Exploration and Practice of Nitrogen Addition Process for LF Refining Ladle Bottom Blowing Nitrogen Steel Liquid

This article discusses and analyzes the law of nitrogen increase in liquid steel and the main factors affect-ing the nitrogen increasing of molten steel,through the way of adding nitrogen to molten steel by bottom blowing nitrogen gas in LF refining process.It is considered that the main factors affecting the nitrogen increasing instability of molten steel are the initial temperature of LF refining,nitrogen relative element,surface active elements[O]and[S]of steel liquid,and bottom blowing rate of ladle.The large-scale production practice shows that T[O]not more than 50×10-6 and[S]is not more than 0.020 in LF refining at the initial temperature of not less than 1570.The liquid steel nitrogen enrichment test is carried out by ladle bottom blowing nitrogen gas after 20 min of refining,the flow rate is set as(6.0~7.0)NL/min per ton,and it is turned to 2 NL/min at 6 min before the end of refining,the nitrogen increasing rate of liquid steel is basically stable at(5~6)×10-6 per minute.

RESEARCH ON HOT FORMING PROCESS OF A RETAINING RING OF HIGH-NITROGEN STEEL

Mn18Cr18N, the high-nitrogen steel, is the 2nd generation material for manufacturing the retaining ring of firepower generators. In this paper, the hot deformation behavior of the material was investigated by thermo-mechanical modeling tests. And the flow stress curves of the steel were obtained for various combinations of the temperature and strain rate. Based on the results of the tests, the complex forming process of a retaining ring including punching, expanding and extrusion with an enclosure was put forward and simulated by means of numerical simulation method. The results indicate that the process is a novel and force-saved practical technology for manufacturing heavy retaining rings.

Study on dynamic mechanical properties of high nitrogen steels

Reliable dynamic mechanical properties of high nitrogen steels are necessary for the design and assessment of armor structures subject to impact and blast. A series of experiments, based on Hopkinson bar techniques, were conducted and described in this study. The dynamic compression, tensile and shear properties of high nitrogen steel had been tested, and the stress-strain curves under high strain rates were obtained. The results have been showed as follows: High nitrogen steel has a remarkable strain rate strengthening effect. Compared to the static curves, the constitutive curves of dynamic tension and compression move upper. The dynamic compressive yield strength of high nitrogen steel increases first and then decreases with the increase of strain rate, and the yield strength varies in the range of 1465-1549 MPa within the range of 1147-2042 s^(-1) strain rate; The tensile strength of high nitrogen steel increases with the increase of strain rate. When the strain rate is greater than 1341 s^(-1), the tensile strength will not increase and the curve tends to be gentle. The pure shear yield strength of the high nitrogen steel is above 800 MPa.

Principle and Practice of High Nitrogen Steel Melting by Blowing Ammonia Gas

During the high nitrogen steel （HNS） melting process, the absorption reaction of nitrogen in the liquid steel by blowing NH3 and N2 was investigated respectively. In order to obtain higher content of nitrogen in steel, the liquid steel should be deoxidized and desulfurized because the oxygen and sulfur as surface activity element are not favorable to the absorption of nitrogen in melting process. Based on the metallurgical thermodynamics, the coupling reaction of NH3 with oxygen can improve the generation of activity nitrogen atom in liquid steel. Nitrogen atom is easier to be absorbed than nitrogen molecule. At the same time, blowing ammonia gas can remove the oxygen from liquid steel and decrease the inclusion in the steel. Experiments of HNS melting were carried out in a 10 kg induction furnace, and the results indicated that for liquid steel containing the same content of alloys and blowing the same mole of nitrogen, the absorption effect of nitrogen by blowing NH3 is obviously higher than that of blowing N2. The technical process of melting HNS by blowing NH3 under normal pressure is feasible in industrial production.

Preparation of high nitrogen and nickel-free austenitic stainless steel by powder injection molding

High nitrogen and nickel-free austenitic stainless steel has received much recognition worldwide because it can solve the problem of ＂nickel-allergy＂ and has outstanding mechanical and physical properties. In this article, 0Cr17Mn11Mo3N was prepared by powder injection molding （PIM） technique accompanied with solid-nitriding. The results show that the critical solid loading can achieve up to 64vol% by use of gas-atomized powders with the average size of 17.4 μm. The optimized sintefing conditions are determined to be 1300℃,2 h in flowing nitrogen atmosphere, at which the relative density reaches to 99% and the N content is as high as 0.78wt%. After solution annealing at 1150℃for 90 rain and water quench, the 0.2% yield strength, ultimate tensile strength （UTS）, elongation, reduction in area, and hardness can reach as high as 580 MPa, 885 MPa, 26.0%, 29.1%, and Hv 222, respectively.

A first-principles study on electronic structures and elastic properties of metal dopedα-Fe(N)high nitrogen steel

The binding energies,electronic structures and elastic properties of Ti,V,Cr,Mn,Co,Ni and Mg dopedα-Fe（N）systems have been investigated using a first-principles method.The calculated results show that the dopings of Ti,V,Cr and Co improve the stability ofα-Fe（N）,and the stability ofα-Fe（N）is slightly weakened by Mn and Ni,and the doping of Mg is disadvantageous.For Ti,V,Cr and Mn dopedα-Fe（N）systems in which the doping metals are on the left side of Fe in the element periodic table andα-Fe（N）systems doped by Co and Ni on the right side of Fe,their corresponding cohesive forces decrease with decreasing atomic radius of the doping species.The obvious interaction exists among M3 d,Fe4s3p3d and N2 p.In these doping systems,metal atoms lose electrons,while N gains electrons.Dopings of Ti,V,Cr and Mn inα-Fe（N）strengthen the interaction between N and the surrounding metals,and it is not apparent for the dopings of Co,Ni and Mg.Elastic calculations of Fe15 MN systems show that,except for the Fe15 MgN system,shear modulus G and Young modulus E of Fe15 MN systems are improved,and the bulk modulus Bslightly decreases,namely,total elastic properties are enhanced.The magnitude change rule of E reflecting the cohesive force between atoms is consistent with that for the binding energies.

Dissimilar welding of high nitrogen stainless steel and low alloy high strength steel under different shielding gas composition:Process,microstructure and mechanical properties

Ar-N_(2)-O_(2)ternary shielding gas is employed in dissimilar welding between high nitrogen steel and low alloy steel.The effect of O_(2)and N_(2)is investigated based on the systematical analysis of the metal transfer,nitrogen escape phenomenon,weld appearance,nondestructive detection,nitrogen content distribution,microstructure and mechanical properties.There are two nitrogen sources of the nitrogen in the weld:high nitrogen base material and shielding gas.The effect of shielding gas is mainly reflected in these two aspects.The change of the droplet transfer mode affects the fusion ratio,N2in the shielding gas can increase nitrogen content and promote the nitrogen uniform distribution.The addition of 2%O_(2)to Ar matrix can change the metal transfer from globular transfer to spray transfer,high nitrogen base material is thereby dissolved more to the molten pool,making nitrogen content increase,ferrite decrease and the mechanical properties improve.When applying N2-containing shielding gas,arc stability becomes poor and short-circuiting transfer frequency increases due to the nitrogen escape from droplets and the molten pool.Performance of the joints is improved with N_(2)increasing,but internal gas pores are easier to appear because of the poor capacity of low alloy steel to dissolve nitrogen,The generation of pores will greatly reduce the impact resistance.4-8%N2content in shielding gas is recommended in this study considering the integrated properties of the dissimilar welded joint.

Pitting corrosion and crevice corrosion behaviors of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels

Pitting corrosion and crevice corrosion behaviors of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels （HNSS） were investigated by electrochemical and immersion testing methods in chloride solution, respectively. The chemical constitution and composition in the depth of passive films formed on HNSS were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectrum （XPS）. HNSS has excellent pitting and crevice corrosion resistance compared to 316L stainless steel. With increasing the nitrogen content in steels, pitting potentials and critical pitting temperature （CPT） increase, and the maximum, average pit depths and average weight loss decrease. The CPT of HNSS is correlated with the alloying element content through the measure of alloying for resistance to corrosion （MARC）. The MARC can be expressed as an equation of CPT=2.55MARC-29. XPS results show that HNSS exhibiting excellent corrosion resistance is attributed to the enrichment of nitrogen on the surface of passive films, which forms ammonium ions increasing the local pH value and facilitating repassivation, and the synergistic effects of molybdenum and nitrogen.

Fabrication of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels with excellent mechanical and pitting corrosion properties

A series of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels were successfully developed with a pressurized electroslag remelting furnace. Nitride additives and deoxidizer were packed into the stainless steel pipes, and then the stainless steel pipes were welded on the surface of an electrode with low nitrogen content to prepare a compound electrode. Using Si3N4 as a nitrogen alloying source, the silicon contents in the ingots were prone to be out of the specification range, the electric current fluctuated greatly and the surface qualities of the ingots were poor. The surface qualities of the ingots were improved with FeCrN as a nitrogen alloying source. The sound and compact macrostructure ingot with the maximum nitrogen content of 1.21wt% can be obtained. The 18Cr18Mn2Mo0.9N high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel exhibits high strength and good ductility at room temperature. The steel shows typical ductile-brittle transition behavior and excellent pitting corrosion resistance properties.

High Nitrogen Austenitic Stainless Steels Manufactured by Nitrogen Gas Alloying and Adding Nitrided Ferroalloys

A simple and feasible method for the production of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels involves nitrogen gas alloying and adding nitrided ferroalloys under normal atmospheric conditions. Alloying by nitrogen gas bubbling in Fe-Cr-Mn-Mo series alloys was carried out in MoSi2 resistance furnace and air induction furnace under normal atmospheric conditions. The results showed that nitrogen alloying could be accelerated by increasing nitrogen gas flow rate, prolonging residence time of bubbles, increasing gas/molten steel interfaces, and decreasing the sulphur and oxygen contents in molten steel. Nitrogen content of 0.69% in 18Crl8Mn was obtained using air induction furnace by bubbling of nitrogen gas from porous plug. In addition, the nickel-free, high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels with sound and compact macrostructure had been produced in the laboratory using vacuum induction furnace and electroslag remelting furnace under nitrogen atmosphere by the addition of nitrided alloy with the maximum nitrogen content of 0.81%. Pores were observed in the ingots obtained by melting and casting in vacuum induction furnace with the addition of nitrided ferroalloys and under nitrogen atmosphere. After electroslag remelting of the cast ingots, they were all sound and were free of pores. The yield of nitrogen increased with the decrease of melting rate in the ESR process. Due to electroslag remelting under nitrogen atmosphere and the consequential addition of aluminum as deoxidizer to the slag, the loss of manganese decreased obviously. There existed mainly irregular Al2O3 inclusions and MnS inclusions in ESR ingots, and the size of most of the inclusions was less than 5 um. After homogenization of the hot rolled plate at 1 150℃ × 1 h followed by water quenching, the microstructure consisted of homogeneous austenite.

Intergranular corrosion behavior of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel

The intergranular corrosion （IGC） behavior of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel （HNSS） sensitization treated at 650-950℃ was investigated by the double loop electrochemical potentiodynamic reactivation （DL-EPR） method. The effects of the electrolytes, scan rate, sensitizing temperature on the susceptibility to IGC of HNSS were examined. The results show that the addi-tion of NaCl is an effective way to improve the formation of the cracking of a passive film in chromium-depleted zones during the reactivation scan. Decreasing the scan rate exhibits an obvious effect on the breakdown of the passive film. A solution with 2 mol/L H2SO4＋1 mol/L NaCl＋0.01 mol/L KSCN is suitable to check the susceptibility to IGC of HNSS at a sensitizing temperature of 650-950℃ at a suitable scan rate of 1.667 mV/s. Chromium depletion of HNSS is attributed to the precipitation of Cr2N which results in the susceptibility to IGC. The synergistic effect of Mo and N is suggested to play an important role in stabilizing the passive film to prevent the attack of IGC.

Effects of pre-precipitation of Cr_2N on microstructures and properties of high nitrogen stainless steel

Aging precipitation and solid solution heat treatment were carried out on three steels which have chromium content of 18%, manganese content of 12%, 15%, 18%, and nitrogen content of 0.43%, 0.53%, 0.67%, respectively. The mechanisms of precipitation and solid solution of high nitrogen anstenitic stainless steel were studied using the scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, electron probe micro analysis and mechanical testing. The results show that, Cr2N is the primary precipitate in the tested stainless steels instead of Cr23C6. Cr2N nucleates at austenitic grain boundaries and grows towards inner grains with a lameUar morphology. By means of pre-precipitation of Cr2N at 800 ~C, the microstructure of the steels at solid solution state can be refined, thus improving the strength and plasticity. After the proposed treatment, the tensile strength, the proof strength and the elongation of the tested steel reach 881 MPa, 542 MPa and 54%, respectively.

Thermodynamic study on welding wire design of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel

Based on thermodynamic calculations, the effect of pressure and alloying elements on the nitrogen content, solidification mode, and welding characteristics were investigated in this study. By increasing the partial pressure of N_2, the nitrogen content in the weld pool increased dramatically, and the γ zone was enlarged. The nitrogen content increased as alloying elements such as Cr and Mn were added to the molten steel. The δ zone with high temperature treatment was compressed by adding Ni. These alloying elements play important roles in the formation of the single γ region at the temperature of 298 K. With proper Mn addition, the phase area of γ was extended and became more stable, and the "ferrite trap" was also avoided. Two kinds of welding wires with different nitrogen contents were developed and corresponding MIG welding experiments were performed. As the nitrogen content in wire was higher than that in the base metal, severe blowhole defects and mixture microstructure of δ and γ developed.

Heat Treatment and Properties of Nitrogen Alloyed, Martensitic, Corrosion-resistant Steels

This paper gives a short introduction to the typical process route and material properties of these steels in comparison to standard martensitic corrosion-resistant steels. The typical response of these steels to various heat treatment parameters is shown and explained using the three grades M333, N360 and M340 (all made by Bohler Edelstahl GmbH) as examples, and the physical metallurgy of these steels and its consequences for practical heat treatment is explained. The correlation between tempering parameters and their effect on the toughness and corrosion properties is explained in particular detail, showing that these new steels not only offer far better property combinations under the usual heat treatment parameters than standard martensitic corrosion-resistant steels, but that they also open the door to extending heat treatment combinations and properties.

Determination of Nitrogen in Steel Using Optical Emission Spectrometry

The rapid quantitative analysis of nitrogen in steel with optical emission spectrometry is described.The problems about the selection of spectral line for the determination of nitrogen,the analytical conditions of nitrogen,the preparation of analytical sample,the effect of co-existing element and the calibration curve of nitrogen are discussed.The analytical range of nitrogen is 0.000 5%to 0.30%,the limit of detection is 0.000 374%,the analytical time is less than 2 min(including the preparation of sample and the exciting sample for two times).Nitrogen in steel is simultaneously determined with alloy elements and acid soluble/insoluble compounds of aluminium.

Effects of cold rolling deformation on microstructure,hardness,and creep behavior of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel

Effects of cold rolling deformation on the microstructure, hardness, and creep behavior of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel （HNASS） are investigated. Microstructure characterization shows that 70% cold rolling deformation results in significant refinement of the microstructure of this steel, with its average twin thickness reducing from 6.4 μm to 14 nm. Nanoindentation tests at different strain rates demonstrate that the hardness of the steel with nano-scale twins （nt-HNASS） is about 2 times as high as that of steel with micro-scale twins （mt-HNASS）. The hardness of nt-HNASS exhibits a pronounced strain rate dependence with a strain rate sensitivity （m value） of 0.0319, which is far higher than that of mt-HNASS （m = 0.0029）. nt-HNASS shows more significant load plateaus and a higher creep rate than mt-HNASS. Analysis reveals that higher hardness and larger m value of nt-HNASS arise from stronger strain hardening role, which is caused by the higher storage rate of dislocations and the interactions between dislocations and high density twins. The more significant load plateaus and higher creep rates of nt-HNASS are due to the rapid relaxation of the dislocation structures generated during loading.

Gas metal arc welding of high nitrogen stainless steel with AreN_(2)-O_(2)ternary shielding gas

High nitrogen stainless steel with nitrogen content of 0.75%was welded by gas metal arc welding with Ar-N_(2)-O_(2)ternary shielding gas.The effect of the ternary shielding gas on the retention and improvement of nitrogen content in the weld was identified.Surfacing test was conducted first to compare the ability of O_(2)and CO_(2)in prompting nitrogen dissolution.The nitrogen content of the surfacing metal with O_(2)is slightly higher than CO_(2).And then AreN_(2)-O_(2)shielding gas was applied to weld high nitrogen stainless steel.After using N_(2)-containing shielding gas,the nitrogen content of the weld was improved by 0.1 wt%.As N_(2)continued to increase,the increment of nitrogen content was not obvious,but the ferrite decreased from the top to the bottom.When the proportion of N_(2)reached 20%,a full austenitic weld was obtained and the tensile strength was improved by 8.7%.Combined with the results of surfacing test and welding test,it is concluded that the main effect of N_(2)is to inhibit the escape of nitrogen and suppress the nitrogen diffusion from bottom to the top in the molten pool.

Precipitates in an isothermally aged Fe-18Cr-12Mn-0.04C-0.48N high-nitrogen austenitic stainless steel

Vertical section of Fe-18Cr-12Mn-0.04C-N system phase diagram varying with nitrogen content at 1×105 Pa was calculated using Thermo-Calc software and thermodynamic database.The morphology and crystallography information of precipitates in Fe-18Cr-12Mn-0.04C-0.48N high-nitrogen austenitic stainless steel during isothermal aging at 800 ℃ after austenization was investigated using optical microscopy(OM),and transmission electron microscopy(TEM) with energy distribution spectrum(EDS).The experimental results show that three precipitates,(Cr,Fe,Mn)2(N,C),(Cr,Fe,Mn)23(C,N)6 and σ phase exist in this steel,which is consistent with the thermodynamic calculation,indicating that thermodynamic calculation can provide instructions for alloy composition design,heat treatment and prediction of precipitation sequence in Fe-18Cr-12Mn-0.04C-N system.

Effects of heat treatment on the microstructures and mechanical properties of a new type of nitrogen-containing die steel

Nitrogen can increase the strength of steels without weakening the toughness and improve the corrosion resistance at the same time. Compared with conventional nitrogen-free die steels, a new type of nitrogen-containing die steel was developed with many superior properties, such as high strength, high hardness, and good toughness. This paper focused on the effects of heat treatment on the microstruc- tures and mechanical properties of the new type of nitrogen-containing die steel, which were investigated by the optimized deformation process and heat treatment. Isothermal spheroidal annealing and high-temperature quenching as well as high-temperature tempering were ap- plied in the experiment by means of an orthogonal method after the steel was multiply forged. The mechanical properties of nitro- gen-containing die steel forgings are better than the standard of NADCA #207-2003.

Influence of chemical composition and cold deformation on aging precipitation behavior of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels

The influence of chemical composition and cold deformation on aging precipitation behavior of 18Cr-16Mn-2Mo-I.IN （HNS-A）, 18Cr-16Mn-I.3N （HNS-B）, 18Cr-18Mn-2Mo-0.96N （HNS-C） and 18Cr-18Mn-2Mo-0.77N （I-INS-D） high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels was investigated. The results show that the ＂nose＂ temperatures and incubation periods of the initial time-temperature-precipitation （TTP） curves of aged HNSs are found to be 850 ℃, 60 s; 850 ℃, 45 s; 850 ℃, 60 s and 900 ℃, 90 s, respectively. Based on the analysis of SAD patterns, the coarse cellular Cr2N precipitate which presents a lamellar structure has a hexagonal structure of a=0.478 nm and c=0.444 nm. The Z phase corresponding to a composition of Fe36Cr^2Mo10, is determined to be a body-centered cubic structure ofa=0.892 nm. The precipitating sensitivity presents no more difference with the nitrogen content increasing from 0.77% to 0.96%, but exhibits so obviously that the cellular precipitates nearly overspread the whole field. The addition of Mo element can restrain the TTP curves moving left and down, which means decreasing the sensitivity of aging precipitation. With increasing the cold deformation, the sensitivity of precipitation increases obviously.