SOLUTION TREATMENT EFFECTS IN COBALT-NICKEL SECONDARY HARDENING STEEL

Effect of the austenitizing temperature on the microstructure,strength, and toughness of 16NiCo and 23NiCo alloys was studied. With increasing austenitizing temperature, the reductions in strength and hardness are probably caused by the coarsening of M_2C carbides. The use of higher austenitizing temperature resulted in improved impact toughness due to the dissolution of undissolved (Cr, Fe, Mo)_(23)C_6 carbides.As the austenitizing temperature is increased to 1050℃ for 16NiCo and 23NiCo alloys impact toughness levels are reduced on average by 31 and 53 J/cm￣2 respectively.The use of 1050℃ austenitizing temperatures resulted in intergranular fracture for 23NiCo alloy in 482℃ aged condition. It was suggested that this grain boundary embrittlement was the result of the formation of cementite particles during ageing.

2.47 GPa grade ultra-strong 15Co-12Ni secondary hardening steel with superior ductility and fracture toughness

This study investigated the effect of multi-step heat treatment on the microstructure, mechanical properties and fracture behavior of thick 15 Co-12 Ni secondary hardening steel. As-quenched sample was found to have elongated prior austenite grain(PAG) and coarse lenticular martensitic structure. On the other hand, heat-treated sample was observed to have fine lenticular martensitic structure due to fine PAG size and a lot of nano-sized carbides. Also, after heat treatment, nano-scale reverted austenite film was formed at the martensite interfaces. The heat-treated sample showed 2.47 GPa superior tensile strength and superior elongation of about 12 %. The high strength was mainly due to fine block size and high number density of nano-sized carbides. The average value of plane strain fracture toughness(KIC) was 29.3 MPa m1/2, which indicated a good fracture toughness even with the high tensile strength. The tensile fracture surface was observed to have ductile fracture mode(cup-and-cone) and the formation of about ~1 μm ultra-fine dimples. In addition to this, nano-sized carbides were observed within the dimples.The findings suggested that the nano-sized carbide had a positive effect not only on the strength but also on the ductility of the alloy. The fractured surface after toughness test, also showed ductile fracture mode with a lot of dimples. Based on the above results, correlation among microstructural evolution,deformation and fracture mechanisms along the heat-treatment was also discussed.

Carbide precipitation and element distribution in high Co-Ni secondary hardening steel

As the increasing need of the steels with both high strength and hydrogen embrittlement resistance ability, carbide precipitation and element distribution in high Co-Ni secondary hardening steel were concerned. Carbide precipitation and element distribution in M54 were observed using carbon replicas method. Both simulation and observation results showed that MC and M2C formed in the steel. MC was round particle, which would act as grain refiners. And MzC was needle-like phase, which would be remarkable strengthening phases. Nb and V were main metallic elements in MC phase. Mo and Cr were main metallic elements in MzC phase. W, Co, and Ni were probably mainly dissolved in the matrix. As the carbide precipitation in AerMetl00 was M2C, which had similar size and shape with M2C in M54, the tensile strength and yield strength of AerMetl00 and M54 were similar. Compared with traditional high Co-Ni secondary hardening steel, M54 had higher hydrogen embrittlement resistance ability, probably because of element W in the matrix.

Electronic Structures and Alloying Behaviors of Ferrite Phases in High Co-Ni Secondary Hardened Martensitic Steels

The electronic structure of ferrite (tempered martensite phase) in high Co-Ni secondary hardened martensitic steel has been investigated. The local density of states (LOOS) of alloying elements in the steel displays the relationship between solid solubility and the shape of the LDOS. The bond order integral (BOI) between atoms in the steel shows that the directional bonding of the p orbital of Si or C leads to the brittleness of the steel. At last, ΣBOI between atoms demonstrate that C, Co, Mn, Cr, Mo, Si strengthen the alloyed steel through solid-solution effects.

Elevated-temperature properties of one long-life high-strength gun steel

The hardness, tensile strength and impact toughness of one quenched and tempered steel with nominal composition of Fe-0.25C-3.0Cr-3.0Mo-0.6Ni-0.1Nb (mass fraction) both at room temperature and at elevated temperatures were investigated in order to develop high-strength steel for long-life gun barrel use. It is found that the steel has lower decrease rate of tensile strength at elevated temperature in comparison with the commonly used G4335V high-strength gun steel, which contains higher Ni and lower Cr and Mo contents. The high elevated-temperature strength of the steel is attributed to the strong secondary hardening effect and high tempering softening resistance caused by the tempering precipitation of fine Mo-rich M2C carbides in the aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-Fe matrix. The experimental steel is not susceptible to secondary hardening embrittlement, meanwhile, its room-temperature impact energy is much higher than the normal requirement of impact toughness for high strength gun steels. Therefore, the steel is suitable for production of long-life high-strength gun barrels with the combination of superior elevated-temperature strength and good impact toughness.

Elevated-temperature properties of one long-life high-strength gun steel

The hardness, tensile strength and impact toughness of one quenched andtempered steel with nominal composition of Fe-0.25C-3.0Cr-3.0Mo-0.6Ni-0.1Nb (mass fraction) both atroom temperature and at elevated temperatures were investigated in order to develop high-strengthsteel for long-life gun barrel use. It is found that the steel has lower decrease rate of tensilestrength at elevated temperature in comparison with the commonly used G4335V high-strength gunsteel, which contains higher Ni and lower Cr and Mo contents. The high elevated-temperature strengthof the steel is attributed to the strong secondary hardening effect and high tempering softeningresistance caused by the tempering precipitation of fine Mo-rich M_2C carbides in the α-Fe matrix.The experimental steel is not susceptible to secondary hardening embrittlement, meanwhile, itsroom-temperature impact energy is much higher than the normal requirement of impact toughness forhigh strength gun steels. Therefore, the steel is suitable for production of long-life high-strengthgun barrels with the combination of superior elevated-temperature strength and good impacttoughness.

Secondary Hardening, Austenite Grain Coarsening and Surface Decarburization Phenomenon in Nb-Bearing Spring Steel

The secondary hardening, the austenite grain coarsening and the surface decarburization phenomenon of Nb-bearing spring steel were investigated, and the effects of niobium on tempered microstructure was studied using scanning electron microscope. The results show that the micro-addition of niobium increases the tempering resistance and produces secondary hardening. The effect of niobium on the size and distribution of cementite particles is one of the primary reasons to increase the hardness after tempering. The grain-coarsening temperature of the spring steel is raised 150 ~C due to Nb-addition. Furthermore, both the secondary hardening and the austenite grain coarsening phenomenon congruously demonstrate niobium begins observably dissolving above 1 100 ℃ in the spring steel. Be- sides, niobium microalloying is an effective and economy means to decrease the decarburization sensitivity of the spring steels.

Phase Transformation of a Cold Work Tool Steel during Tempering

The hardness and microstructure evolution of a 8% Cr cold work tool steel during tempering for 40 h were investigated. Transmission electron microscope examinations showed that M_3C carbides precipitated from supersaturated martensite after tempering at 350 ℃. When the tempering temperature was higher than 520 ℃,the M_（23）C_6 carbides precipitated to substitute for M_3C carbides. After ageing at the temperature of 520 ℃ for 40 h,it was observed that very fine and dense secondary Mo_2C precipitates were precipitated. Thus,it can be concluded that the early stage of Mo_2C-carbide precipitation is like to be Gunier-Preston（ G-P） zone formed by [Mo-C] segregation group which is responsible for the secondary hardening peak at 520 ℃. Overageing at 700 ℃ resulted in recovery of martensitic microstructure and precipitation of M_（23）C_6 carbides.When ageing at 700 ℃ for more than 20 h,recrystallization occurred,which resulted in a change of the matrix morphology from martensitic plates to equiaxed ferrite. It was noticed that the size of recrystallized grain / subgrain was very fine,which was attributed to the pinning effect of M_（23）C_6 precipitates.