fraction of ferrite during straining were inspected. The results revealed that the accelerating effect of ferrite transformation by strain was increased as the carbon equivalence decreased. However, finer ferrite grains were obtained at higher carbon content. At strain of similar to1.5 ferrite grains less than 3 mum and 2 mum can be obtained in 08 and 20Mn steels respectively. Whereas the ferrite grain refinement in 08 steel was due to both effects of strain induced transformation and ferrite dynamic recrystallization, that in 20Mn was mainly due to strain induced transformation. Heavy strain can produce fine ferrite grains in coarse austenite grained 08 steel, but it would lead to band microstructure in coarse austenite grained 20Mn.

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.

Comparison of Ferrite Refinement Mechanisms by Different Processing Schedules in 08 and 20Mn Steels

The influence of deforming temperature on ferrite refinement was analyzed by comparing the microstructures obtained by deformation at above A(r3), in two-phase region of (alpha + gamma) and at below A(t) in clean 08 and 20Mn steels. The results indicate that ferrite refinement through strain induced transformation by deformation at above A(r3) is more effective than that by deformation simply through ferrite dynamic recrystallization. The main problem of ferrite refinement by deformation at below A(r3) is the inhomogeneity of microstructure which is controlled by the orientations and sizes of ferrite grains and the distribution of second phases. Ferrite dynamic recrystallization after strain induced transformation can further effectively refine ferrite.

Low loss Z-type Hexaferrites with Bi2O3 Additives for Ultra-high Frequency Antenna Applications

The Z-type ferrites of nominal composition Ba3Co2 Fe24O41+x wt% Bi2O3, where x=0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, were prepared by conventional ceramic processes. The influence of Bi2O3 content on the bulk densities, microstructures, magnetic and dielectric properties of Z-type ferrite samples were systematically examined so as to obtain materials with low magnetic and dielectric loss tangent over a frequency ranging from 600 to 800 MHz. The experimental results showed that addition of Bi2O3 lowered the sintering temperature(1 020 ℃) and then reduced the average grain size(<2 μm) and enhanced the resistivity(>2.68×10^8 Ω·cm) dramatically, which consequently decreased the magnetic and dielectric loss. Additionally, the low loss factors were observed at the Bi2O3 content x = 1.0, i e, tan δμ/μ’=0.013 and tan δε/ε’= 0.001 at 800 MHz, and such materials could be used for antennas miniaturization from 600 to 800 MHz.

Non-Steady Equilibrium during Pro-Eutectoid Ferrite Formation in Fe-0.2C Alloy

As rolled microstructure and mechanical properties of a new kind of grain boundary allotriomorphic ferrite/granular bainite duplex steel plate and its crack propagation behavior were investigated in comparison with simple granular bainitic steel plate. These new duplex plate steels possess better combination of strength and toughness than granular bainite plate steels under the conditions of conventional rolling and air cooling. The observation of fatigue crack propagation behaviors showed that the existence of proper grain boundary allotriomorphic ferrite increases the compatible deformation ability of duplex microstructure and leads to the formation of crack branching and curving route, and it has an evidently blunting effect on microcrack tip and results in higher impact toughness. In addition, the new duplex steel plate also has good weldability as hot rolled high strength low alloy structural steel.

Characteristics of Strain-Induced Ferrite in Low Carbon Steel

The strain-induced ferrite formed under different conditions was observed with SEM and optical microscope.The nucleation sites of strain-induced ferrite include grain boundary,grain inside,deformed band and annealing twin boundary.The shapes of the ferrite accordingly are equiaxed irregular polygonal,strip-shaped and acicular.

The effect of Ti addition on equiaxed grain formation in ferritic stainless steel welds

This study examines mechanisms for providing nuclei to equiaxed grains in the welds of pure ferritic stainless steel （FSS）. The addition of the alloy element Ti to pure FSS 439 causes the precipitation of TiN, which can benefit the columnar-to-equiaxed transition （CET） of gas tungsten arc welding （GTAW）. Meanwhile,the initial morphology of the precipitates, the concentration multiplications of Ti, N, etc. of FSS 439 should be controlled to induce the formation of CET during the short welding process.

Effect of grain boundary characteristic distribution on brittle cracking of ferritic stainless steel

In order to better understand the relation between grain boundary characteristic distribution （GBCD） and the brittle cracking of ferritic stainless steel, the GBCD, impact test and bend test were investigated using scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and the electron backscatter diffraction （EBSD） technique. The results show that a crack occurs preferentially at high angle boundaries, and that low angle and low-∑ coincidence site lattice（CSL） boundaries can offer resistance to the propagation of cracks. It is suggested that an optimum GBCD, i.e. a high frequency of low angle or low-∑ CSL boundaries and discontinuous high angle boundaries network can offer the potential for decreasing the ductile-to-brittle transition temoerature （DBTT） of ferritic stainless steels.

Evolutions of texture and grain boundary plane distributions in a ferritic stainless steel

The grain size,textures and grain boundary plane distributions in a cold-rolled and annealed ferritic stainless steel were investigated by means of EBSD techniques.The results show that,following cold rolling with the thickness reduction of 85%,relatively low temperature(780°C)annealing brings an extremely sluggish grain growth and no grain texture develops when the annealing time varies from 5min to 480min.The free energy reduction of the system is mainly caused by the grain boundary plane re-orientation in addition to minor grain growth because the distributions of grain boundary planes are moderately preferred on{100}according to the five parameter analyses(FPA)concerning the grain boundary plane characteristics.However,in the case of high-temperature(1000°C)annealing,the average grain size does not increase until annealing time is prolonged to 90 min,after which extensive grain growth occurs and strong{100}<hkl>texture emerges whereas nearly random grain boundary plane distributions are observed.The free energy reduction of the system is most likely attributed to the selective growth.