Formation of FeMo_2B_2 phase in boron containing 9Cr-1.5Mo ferritic steels

The segregation and diffusion of boron during heat treatments were studied. The influence of boron contents, aging time and applied stress on FeMo2B2 formation was also studied. Finally, the effects of boron contents and FeMo2B2 formation on the high temperature strength were studied. Boron atoms were segregated to prior austenite grain boundary during normalizing treatment. And these boron atoms were slowly diffused into the grain interior during tempering and aging at 700 ℃. The FeMo2B2 phase was only formed after 1,000 h aging at 700 ℃ in alloy containing 196 ppm boron. The formation of FeMo2B2 phase is accelerated by the applied stress. It was expected that the formation of FeMo2B2 is closely related to the redistribution of boron atoms. The tensile strengths at 700 ℃ are increased with the increase of boron contents. However, the formation of FeMo2B2 phase results in lower tensile strength.

Effect of Ni content on the weldability of middle-chromium hyperpure ferritic stainless steels 00Cr21Ti

Excellent weldability substantially contributes to the intrinsic quality of steels,while appropriate chemical composition plays a primary role in the essential weldability of steels.The poor weldability of ferritic stainless steels could be improved through modification with minor alloy elements while minimally increasing the cost.Therefore,studying the effect of minor alloy elements on the weldability of steels is of considerable importance.In this study,several steels of middle-chromium hyperpure ferritic stainless 00Cr21Ti with different Ni content(0.3%,0.5%,0.8%,and 1.0%)were developed,and their weldabilities of butt joint samples welded using the metal inert gas welding process,including the influence of welded joints on the microstructure,tensile performance,corrosion resistance,and fatigue property,were investigated.Results show that the steels with w(Ni)≥0.8%exhibit excellent mechanical properties compared with those with low-Ni content steels,further,their impact toughness at normal atmospheric temperature meets the industrial application standard and the fatigue property is similar to that of 304 austenitic stainless steel.Moreover,results show that the corrosion resistance of all the samples is almost at the same level.The results acquired in this study are supposed to be useful for the optimization of the chemical composition of stainless steels aiming to improve weldability.

Effect of Interface Form on Creep Failure and Life of Dissimilar Metal Welds Involving Nickel-Based Weld Metal and Ferritic Base Metal

For dissimilar metal welds(DMWs)involving nickel-based weld metal(WM)and ferritic heat resistant steel base metal(BM)in power plants,there must be an interface between WM and BM,and this interface suffers mechanical and microstructure mismatches and is often the rupture location of premature failure.In this study,a new form of WM/BM interface form,namely double Y-type interface was designed for the DMWs.Creep behaviors and life of DMWs containing double Y-type interface and conventional I-type interface were compared by finite element analysis and creep tests,and creep failure mechanisms were investigated by stress-strain analysis and microstructure characterization.By applying double Y-type interface instead of conventional I-type interface,failure location of DMW could be shifted from the WM/ferritic heat-affected zone(HAZ)interface into the ferritic HAZ or even the ferritic BM,and the failure mode change improved the creep life of DMW.The interface premature failure of I-type interface DMW was related to the coupling effect of microstructure degradation,stress and strain concentrations,and oxide notch on the WM/HAZ interface.The creep failure of double Y-type interface DMW was the result of Type IV fracture due to the creep voids and micro-cracks on fine-grain boundaries in HAZ,which was a result of the matrix softening of HAZ and lack of precipitate pinning at fine-grain boundaries.The double Y-type interface form separated the stress and strain concentrations in DMW from the WM/HAZ interface,preventing the trigger effect of oxide notch on interface failure and inhibiting the interfacial microstructure cracking.It is a novel scheme to prolong creep life and enhance reliability of DMW,by means of optimizing the interface form,decoupling the damage factors from WM/HAZ interface,and then changing the failure mechanism and shifting the failure location.

Three-step learning strategy for designing 15Cr ferritic steels with enhanced strength and plasticity at elevated temperature

15Cr ferrite steels are urgently required in advanced Ultra-supercritical power plants but meet design challenges in balancing excellent strength and plasticity at high temperatures.We developed a three-step learning strategy based on mutually driven machine learning and purposeful experiments to complete this multi-objective task.Compared with traditional adaptive learning and local-interpolation learning,this step-by-step modular manner provides good transparency and interpretability of the information flow,which is ensured by identifying essential factors from an exquisitely prepared composition-microstructure dataset,and learning valuable knowledge about the composition-property relationship.The requirement of only two groups of experiments indicates the low cost and high efficiency of the strategy.Performing the strategy,we found that Ti is another key element affecting the Laves phase besides Mo and W,and their effects on ultimate tensile strength(UTS)and elongation were also uncovered.Importantly,several low-cost steels free of Co were successfully designed,and the best steel exhibited 156%,31%,and 62%higher UTS and elongation at 650°C than the typical 9Cr,15Cr,and 20Cr steels,respectively.Based on the advantages and success of the strategy in terms of alloy improvement,we believe the strategy suits other multi-objective design tasks in more materials systems.

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.

Ultra-Pure Ferritic Stainless Steels-Grade,Refining Operation,and Application

The grades of ultra-pure ferritic stainless steels, especially the grades used in automobile exhaust system, were reviewed. The dependence of properties on alloying elements, the refining facilities, and the mechanism of the reactions in steel melts were described in detail. Vacuum, strong stirring, and powder injection proved to be effective technologies in the melting of ultra-pure ferritic stainless steels. The application of the ferritic grades was also briefly introduced.

Strengthening mechanisms of reduced activation ferritic/martensitic steels:A review

This review summarizes the strengthening mechanisms of reduced activation ferritic/martensitic(RAFM)steels.High-angle grain boundaries,subgrain boundaries,nano-sized M_(23)C_(6),and MX carbide precipitates effectively hinder dislocation motion and increase high-temperature strength.M23C6 carbides are easily coarsened under high temperatures,thereby weakening their ability to block dislocations.Creep properties are improved through the reduction of M23C6 carbides.Thus,the loss of strength must be compensated by other strengthening mechanisms.This review also outlines the recent progress in the development of RAFM steels.Oxide dispersion-strengthened steels prevent M23C6 precipitation by reducing C content to increase creep life and introduce a high density of nano-sized oxide precipitates to offset the reduced strength.Severe plastic deformation methods can substantially refine subgrains and MX carbides in the steel.The thermal deformation strengthening of RAFM steels mainly relies on thermo-mechanical treatment to increase the MX carbide and subgrain boundaries.This procedure increases the creep life of TMT(thermo-mechanical treatment)9Cr-1W-0.06Ta steel by~20 times compared with those of F82H and Eurofer 97 steels under 550℃/260 MPa.

Influence of Mo on Growth and Coarsening of Nanometer-sized Carbides in Low-alloy Ferritic Steels Containing Ti

By optical microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy, the changes with aging time in size, composition and distribution of nanometer-sized （Ti, Mo）C precipitated in Ti-Mo low-alloy ferritc steel have been studied in comparison with that of nanometer-sized TiC precipitated in Ti low-alloy ferritc steel. It was found that the growth rate of （Ti,Mo）C in Ti-Mo steel was less than that of TiC in Ti steel. Nanometer- sized carbides formed at 650 ~C （or 550 ~C） for 55 h were at transitional stage from growth to coarsening. When aging time reaches 55 h, the coarsening rates of nanometer-sized carbides in Ti and Ti-Mo steel tend to be the same and in- variable. The influence of Mo on growth and coarsening of nanometer-sized carbides tends to decrease with increasing aging time, and Mo contents in nanometer-sized carbides with the same size at different aging time were different.

Application and failure evaluation of ferritic stainless steels for automotive exhaust systems

In recent years, with attention paid to global environmental problems, there have been requirements for continuous improvement of automobile fuel economy and exhaust gas purification rate. The properties of the ferritic stainless steels （FSS） used to make automobile parts have been improved. This paper introduces the construction of automotive exhaust systems and describes their main failure behaviors and corrosion evaluation procedures.

Long-term thermal-aging stability of oxide-dispersion-strengthened ferritic steels at 753 K

Oxide-dispersion-strengthened （ODS） ferritic steels are promising candidates for structural applications in the future nuclear reactors. The higher chromium contents of ODS ferritic steels, the better the corrosion resistance, which can meet the harsh corrosion environment of the advanced reactors. However, increasing the Cr content may also lead to the brittleness of the ODS steels when serving at high temperatures. The ODS ferritic steels with different Cr contents （12, 16 and 18 wt% Cr, respectively） were fabricated by mechanical alloying, hot isostatic pressing and forging. Mechanical properties and microstructure evolution of the ODS ferritic steels after aging at 753 K for 2000 h were investigated. It is found that both Vickers hardness and yield strength of 18%Cr ODS ferritic steel were strongly increased and the impact energy was decreased after aging at 753 K. In order to explore the reasons for changes in the mechanical properties, the fracture surfaces were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, and microstructures after aging were observed by transmission electron microscopy. The impact fracture of 18%Cr ODS ferritic steel belongs to quasi-cleavage facture, which is consistent with its very low impact energy. The grain size and dispersed oxide particles of different ODS steels are very stable. M23C6 carbide and M2C carbide were found in 12%Cr ODS steel and 16%Cr ODS steels, respectively.

Boron metallurgy of advanced ferritic power plant steels and welded joints

This paper describes the alloy design philosophy for the improvement of long-term creep strength of tempered martensitic 9Cr steel,including welded joints.The creep life t_r is inversely proportional to the minimum creep rateε_(min) times the increase in creep rate by strain dlnε/dεin the acceleration region as t_r = 1.5/[(ε_(min)) (dlnε/dε)].The parametersε_(min) and dlnε/dεare closely correlated with the time to minimum creep rate t_m and the strain to minimum creep rateε_m,which characterize the creep deformation behavior in the transient region.The boundary and sub-boundary hardening is shown to be the most important strengthening mechanism in creep of 9Cr steel and is enhanced by fine dispersions of precipitates along boundaries.The addition of boron reduces the coarsening rate of M_(23)C_6 carbides along boundaries near prior austenite grain boundaries during creep.The enhancement of boundary and sub-boundary hardening increases the t_m and decreases theε_(min),which improves the creep life.The boundary and sub-boundary hardening is significantly reduced in fine-grained region of heataffected -zone(HAZ) of conventional steel P92 welded joints,promoting TypeⅣfracture.In NIMS 9Cr boron steel welded joints,the distribution of carbonitrides along boundaries are substantially the same between the HAZ and base metal,suppressing the TypeⅣfracture.

Development of heat-resistant ferritic stainless steels for exhaust lines at Nisshin Steel

Exhaust emission regulations of the automotive are enforced in each country to prevent air pollution and global warming,and the restriction standard tends to become severer.Various techniques such as the combustion improvement of gasoline,upgrades of the catalyst,and the thermal capacity decreases in the exhaust lines are adopted to suit the regulations,and these lead to an increase of the maximum temperature of the exhaust gas. Recently,ferritic stainless steels are mainly used to parts of exhaust lines,as their thermal expansion coefficient is small,and the cyclic oxidation resistance and the thermal fatigue property are better than austenitic stainless steels. This paper presents newly developed heat-resistant stainless steels from Nisshin Steel for exhaust lines usage,and describes the currents of the steel development that could be envisaged in the future.With regard to improving the high-temperature strength of ferritic stainless steels,the addition of Nb,Mo and Cu is effective in solution hardening and precipitation hardening at 700℃,while the addition of Nb,Mo and W is effective in mainly solution hardening at 900℃.The addition of Cr,Si and Mn suppress the breakaway oxidation in air at 950℃up to 200 h of ferritic stainless steels containing 14%Cr.Especially,the addition of 0.8%or higher Mn would effectively improve the adherence of oxide scale.It is confirmed that ferritic stainless steels,NSSHR-1(14Cr-lMn-0.9Si-Nb) and NSSHR-2(10Cr-0.9Si-Nb-Ti ),is having a superior heat resistance,formability and cost performance compared to conventional Type441 and Type439 respectively.

Key role of niobium stabilization in ultra-pure ferritic stainless steels for construction and home-appliance applications

The beneficial effects of niobium addition on properties such as high-temperature strength, toughness, and formability of ferritic stainless steels have been addressed. Based on the Thermo-Calc analysis, precipitation of niobium carbonitride and solubility of niobium have been predicted and characterized via scanning electron microscope （SEM） and transmission electron microscope （TEM） observations. It is shown that addition of niobium has a beneficial effect on improving the high-temperature strength, toughness, formability, and corrosion resistance of ferritic stainless steel. Soluted niobium is very effective in improving the high-temperature strength, which is beneficial to reducing the sticking propensity during hot rolling. Although niobium increases the recrystallization temperature, niobium-added ferritic stainless steels show a high mean r value, or a high plastic strain ratio, as long as the annealing temperature is high enough. Furthermore, because niobium helps to inhibit the formation of chromium carbides, ferritic stainless steel can keep an effective chromium content in the matrix, leading to improved corrosion resistance. Applications of these ferritic stainless steels for construction and home appliances have also been presented.

Effects of Orthogonal Heat Treatment on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of GN9 Ferritic/Martensitic Steel

Microstructure and mechanical properties of GN9 Ferritic/Martensitic steel for sodium-cooled fast reactors have been investigated through orthogonal design and analysis.Scanning electron microscopy(SEM),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),differential scanning calorimeter(DSC),tensile and impact tests were used to evaluate the heat treatment parameters on yield strength,elongation and ductile-to-brittle transition temperature(DBTT).The results indicate that the microstructures of GN9 steel after orthogonal heat treatments consist of tempered martensite,M23C6,MX carbides and MX carbonitrides.The average prior austenite grains increase and the lath width decreases with the austenitizing temperature increasing from 1000°C to 1080°C.Tempering temperature is the most important factor that influences the dislocation evolution,yield strength and elongation compared with austenitizing tempera-ture and cooling methods.Austenitizing temperature,tempering temperature and cooling methods show interactive effects on DBTT.Carbide morphology and distribution,which is influenced by austenitizing and tempering tempera-tures,is the critical microstructural factor that influences the Charpy impact energy and DBTT.Based on the orthogo-nal design and microstructural analysis,the optimal heat treatment of GN9 steel is austenitizing at 1000°C for 0.5 h followed by air cooling and tempering at 760°C for 1.5 h.

Quickly obtaining densely dispersed coherent particles in steel matrix and its related mechanical property

Densely distributed coherent nanoparticles(DCN)in steel matrix can enhance the work-hardening ability and ductility of steel simultaneously.All the routes to this end can be generally classified into the liquid-solid route and the solid-solid route.However,the formation of DCN structures in steel requires long processes and complex steps.So far,obtaining steel with coherent particle enhancement in a short time remains a bottleneck,and some necessary steps remain unavoidable.Here,we show a high-efficiency liquid-phase refining process reinforced by a dynamic magnetic field.Ti-Y-Mn-O particles had an average size of around(3.53±1.21)nm and can be obtained in just around 180 s.These small nanoparticles were coherent with the matrix,implying no accumulated dislocations between the particles and the steel matrix.Our findings have a potential application for improving material machining capacity,creep resistance,and radiation resistance.

Bi-modal microstructure in a powder metallurgical ferritic steel

Ferritic steel with a nominal composition of Fe-14Cr-3W-0.42Ti-0.32Y was prepared by mixing gas-atomized prealloyed powder and mechanically alloyed powder. The microstructure is much different fxom other ferritic steels with the same composition and prepared via only mechanically alloyed powder. A bi-modal structure, which consists of pure ferritic grains and martensitic grains, was obtained after hot forging and air cooling. A phase transformation of αbcc→γfcc→α＇bcc was also discovered in microstructural observation. The bi-modal microstructure shows a good combination of high strength and high ductility.

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.

Mechanical properties and characteristics of nanometer-sized precipitates in hot-rolled low-carbon ferritic steel

The microstructures and properties of hot-rolled low-carbon ferritic steel have been investigated by optical microscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and tensile tests after isothermal transformation from 600°C to 700°C for 60 min. It is found that the strength of the steel decreases with the increment of isothermal temperature, whereas the hole expansion ratio and the fraction of high-angle grain boundaries increase. A large amount of nanometer-sized carbides were homogeneously distributed throughout the material, and fine（Ti, Mo）C precipitates have a significant precipitation strengthening effect on the ferrite phase because of their high density. The nanometer-sized carbides have a lattice parameter of 0.411-0.431 nm. After isothermal transformation at 650°C for 60 min, the ferrite phase can be strengthened above 300 MPa by precipitation strengthening according to the Ashby-Orowan mechanism.

Precipitation behavior and martensite lath coarsening during tempering of T/P92 ferritic heat-resistant steel

Tempering is an important process for T/P92 ferritic heat-resistant steel from the viewpoint of microstructure control, as it facili- tates the formation of final tempered martensite under serving conditions. In this study, we have gained deeper insights on the mechanism underlying the microstructural evolution during tempering treatment, including the precipitation of carbides and the coarsening of martensite laths, as systematically analyzed by optical microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron mi- croscopy. The chemical composition of the precipitates was analyzed using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Results indicate the for- mation of M3C （cementite） precipitates under normalized conditions. However, they tend to dissolve within a short time of tempering, owing to their low thermal stability. This phenomenon was substantiated by X-ray diffraction analysis. Besides, we could observe the precipitation of fine carbonitrides （MX） along the dislocations. The mechanism of carbon diffusion controlled growth of M23C6 can be expressed by the Zener＇s equation. The movement of Y-junctions was determined to be the fundamental mechanism underlying the martensite lath coarsening process. Vickers hardness was estimated to determine their mechanical properties. Based on the comprehensive analysis of both the micro- structural evolution and hardness variation, the process of tempering can be separated into three steps.

Effect of welding parameters on the heat-affected zone of AISI409 ferritic stainless steel

One of the main problems during the welding of ferritic stainless steels is severe grain growth within the heat-affected zone （HAZ） In the present study, the microstmctural characteristics of tungsten inert gas （TIG） welded AISI409 ferritic stainless steel were investigated by electron backscattered diffraction （EBSD）, and the effects of welding parameters on the grain size, local misorientation, and low-angle grain boundaries were studied. A 3-D finite element model （FEM） was developed to predict the effects of welding parameters on the holding time of the HAZ above the critical temperature of grain growth. It is found that the base metal is not fully recrystallized. During the welding, complete recrystallization is followed by severe grain growth. A decrease in the number of low-angle grain boundaries is observed within the HAZ. FEM results show that the final state of residual sWains is caused by competition between welding plastic strains and their release by recrystallization. Still, the decisive factor for grain growth is heat input.