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.

Properties of ultra-low carbon,cold-rolled sheet steels containing titanium or boron for use in enameling

Ultra-low carbon（ULC）,cold-rolled sheet steels for porcelain enameling containing alloys of titanium and boron are studied. The microstructure,mechanical properties,inclusions,and precipitates of the sheet steels are analyzed. The hydrogen permeation time of the sheet steels as-annealed and after skin-passed or cold-rolled at different reductions are measured. It is show n that the sheet steels possess different features of enameling properties in hydrogen permeability,fishscale resistance,and pinhole resistance.

Austenite Recrystallization and Controlled Rolling of Low Carbon Steels

The dynamic recrystallization and static recrystallization in a low carbon steel were investigated through single-pass and double-pass experiments. The results indicate that as the deformation temperature increases and the strain rate decreases, the shape of the stress-strain curve is changed from dynamic recovery shape to dynamic recrystallization shape. The austenite could not recrystallize within a few seconds after deformation at temperature below 900 ℃. According to the change in microstructure during deformation, the controlled rolling of low carbon steel can be divided into four stages： dynamic recrystallization, dynamic recovery, strain-induced ferrite transformation, and rolling in two-phase region. According to the microstructure after deformation, the controlled rolling of low carbon steel can be divided into five regions： non-recrystallized austenite, partly-recrystallized austenite, fully-recrystallized austenite, austenite to ferrite transformation, and dual phase.

Effect of temper rolling on the bake-hardening behavior of low carbon steel

In a typical process, low carbon steel was annealed at two different temperatures （660℃ and 750℃）, and then was temper rolled to improve the mechanical properties. Pre-straining and baking treatments were subsequently carried out to measure the bake-hardening （BH） values. The influences of annealing temperature and temper rolling on the BH behavior of the steel were investigated. The results indicated that the microstructure evolution during temper rolling was related to carbon atoms and dislocations. After an apparent increase, the BH value of the steel significantly decreased when the temper rolling reduction was increased from 0%to 5%. This was attributed to the increase in solute carbon concentration and dislocation density. The maximum BH values of the steel annealed at 660℃ and 750℃ were 80 MPa and 89 MPa at the reductions of 3%and 4%, respectively. Moreover, increasing the annealing temperature from 660 to 750℃ resulted in an ob-vious increase in the BH value due to carbide dissolution.

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.

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.

Influence of high deformation on the microstructure of low-carbon steel

Low-carbon steel sheets DC04 used in the automotive industry were subjected to cold rolling for thickness reduction from 20% to 89%. The desired thickness was achieved by successive reductions using a rolling mill. The influence of thickness reduction on the microstructure was studied by scanning electron microscopy. Microstructure evolution was characterized by the distortion of grains and the occurrence of the oriented grain structure for high cold work. A mechanism of grain restructuring for high cold work was described. The occurrence of voids was discussed in relation with cold work. The evolution of voids at the grain boundaries and inside the grains was also considered. To characterize the grain size, the Feret diameter was measured and the grain size distribution versus cold work was discussed. The chemical homogeneity of the sample was also analyzed.

Hot deformation behavior of a Cr-containing low carbon steel in the ferrite range

A low carbon steel with Cr addition of 0.46wt% combined with trace elements of Mn and Ti was studied. The apparent activation energy of deformation and the hot deformation equation of the steel in the ferritic range were determined by means of single hot compression tests. The hot-rolled strip of 3 mm in thickness rolled in the ferritic range was obtained using a laboratory hot rolling mill. The mechanical properties show that the values of yield strength and ultimate tensile strength are 230 and 330 MPa, respectively, and the elongation is 33%. The average r-value is 1.1. Large polygonal ferrite recrystallization grains with about 40 grn in size and the strong { 111 } recrystallization texture can be obtained in the hot-rolled strip.

Effects of Mn on Microstructures and Properties of Hot Rolled Low Carbon Bainitic Steels

Two kinds of Mn-Si-Mo low carbon steels were designed to study the effects of Mn on the microstructures and properties of hot rolled low carbon bainitic steels.To reduce the production cost,a very low Mo content of 0.13%was added in both steels.After hot rolling,the mechanical properties of samples were tested.Microstructure was observed and analyzed by optical microscope and transmission electron microscope.The results show that the strength of tested steels increases with the increase in Mn content,while the elongation decreases.When Mn content increases,the bainite microstructure increases.The results can provide a theoretical basis for composition design and industrial production of low cost low carbon bainitic steels.

Artificial neural network prediction of mechanical properties of hot rolled low carbon steel strip

Conventionally, direct tensile tests are employed to measure mechanical properties of industrially pro- duced products. In mass production, the cost of sampling and labor is high, which leads to an increase of total pro- duction cost and a decrease of production efficiency. The main purpose of this paper is to develop an intelligent pro- gram based on artificial neural network （ANN） to predict the mechanical properties of a commercial grade hot rolled low carbon steel strip, SPHC. A neural network model was developed by using 7 x 5 x 1 back-propagation （BP） neural network structure to determine the multiple relationships among chemical composition, product pro- cess and mechanical properties. Industrial on-line application of the model indicated that prediction results were in good agreement with measured values. It showed that 99.2 % of the products＇ tensile strength was accurately pre- dicted within an error margin of ~ 10 %, compared to measured values. Based on the model, the effects of chemical composition and hot rolling process on mechanical properties were derived and the relative importance of each in- put parameter was evaluated by sensitivity analysis. All the results demonstrate that the developed ANN models are capable of accurate predictions under real-time industrial conditions. The developed model can be used to sub- stitute mechanical property measurement and therefore reduce cost of production. It can also be used to control and optimize mechanical properties of the investigated steel.

Effect of plastic strain and forming temperature on magnetic properties of low-carbon steel

Claw poles are a key component of automobile generators.The output power performance of the generator is very dependent on the magnetic properties of its claw poles.Plastic deformation is known to significantly change the magnetic behavior of ferromagnetic materials in claw poles.In this paper,changes in the magnetic properties of low-carbon steel,used for claw pole components due to their plastic deformation,were investigated for different strains and temperatures.Ring-shaped material samples were prepared by machining and their magnetic properties were measured.The surface roughness was first evaluated and a machining process with an arithmetic average of roughness Ra 1.6μm was selected as enabling the lowest measurement error.Hysteresis loops at different applied magnetic fields of the material were obtained for different plastic strains and forming temperatures.The magnetic parameters of magnetic flux density,coercivity,and remanence were obtained and compared with magnetic flux density as the primary focus.Results showed that machining,cold forming,and hot forming all led to lower magnetic flux density,larger coercivity,and smaller remanence.Magnetic flux density showed a sharp decrease at the start of plastic deformation,but as the strain increased,the decreasing trend gradually reached a constant value.The decrease was much larger for cold forming than for hot forming.For example,at 500 A/m,the degradation of magnetic flux density with a reduction percentage of 5%at room temperature was about 50%,while that of hot forming at 1200°C was about 10%.Results of this research may provide a reference for the future process design of hot-forged claw poles.

Microstructure and texture evolution of cold-rolled deep-drawing steel sheet during annealing

In accordance with experimental results about the annealing microstructure and texture of cold-rolled deep- drawing sheet based on the compact strip production （CSP） process, a two-dimensional cellular automation simulation model, considering real space and time scale, was established to simulate recrystallization and grain growth during the actual batch annealing process. The simulation results show that pancaked grains form during recrystallization. （111} advantageous texture components become the main parts of the recrystallization texture. After grain growth, the pancaked grains coarsen gradually. The content of （111} advantageous texture components in the annealing texture increases from 55vo1% to 65vo1%; meanwhile, the contents of {112}〈110〉 and {100}〈110〉 texture components decrease by 4% and 8%, respectively, compared with the recrystallization texture. The simulation results of microstructure and texture evolution are also consistent with the experimental ones, proving the accuracy and usefulness of the model.

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 annealing parameters on mechanical properties of cold-rolled martensitic steel sheets

Cold-rolled martensitic steel sheets produced on continuous annealing lines with water quenching facility,have advantages of high strength and low alloying element contents.These are in good accordance with the trend of light-weighting and fuel saving for automotive steel.In this article,a cold-rolled martensitic steel is studied to investigate the effect of annealing parameters on its mechanical properties.It is found that the quenching temperature and the slow cooling speed as well as the overageing temperature have significant influence on the strength of the experimental steel.The temperature zone at which the austenite decomposition is slow or has not started may be chosen as the quenching temperature to ensure the steel’s strength stability.The slow cooling speed also influences the steel’s strength greatly.A high cooling rate will lead to significantly higher strength.Tempering would decrease the steel’s tensile strength but would increase its yield strength.

Development and application of Baosteel's cold-rolled martensitic steel sheets

Cold-rolled martensitic steel sheets are becoming widely applied in the automotive industry because of their ultra-high strength,which may result in satisfactory weight reduction. The grades of martensitic steel sheets are classified based on their tensile strength,which ranges from 980 to 1 700 MPa. The main applications include a series of structural parts of uniform cross-section or simple shape,such as bumper beams,door beams and door sills,etc. The study and development of cold-rolled martensitic steel sheets date back to 2007 in Baosteel,and some grades became commercially available in 2009. By 2015,Baosteel had commercially supplied thousands of tons of these steel sheets with tensile strength up to 1 400 MPa. Currently,1 500 MPa martensitic steel sheet is commercially available and 1 700 MPa martensitic steel sheet has been successfully produced. The process technology and application guides of Basoteel ＇s cold-rolled martensitic steels are summarized and analyzed in order to assist ongoing research and ensure correct applications of these ultra-high strength steel sheets.

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.

Researches on the problems in the production of low nickel austenitic stainless steel

Problems encountered in the production of low nickel austenitic stainless steel have been studied. These problems primarily include the changes to the microstructure of the slab during the heating process, the formation and removal of deformation - induced martensite during cold rolling, and the effects of the annealing process on the surface oxide structure. A reasonable manufacturing process has been proposed on the basis of the research results and high-quality cold-rolled strips of low nickel austenitic stainless steel have been produced.

Effects of Rolling and Cooling Conditions on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Low Carbon Cold Heading Steel

Effects of rolling and cooling conditions on microstructure and mechanical properties of low carbon cold heading steel were investigated on a laboratory hot rolling mill. The results have shown that the mechanical proper ties of low carbon steels exceed the standard requirements of ML30, ML35, ML40, and ML45 steel, respectively due to thermomechanical controlled processing （TMCP）. This is attributed to a significant amount of pearlite and the ferrite-grain refinement. Under the condition of relatively low temperature rolling, the mechanical properties exceed standard requirements of ML45 and ML30 steel after water cooling and air cooling, respectively. Fast cooling which leads to more pearlite and finer ferrite grains is more critical than finish rolling temperatures for low carbon cold heading steel. The specimen at high finish rolling temperature exhibits very good mechanical properties due to fast cooling. This result has great significance not only for energy saving and emission reduction, but also for low-carbon economy, because the goals of the replacement of medium-carbon by low-carbon are achieved with TMCP.