Towards tailoring basal texture of rolled Mg alloy sheet by recrystallization for high room-temperature formability: A review

Room-temperature(RT) formability is a key factor to broaden the applications of rolled Mg alloy sheets in the industry. However, rolled Mg alloy sheets generally form strong basal texture, where the(0001) poles align parallel to the normal direction(ND). This hinders the activation of(0001) [1120] basal slip, limiting the RT formability. Therefore, texture weakening, i.e., the inclination of the(0001) poles from the ND, plays an important role to improve the RT formability. Recrystallization is crucial to control the textural development in Mg,and currently, the texture weakening is commonly achieved using static recrystallization(SRX). However, the type of slipping and twinning,which are activated during rolling, affect the textural features after SRX. It is also demonstrated that shear bands and preferential grain growth are important factors to tailor the texture during SRX. Indeed, dynamic recrystallization(DRX) easily occurs during rolling in Mg, which also affects the final rolling texture, while the effect of DRX on the textural formation is not extensively studied for the development of RT-formable Mg alloy sheets. Therefore, the effect of these factors on the textural development in rolled Mg is reviewed in this manuscript.Additionally, the ideal microstructure and texture for RT-formable Mg alloy sheets are still controversial. The RT-formability includes stretch forming(biaxial tension), bending(plane strain tension), and deep-drawing. In particular, the stretch forming is commonly used to evaluate the RT-formability of rolled Mg. Although the stretch formability has been improved by recent studies, the further improvement is necessary owing to the relatively low formability of rolled Mg compared with that of rolled Fe and Al. Based on the relationship between the microstructure/texture and stretch formability provided in the literature, the design guidance for high stretch formability is proposed in this review.

Influence of bimodal non-basal texture on microstructure characteristics,texture evolution and deformation mechanisms of AZ31 magnesium alloy sheet rolled at liquid-nitrogen temperature

Cryogenic rolling experiments have been conducted on the AZ31 magnesium(Mg)alloy sheet with bimodal non-basal texture,which is fabricated via the newly developed equal channel angular rolling and continuous bending process with subsequent annealing(ECAR-CB-A)process.Results demonstrate that this sheet shows no edge cracks until the accumulated thickness reduction reaches about 18.5%,which is about 105.6%larger than that of the sheet with traditional basal texture.Characterization experiments including optical microstructure(OM),X-ray diffractometer(XRD),and electron backscatter diffraction(EBSD)measurements are then performed to explore the microstructure characteristics,texture evolution and deformation mechanisms during cryogenic rolling.Experimental observations confirm the occurrence of abundant{10–12}extension twins(ETs),twin-twin interactions among{10–12}ET variants and{10–12}-{10–12}double twins(DTs).The twinning behaviors as for{10–12}ETs are responsible for the concentration of c-axes of grains towards normal direction(ND)and the formation of transverse direction(TD)-component texture at the beginning of cryogenic rolling.The twinning behaviors with respect to{10–12}-{10–12}DTs are responsible for the disappearance of TD-component texture at the later stage of cryogenic rolling.The involved deformation mechanisms can be summarized as follows:Firstly{10–12}ETs dominate the plastic deformation.Subsequently,dislocation slip,especially basal<a>slip,starts to sustain more plastic strain,while{10–12}ETs occur more frequently and enlarge continuously,resulting in the formation of twin-twin interaction among{10–12}ET variants.With the increasing rolling passes,{10–12}-{10–12}DTs incorporate in the plastic deformation and dislocation slip serves as the major one to sustain plastic strain.The activities of basal<a>slip,{10–12}ETs and{10–12}-{10–12}DTs benefit in accommodating the plastic strain in sheet thickness,which contributes to the improved rolling formability in AZ31 Mg alloy sheet with bimodal non-basal texture during cryogenic rolling.

Edge crack damage analysis of AZ31 magnesium alloy hot-rolled plate improved by vertical roll pre-rolling

In the present study,through vertical roll pre-rolling of AZ31 magnesium alloy hot-rolled plate at room temperature,the effect of different vertical roll pre-rolling reduction on edge crack of the plate during flat rolling was systematically studied.The evolution of microstructure and texture in the edge and middle of the plate after vertical roll pre-rolling,heating and rolling was analyzed by using EBSD technology.The results show that during the vertical roll pre-rolling,{10–12}primary twins and{10–12}-{10–12}secondary twins dominated the edge deformation,while{10–12}primary twins dominated the middle deformation.With the increase of vertical roll pre-rolling reduction,the twin volume fraction of the edge and the middle increased,and the difference between them decreased gradually.After heating,the twin orientation caused by vertical roll pre-rolling was still maintained,and there was a significant difference in grain size between the edge and the middle.When the reduction rate of flat rolling was 30%,cracks have already appeared in the initial plate,while the vertical roll pre-rolled samples showed extremely high rolling performance.When the reduction rate of flat rolling was 50%,the 8PR sample still had no crack initiation.In addition,after flat rolling of 50%,the initial plate showed a strong basal texture,while the maximum pole density of the 8PR plate was small,and the texture distribution was very scattered,showing the characteristics of weak orientation.

Study of residual stresses in tailor rolled blanked Al5J32-T4 sheets

Several automotive parts such as door panels have been manufactured by using load-adapted blanks for crash optimization and weight minimization. Recently, Tailor Rolled Blanks (TRB) has been introduced to remove the disadvantages of a welding process which was used in joining panel components. TRB offers better structural design capabilities due to the seamless transitions on the panels with different thicknesses. In spite of the advantages of the process, TRB leaves internal stresses in the panel. This residual stresses lower the formability of Tailor Rolled Blanked (TRBed) parts and cause cracks near severe curvature during subsequent forming processes. In this research, the residual stresses of TRBed Al5J32-T4 sheets were studied by X-ray stress analysis, and also microstructure was observed along the rolling direction. In addition, heat treatment was done after TRB process in order to compare the residual stresses to that of the TRBed sheets before the heat treatment.

Self-Learning and Its Application to Laminar Cooling Model of Hot Rolled Strip

The mathematical model for online controlling hot rolled steel cooling on run-out table （ROT for abbreviation） was analyzed, and water cooling is found to be the main cooling mode for hot rolled steel. The calculation of the drop in strip temperature by both water cooling and air cooling is summed up to obtain the change of heat transfer coefficient. It is found that the learning coefficient of heat transfer coefficient is the kernel coefficient of coiler temperature control （CTC） model tuning. To decrease the deviation between the calculated steel temperature and the measured one at coiler entrance, a laminar cooling control self-learning strategy is used. Using the data acquired in the field, the results of the self-learning model used in the field were analyzed. The analyzed results show that the self-learning function is effective.

Influence of Hot Deformation and Subsequent Austempering on the Mechanical Properties of Hot Rolled Multiphase Steel

Influence of hot deformation and subsequent austempering on the mechanical properties of hot rolled multiphase steel was investigated. Thermo-mechanical control processing （TMCP） was conducted by using a laboratory hot rolling mill, where three different kinds of finishing rolling reduction, and austemperings with various isothermal holding duration were applied. The results have shown that a multiphase microstructure consisting of polygonal ferrite, granular bainite and larger amount of stabilized retained austenite can be obtained by controlled rolling processes. Mechanical properties increase with increasing the amount of deformation because of the stabilization of retained austenite. Ultimate tensile strength （σb）, total elongation （σ） and the product of ultimate tensile strength and total elongation （σb-σ） reach the maximum values （791 MPa, 36% and 28476 MPa%, respectively） at optimal processes.

STUDY ON COUPLING MODEL OF (SEEPAGE-FIELD) AND STRESS-FIELD FOR ROLLED CONTROL CONCRETE DAM

Based on the construction interfaces in rolled control concrete dam(RCCD), the methods were proposed to calculate the influence thickness of construction interfaces and the corresponding physical mechanics parameters. The principle on establishing the coupling model of seepage_field and stress_field for RCCD was presented. A 3_D Finite Element Method(FEM) program was developed. Study shows that such parameters as the thickness of construction interfaces,the elastic ratio and the (Poisson's) ratio obtained by tests and theoretical analysis are more reasonable, the coupling model of seepage_field and stress_field for RCCD may indicate the coupling effect between the two fields scientifically, and the developed 3_D FEM program can reflect the effect of the construction interfaces more adequately. According to the study, many scientific opinions are given both to analyze the influence of the construction interfaces to the (dam's) characteristic, and to reveal the interaction between the stress_field and the seepage_field.

Application of a new feature extraction and optimization method to surface defect recognition of cold rolled strips

Considering that the surface defects of cold rolled strips are hard to be recognized by human eyes under high-speed circumstances, an automatic recognition technique was discussed. Spectrum images of defects can be got by fast Fourier transform （FFF） and sum of valid pixels （SVP）, and its optimized center region, which concentrates nearly all energies, are extracted as an original feature set. Using genetic algorithm to optimize the feature set, an optimized feature set with 51 features can be achieved. Using the optimized feature set as an input vector of neural networks, the recognition effects of LVQ neural networks have been studied. Experiment results show that the new method can get a higher classification rate and can settle the automatic recognition problem of surface defects on cold rolled strips ideally.

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.

Microstructure-Properties Correlation of Dual Phase Steels Produced by Controlled Rolling Process

The purpose of this research is to quantify the effects of compositional and processing parameters on the microstruc-ture and properties of dual phase steel produced directly by hot rolling and rapid cooling. Steels with the base composition of 0.1%C, 1.4%Si, and 1.0%Mn with additions of 0.5%Cr to influence hardenability, 0.04%Nb to retard recrystallization in the latter stages of rolling, or 0.02%Ti to inhibit grain growth during and after reheating were investigated. Investigation was made to predict microstructure evolution and to correlate microstructure with processing parameters. The effects of the important microstructure parameters such as ferrite grain size, martensite volume fraction (VM) and morphology (polygonal or fibrous) on the tensile and impact properties are discussed. Multiple linear regression analysis of the ultimate tensile strength has shown that, increasing VM and martensite microhardness and grain refinement of ferrite are the major contributions to increase the strength of the steel. It was found that the dual-phase steel produced by controlled rolling process, with a microstructure which consisted of fine grained ferrite (4 um) and 35%~40% fibrous martensite, presented optimum tensile and impact properties because of enhanced resistance to crack propagation.

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.

Online application of automatic surface quality inspection system to finishing line of cold rolled strips

An automatic surface quality inspection system installed on a finishing lineof cold rolled strips is introduced. The system is able to detect surface defects on cold rolledstrips, such as scratches, coil breaks, rusts, roll imprints, and so on. Multiple CCD area scancameras were equipped to capture images of strip surface simultaneously. Defects were detectedthrough 'Dark-field illumination' which is generated by LED illuminators. Parallel computationtechnique and fast processing algorithms were developed for real-time data processing. Theapplication to the production line shows that the system is able to detect defects effectively.

Optimization of Holding Temperature and Holding Thickness for Controlled Rolling on Plate Mill

Holding temperature and holding thickness are main parameters for two-phase controlled rolling on plate mill. The optimization of holding temperature and holding thickness for pass schedule calculation of two-phase controlled rolling on plate mill was presented and its feature is as follows： （1） Determination of holding thickness can be automatically obtained based on the influence of mill safety limits, tracking zone length and holding time on holding thickness; （2） Determination of holding temperature can be automatically obtained and the holding time can be reduced as much as possible; （3） Algorithm can modify the holding temperature and thickness depending on slab size and product size.

EFFECT OF AUSTEMPERING ON TRANSFORMATION INDUCED PLASTICITY OF HOT ROLLED MULTIPHASE STEELS

Effect of austempering on the transformation induced plasticity （TRIP） of hot rolled multiphase steel was investigated. Polygonal ferrite, granular bainite, and a large amount of stabilized retained austenite could be obtained in the hot rolled multiphase steel. Strain induced martensite transformation （SIMT） of retained austenite and TRIP effectively occur under straining owing to austempering after hot rolling, and mechanical properties of the present steel remain at a relatively high constant value for austempering at 400℃. The mechanical properties of the steel exhibited a good combination of tensile strength （791MPa） and total elongation （36%） because the stability of retained austenite is optimal when the steel is held for 20min.

Surface Inspection System for Cold Rolled Strips Based on Image ProcessingTechnique

A new surface inspection system for cold rolled strips based on image processing is introduced. The system is equipped withtwo different illumination structures and CCD matrix cameras. The structure and image processing of the inspection system are described. Some efficient algorithms for image processing and classification are presented. The system is tested with strip samples fromcold rolling plants. The results show that the system can detect and recognize six common defects of cold rolled strips successfully.

Improvement to anti-rust property of hot rolled rebar by compact oxide scale

A method was proposed to improve the anti-rust property of hot rolled rebar, which uses oil–water emulsion cooling instead of water cooling after hot rolling. The experiments were carried out by two cooling methods, one cooled by water, the other cooled by oil–water emulsion. The results of wet/dry cyclic accelerated corrosion test showed that the anti-rust property of rebar cooled by oil–water emulsion was better than that by water obviously. The results of OM, SEM and EPMA analysis indicated that these two scales contained three layers: an outer Fe_3O_4 layer, an intermediate Fe O layer with island-shaped pro-eutectoid Fe_3O_4, an inner eutectoid Fe_3O_4 layer. For the water cooled rebar, all three layers of oxide scale were relatively thin. Moreover, the scale had plenty of defects such as porosity, and crack. However, for the oil–water emulsion cooled rebar, all three layers of oxide scale were relatively thick and compact, which played an important role in protecting the rebar from atmospheric rust.

EFFECT OF THE CONTROLLED ROLLING CONTROLLED COOLING ON STRENGTH AND DUCTILITY OF THE BAINITE MICRO ALLOYED ENGINEERING STEEL

The continuous cooling transformation of hot deformation austenite austenite of test steel and the effect of different processing schedules of controlled rolling and controlled cooling on the strength and ductility have been studied. The theory and the experiment base are presented for controlled rolling and controlled cooling of the SBL micro alloyed engineering steel.

Application of automatic surface inspection system in cold-rolled strip production

The detection and classification of real-time surface defects play an important role in automotive sheet inspection and production. In this paper, an automatic surface inspection system （ASIS） based on signal processing in Baosteel NO. 4 cold-rolled plant is briefly presented. We demonstrate that the strip surface defect properties such as image, type, pitch, and position can be accurately calculated and classified by the automatic surface inspection system. In the manufacturing of the high-quality cold-rolled strips, it is necessary that the real-time surface defects can be detected and transferred by the automatic surface inspection system combined with annealing lines and recoiling lines.

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.

B3 Spline Function Method Used in Simulating Flatness and Profile of Cold Rolled Strip

The layer thermal conductivity during constraint cooling of hot rolled coil was described by using equivalent thermal conductivity model and finite element method. Two radial stress concentration zones in constraint cooled coil were shown by numerical analysis, and the tension stress was assumed to be the main factor to induce stress corrosion. The experimental results show that the longer the water cooling time is, the smaller the grain size and the more uniform the grains are.