Effect of continuous annealing parameters on the mechanical properties and microstructures of a cold rolled dual phase steel

A cold rolled dual phase （DP） steel with the C-Si-Mn alloy system was trial-produced in the laboratory, utilizing a Gleeble-3800 thermal simulator. The effects of continuous annealing parameters on the mechanical properties and microstructures of the DP steel were investigated by mechanical testing and microstructure observation. The results show that soaking between 760 and 820℃ for more than 80 s, rapid cooling at the rate of more than 30℃/s from the quenching temperature between 620 and 680℃, and overaging lower than 300℃ are beneficial for the mechanical properties of DP steels. An appropriate proportion of the two phases is one of the key factors for the favorable properties of DP steels. If the volume fraction of martensite and, thereby, free dislocations are deficient, the tensile strength and n value of DP steels will decrease, whereas, the yield strength will increase. But if the volume fraction of martensite is excessive to make it become a dominant phase, the yield and tensile strength will increase, whereas, the elongation will decrease obviously. When rapid cooling rate is not fast enough, pearlite or cementite will appear, which will degrade the mechanical properties. Even though martensite is sufficient, if it is decomposed in high temperature tempering, the properties will he unsatisfied.

Effect of cold rolling on the microstructural, magnetic, mechanical, and corrosion properties of AISI 316L austenitic stainless steel

This study has evaluated the effect of different levels of cold rolling（from 0 to 50%）on the microstructural,magnetic,and mechanical properties and the corrosion behavior of 316L austenitic stainless steel in Na Cl（1 mol/L）＋H_2SO_4（0.5 mol/L）solution.Microstructural examinations using optical microscopy revealed the development of a morphological texture from coaxial to elongated grains during the cold-rolling process.Phase analysis carried out on the basis of X-ray diffraction confirmed the formation of the ferromagneticα′-martensite phase under the stresses applied during cold rolling.This finding is in agreement with magnetic measurements using a vibrating sample magnetometer.Mechanical properties determined by tensile and Vickers microhardness tests demonstrated an upward trend in the hardness-to-yield strength ratio with increasing cold-rolling percentage,representing a reduction in the material’s work-hardening ability.Uniform and localized corrosion parameters were estimated via potentiodynamic polarization corrosion tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.In contrast to the uniform corrosion,wherein the corrosion current density increased with increasing cold-working degree because of the high density of microstructural defects,the passive potential range and breakdown potential increased by cold working,showing greater resistance to pit nucleation.Although pits were formed,the cold-rolled material repassivation tendency decreased because of the broader hysteresis anodic loop,as confirmed experimentally by observation of the microscopic features after electrochemical cyclic polarization evaluations.

Research on the properties of laser welded joints of aluminum killed cold rolled steel

Aluminum killed cold rolled steel used for automobiles was welded in this paper by using CO 2 laser with wavelength 10.6μm.The experiment shows that high quality of welding can be realized at welding speed of 4 500mm/min by optimizing the parameters.The strength and hardness of laser welded joints for aluminum killed cold rolled steel increased compared to those of the base metal while the formability decreased.Forming limit diagram of joint material indicated that the laser weld seam should avoid the maximum deformation area of automobile parts during the designing period for the position of weld seam.

Effect of the Heat-treatment Temperature on the Mechanical Properties and Microstructural Evolution of Cold-rolled Twinning-induced Plasticity Steel

TWIP steels with 70% cold-rolled reduction were heated at 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, and 1100 ℃. Then, the properties before and after heating were examined through tensile and hardness experiments. The microstructures were also analyzed by optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The relationship between the properties and microstructure was examined as well. Finally, the evolution process of cold-rolled microstructures during heating was discussed in detail. Moreover, some conclusions can be drawn, and the heating evolution characteristics are described.

Internal oxidation of hot-rolled ultra-high strength steel and its effect on the surface quality of cold-rolled sheets

In this study,the scale and internal oxidation of hot-rolled ultra-high strength steel sheets were characterized.It was found that both the formation of the scale and the internal oxidation of Si and Mn depended on the coiling temperature and position of the steel sample on the strip coil.At a relatively high coiling temperature,a large amount of internal oxidation was observed on the samples cut from the middle of the coil.The depth of the internal oxidation zone exceeded 10 μm and a thin iron layer covering the scale was observed in some cases.Pickling and cold-rolling experiments were conducted on selected samples.Scale pickling was found to be greatly delayed by the formation of an iron layer,which frequently resulted in under-pickled defects.In addition,pickling of the entire internal oxidation zone was difficult,except at the grain boundaries,where the degree of internal Si and Mn oxidation was enriched.The surface of the cold-rolled steel sheet was ruined by the remaining oxidation zone in the subsurface of the pickled steel.The internal oxidation of hot-rolled ultra-high strength steel must be precisely controlled to improve the subsequent surface quality of cold-rolled steel.

Effects of cold rolling on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Fe-Ni-Mn-Mo-Ti-Cr maraging steels

Effects of cold rolling on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Fe-Ni-Mn-Mo-Ti-Cr maraging steels were studied.To investigate the microstructure and mechanical properties,optical microscopy,scanning electron microscopy,X-ray diffraction,tensile test,and hardness test were used.The results show that the solution-annealing treatment in the cold-rolled steel redounds to the formation of sub-microcrystalline Fe2（Mo,Ti） Laves phase particles,which are stable at high temperatures.These secondary Laves phase particles prevent from recrystallization at high temperatures and correspond to semi-brittle fracture in the subsequent aging treatment.

Effect of Nb on the Microstructure and Properties of Cold Rolled and Annealed Mo Microalloyed Bainitic Steel

Two kinds of low carbon bainitic steels,Nb-free Mo bearing and Nb + Mo addition steels,were cold rolled and annealed to investigate the effect of micro-alloying element Nb on the microstructure and properties of Mo microalloyed low carbon high strength bainitic steel. No precipitates were observed in Nb-free Mo bearing steel,whereas,two types of precipitates,i.e.,Nb( C,N) and composite( Nb,Mo)( C,N),were observed in the Nb + Mo microalloyed steel,resulting in precipitation strengthening. The strength of Mo bearing steel was improved by addition of Nb under the same annealing conditions. The grain size of Nb addition steel was almost the same as Nb-free steel. Unlike the obvious grain refinement and precipitation strengthening in hot rolling,the increase in yield strength of Nb addition steels in cold rolling and annealing mainly results from the precipitation strengthening,while the effect of grain refinement strengthening can be almost ignored.

Study on the bendability and toughness of a 1 500 MPa cold-rolled martensitic sheet steel

Cold rolled martensitic sheet steels are achieving more and more applications in car-making because of their ultra-high strength and potential for weight reduction. The relatively low plasticity of ultra-high strength martensitic steels might be a drawback for the applications in the aspects of forming and safety protection function and should be significantly noted. A 1 500 MPa grade cold rolled martensitic sheet steel has been studied to investigate the bendability at 90 degree bending and impact toughness as well as fracture surface morphology at various temperatures. Some discussions have been made basing upon the experiment data to get some understanding on the performance of the materials under various conditions and on how to make use of this kind of ultra high strength steel properly.

Research on the design of cold rolled ultra high strength sheet steel

This study researches cold rolled ultra high strength martensitic steel processed by water quenching. It is found that both the quenching and overageing temperatures greatly influence the mechanical properties of martensitic steel. A tensile strength of 1500 MPa can be obtained from 0.2% C-1.8% Mn steel by soaking at 840℃,quenching at 700℃ and overageing at 200℃ for several minutes. The continuous cooling transformation （CCT） diagram reveals that full martensite can be obtained at a cooling rate of 100℃/s or higher; and at a cooling rate of 3 - 10℃/s,austenite barely decomposes at 700℃. For steel with 0.2% carbon and less manganese, austenite decomposition occurs before it is cooled to 700℃ at a cooling rate of 3 - 10℃/s, which leads to lower tensile strength. It is possible to reduce the manganese content of the 1500 MPa martensitic steel by increasing the quenching temperature. To increase the quenching temperature,the control of flatness during water quenching becomes a major concern.

Effect of water quenching processing parameters on the mechanical properties of a cold-rolled C-Mn-containing steel sheet

Cold-rolled advanced high-strength steel sheets have become the material of choice for the automotive industry because of their unique attributes of high strength and balanced mechanical properties.High-hydrogen gas jet cooling and water quenching are the most commonly used ultrafast cooling technologies for producing martensite-containing high-strength steel sheets.The water quenching technology ensures the fastest industrial cooling rate of 1 000 K/s;therefore,it has the highest potential with respect to saving alloys.In this study,the water quenching of a C-Mn-containing steel sheet is simulated during continuous annealing to investigate the effect of water quenching and tempering parameters on its mechanical properties.The results reveal that at low quenching temperatures,the strength of the steel sheet decreases as the soaking temperature increases.However,at high quenching temperatures,a high soaking temperature corresponds to increased strength after quenching,regardless of whether the material was austenitized in the single austenite zone or the inter-critical zone.Therefore,a high quenching temperature always results in a high strength and a high yield ratio after quenching.Low-temperature overaging(tempering) considerably influences the yield strength and yield ratio,and the extent of this influence is correlated with the soaking temperature.

Effect of deformation twinning on the evolution of texture in TWIP steels during cold-rolling

Texture evolution of high-manganese twining-induced plasticity (TWIP) steels (Fe-16Mn-0.6C) during cold-rolling is studied by means of quantitative orientation distribution function (ODF)analysis.Thickness reductions of the specimens during cold-rolling are 10%,20%,30%,50% and 65%,respectively.Evolution of texture is of the Brass type,which is typical for low-stacking fault energy (SFE) materials.The contribution of deformation twinning to the development of texture is clearly illustrated by the monotonic increase of the twinned Cu component.In the present study,the deformation twinning was identified as significantly contributing to deformation up to the maximum reduction applied.These results are useful for the prediction and control of the texture in TWIP steels.

Research and application on the automatic measuring device for testing transverse thickness difference of cold-rolling steel sheet

Many advanced technologies have been applied in developing the automatic measuring device for testing transverse thickness difference of cold-rolling steel sheet,such as the technologies of automatic control,sensor measurement,marking identification,photographic location,computer application and information transmission.This measuring device can measure the transverse thickness difference of the steel plate accurately and quickly,with a high detection level of automation.It is an effective detection equipment for transverse thickness control of steel plate.Horizontal width of steel plate measuring 0.8-1.4 m, horizontal measurement point positioning accuracy±0.02 mm,thickness range 0.2-2.0 mm, measurement accuracy within±1μm.

Control of Surface Thermal Scratch of Strip in Tandem Cold Rolling

The thermal scratch seriously affects the surface quality of the cold rolled stainless steel strip. Some researchers have carried out qualitative and theoretical studies in this field. However, there is currently a lack of research on effective forecast and control of thermal scratch defects in practical production, especially in tandem cold rolling. In order to establish precise mathematical model of oil film thickness in deformation zone, the lubrication in cold rolling process of SUS410L stainless steel strip is studied, and major factors affecting oil film thickness are also analyzed. According to the principle of statistics, mathematical model of critical oil film thickness in deformation zone for thermal scratch is built, with fitting and regression analytical method, and then based on temperature comparison method, the criterion for deciding thermal scratch defects is put forward. Storing and calling data through SQL Server 2010, a software on thermal scratch defects control is developed through Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 by MFC technique for stainless steel in tandem cold rolling, and then it is put into practical production. Statistics indicate that the hit rate of thermal scratch is as high as 92.38%, and the occurrence rate of thermal scratch is decreased by 89.13%. Owing to the application of the software, the rolling speed is increased by approximately 9.3%. The software developed provides an effective solution to the problem of thermal scratch defects in tandem cold rolling, and helps to promote products surface quality of stainless steel strips in practical production.

INFLUENCE OF COLD ROLLING REDUCTION ON MICROSTRUCTURE AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF TWIP STEEL

The influence of cold rolling reduction on microstructure and mechanical properties of the TWIP （ttwinning induced plasticity） steel was investigated. The results＇ indicated that the steel had better comprehensive mechanical properties when cold rolling reduction was about 65.0% and the annealing temperature was 1000℃. The tensile strength of the steel is about 640MPa and the yield strength is higher than 255MPa, while the elongation is＇ above 82%. The microstructure is composed of austenitic matrix and annealing twins at room temperature, at the same time, a significant amount of annealing twins and stacking faults＇ are observed by transmission electron microscopy （TEM）. Mechanical twins play a dominant role during deformation, and result in exceUent mechanical properties.

Controlled Rolling and Cooling Process for Low Carbon Cold Forging Steel

Effect of controlled rolling and cooling process on the mechanical properties of low carbon cold forging steel was investigated for different processing parameters of a laboratory hot rolling mill. The results show that the specimens with fast cooling after hot rolling exhibit very good mechanical properties, and the improvement of the mechanical properties can be attributed mainly to the ferrite-grain refinement. The mechanical properties increase with decreasing final cooling temperature within the range from 670 ℃ to 570 ℃ due to the finer interlamellar spacing of pearlite colony. The specimen with fast cooling after low temperature rolling shows the highest values of the mechanical properties. The effect of the ferrite grain size on the mechanical properties was greater than that of pearlite morphology in the present study. The mechanical properties of specimens by controlled rolling and cooling process without thermal treatment were greatly superior to that of the same specimens by the conventional rolling, and their tensile strength reached 490 MPa grade even in the case of low temperature rolling without controlled rolling. It might be expected to realize the substitution medium-carbon by low-carbon for 490 MPa grade cold forging steel with controlled rolling and cooling process.

Mechanical performance and texture characteristic of an IF steel containing Nb and Ti by double cold rolling

Single cold rolling and double cold rolling were applied to hot rolled strips with different reduction ratios. The evolutions of { 100}, { 111} and Goss face texture during double rolling were investigated by comparing the orientation distribution function （ODF） of the double rolled sample with that of the single rolled one. The double cold rolling texture is characterized by a higher γ-texture and a lower α-texture, and the { 111}〈112〉 component is improved remarkably. Based on the TEM observation and mechanical properties test, it is found that the reduction ratio assignment significantly affects the texture variation, as-annealing microstructures, and properties of the double cold rolled samples. These results may provide a theoretical guide for the industrial production of double cold rolled IF steel.

Formation mechanism and control of aluminum layer thickness fluctuation in embedded aluminum-steel composite sheet produced by cold roll bonding process

The influences of rolling reduction and aluminum sheet initial thickness(AIT)on the thickness fluctuation of aluminum layer(TFA)of embedded aluminum?steel composite sheet produced by cold roll bonding were investigated,the formation mechanism of TFA was analyzed and method to improve the thickness uniformity of the aluminum layer was proposed.The results showed that when the reduction increased,TFA increased gradually.When the reduction was lower than40%,AIT had negligible effect on the TFA,while TFA increased with the decrease of AIT when the reduction was higher than40%.The non-uniformities of the steel surface deformation and the interfacial bonding extent caused by the work-hardened steel surface layer,were the main reasons for the formation of TFA.Adopting an appropriate surface treatment can help to decrease the hardening extent of the steel surface for improving the deformation uniformity during cold roll bonding process,which effectively improved the aluminum thickness uniformity of the embedded aluminum/steel composite sheets.

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.

Development and Lubricating Properties of Rolling Oil for Stainless Steel Cold Rolling

Appropriate base oils and homologous additives such as extreme pressure and anti-wear agents,oiliness agents and antioxidants were selected,and experiments testing the compatibility performance between additive,base oil and other components were carried out to develop the SK and SD series of rolling oils for cold rolling of stainless steel.The developed oils were used in the stainless steel cold rolling lubrication experiments,and were successfully applied in the actual cold rolling operation of stainless steel.Compared with a foreign product,the tribological properties,the thermal oxidation stability,and the rolling lubrication performance of the developed stainless steel cold rolling oils were studied.Test results showed that the tribological properties of the thereby developed rolling oils and the reference one were almost at the same level,and to some extent the performance of rolling was even better than the foreign product,at the same time the stainless steel sheet could retain its well annealed performance.Meanwhile,within a certain range,the lubrication of the rolling oil became better as its viscosity increased at the same level of saponification value,which could provide a lower friction coefficient,so that a higher maximum reduction ratio of the rolled piece through a constant roll gap and a minimum thickness could be secured.Also,similar phenomena appeared as the saponification value increased at a same viscosity level of the rolling oils.

Deformation and recrystallization behavior of a Fe-20Mn-3Si-3Al-0.045C steel under cold-rolling

The influence of cold rolling reduction on microstructure and mechanical properties of the twinning induced plasticity(TWIP) steel with a chemical composition of Fe-20Mn-3Si-3Al-0.045 C has been investigated.Tensile tests were carried out to explore the mechanical properties of TWIP steel with different cold rolling reductions.The microstructures were observed by optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy(TEM).The misorientation and the development of recrystallization texture in TWIP steel sheets were investigated by Electron Back Scatter Diffraction(EBSD) technique.The results indicated that the steel exhibited attractively mechanical properties when cold rolling reduction was about 10%.The tensile strength of the steel with a rolling reduction of 10%is higher than 900 MPa and the yield strength is about 800 MPa,while the elongation is above 35%.The microstructure is composed of austenitic matrix and deformation twins at room temperature,at the same time,a significant amount of deformation twins,stacking faults and dislocations are observed by TEM.TEM observations showed the presence of deformation twinning in the sample at low rolling reduction.As the strain increases the volume fraction of twins increases.Mechanical twins play a dominant role during deformation and result in excellent mechanical properties for the investigated steel.By TEM observation,the possible deformation mechanisms can be suggested as:with the increasing strain,formation of the twin will gradually play a more important role during deformation.The interaction between twins and dislocations enhances the strain hardening rate in the sample.Consequently,the necking is delayed and a good ductility is obtained.Twins were always observed in the region with high density of dislocation and faults,suggesting that the interaction among blocked dislocations and faults as well as deformation twins promote the increase in material strength.EBSD observation showed that the textures has evolved according to the following trend:the brass orientation {110}〈112〉and Goss orientation {110}〈001〉are dominant at every strain level,those intensities increase with increasing strain,while with the increase of the strain level,the change of S orientation {123}〈634〉was not obviously.