Effect of cooling temperature on the microstructure and corrosion behavior of X80 pipeline steel

Dual-phase accelerated cooling(DPAC) was applied to X80 pipeline steel to obtain its microstructure with different amounts of bainite and ferrite. The microstructure, hardness, and polarization behaviors of the steel, cooled to different temperatures, were investigated. Results showed that, with decreasing cooling temperature, the amount of polygon ferrite(PF) increased while that of acicular ferrite(AF) decreased. The amount of bainite correspondingly decreased, except when cooled to 760°C. Moreover, the grain size of ferrite increased. The corrosion behaviors of different phases were distinct. Martensite/austenite(M/A) islands presented at the grain boundary of the PF phase caused small pits. Numerous micro-corrosion cells were formed in the AF and bainite phases, where micropores were prone to form. X80 pipeline steel cooled to 700°C had the best corrosion resistance in the simulated seawater. The decreased amount of the PF phase reduced the area of cathode, resulting in slight corrosion. About 40 vol% of the bainite phase provided strength while the PF phase provided adequate ductility to the X80 steel. It was concluded that the appropriate cooling temperature was 700°C for ideal corrosion resistance and mechanical properties.

Microstructure Characteristics and Mechanical Properties of X80 Pipeline Steels

The relation between microstructure characteristics and mechanical properties of X80 pipeline steels was investigated using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, etc. It is shown that the structure consists of polygonal ferrite （PF）, quasi-polygonal ferrite （QPF）, acicular ferrite （AF）, and granular bainitic ferrite （GF）. With increasing volume fraction of M-A islands （below 3%）, the yield strength increases. With increasing content of higher angle grain boundaries（HAGBs）, the yield strength, elongation, and DWTT properties at -15 ℃ increase, and the volume fraction of M-A islands reaches its highest point in the steel containing the most volume fraction of GF.

Effects of Carbon on the CG HAZ Toughness and Transformation of X80 Pipeline Steel

X80 pipeline steel produced by TMCP has high strength and high toughness with ultrafine grain microstructure. The mi-crostructure coarsens and the toughness worsens at the coarse grained (CG) HAZ apparently after weld simulation. The experimental results indicated that the bainitic ferrite and the second phases formed at cooling are differently as the variation of carbon in base metal. In low carbon steels, the bainitic ferrite laths are long and narrow, the second phases are complex including residual austenite, martensite, the M-A constituent and the Fe3C carbide. The formation of Fe3C carbide is the main reason of the poor toughness in CG HAZ. The ultralow carbon in base metal, however, can improve the CG HAZ toughness through restraining the formation of carbides, decreasing the M-A constituent, increasing the residual austenite content, which are beneficial to the CG HAZ toughness.

Microstructures and Plane Energy Spectra of X80 Pipeline Steel Welded Joints by Submerged Arc Automatic Welding

X80 pipeline steel was welded with submerged arc automatic welding, the microstructures, cavity sizes, fusion depths and plane scanning of chemical elements in the welded zone, fusion zone, heat affected zone and base steel were observed with OM（optical microscope） and SEM（scanning electron microscope）, respectively. The experimental results show that there is main acicular ferrite in the base steel and welded zone, the microscopic structure of fusion zone is a blocked bainite, and the heat affected zone is composed of multilateral ferrite and pearlite. M-A unit of the welded zone is the main factor to strengthen the welded zone, composed of acicular ferrites. The percentage of cavities in the welded joint is less than that in the base steel, which is beneficial to increasing its mechanical performance and corrosion resistance. The fusion depth in the fusion zone and welded zone is 101.13 μm and 115.85 μm, respectively, and the distribution of chemical elements in the welded zone is uniform, no enrichment phenomena.

Influence of different microstructural features on impact toughness and crack initiation behavior of coarse grain heat-affected zone in X80 pipeline steel

Coarse grain heat-affected zone samples of X80 pipeline steel under different heat inputs were obtained through thermal welding simulation experiments with Gleeble 3500.Charpy impact tests and a combination of multiscale characterizations were conducted to investigate the influence of various microstructural features on impact toughness and crack initiation behavior.The results prove that, as the heat input increases, the number of M/A components increases, thereby degrading toughness and increasing hardness.Meanwhile, more M/A constituents tend to aggregate on prior austenite grain boundaries(PAGBs),and the overall dimensions of M/A and the width and volume fraction of the lath martensite substructure inside M/A islands would increase as well.These changes make intersections between boundary M/As and PAGBs become one of the preferred sites for crack initiation.In addition, only large-sized grotesque inclusions can act as a direct inducement of crack initiation.

Improved Fatigue Behavior of Pipeline Steel Welded Joint by Surface Mechanical Attrition Treatment(SMAT)

A pipeline steel X80 with welded joint was subjected to surface mechanical attrition treatment （SMAT）. After SMAT, a nanostructure surface layer with an average grain size of about 10 nm was formed in the treated sample, and the fatigue limit of the welded joint was elevated by about 13% relative to the untreated joints. In the low and the high amplitude stress regimes, both fatigue strength and fatigue life were enhanced. Formation of the nanostructured surface layer played more important role in the enhanced fatigue behavior than that of residual stress induced by the SMAT.

Study on local embrittlement of welding heat-affected zone in XSO pipeline steels

The relationship between the microstructure and toughness of welding heat-affected zone in XSO grade pipeline steels is studied. It is found that the intercritical reheated coarse-grained heat-affected zone （ICCGHAZ） of experimental steels has the lowest toughness values when the secondary peak temperature is at intercritical （ α ＋ γ ） region during multi-pass welding. The local embrittlement is mainly attributed to the morphology, amount and size of M-A constituent. It is also found that the microstructural inhabitanee at ICCGHAZ has a deleterious effect on the toughness. On the basis of above experimental results, it is suggested that the local embrittlement should be prevented by using pre-heating thermal cycle which could eliminate the microstructural inhabitance and using post-heating thermal cycle which could improve the morphology, amount and size of MA constituent.

Microstructure evolution and corrosion resistance in simulated CGHAZ of X80 high-deformability pipeline steel

In this study, the microstructure evolution and corrosion resistance in O. 5 M Na2CO3 - 1 M NaHCO3 solution of X80 high-deformability （ X8OHD ） pipeline steel coarse-grained heat-affected zone （CGHAZ） with several heat input levels were investigated. It is shown that the microstructure of CGHAZ changes from bainite ferrite to granular bainite as the heat input increasing. In addition, the corrosion resistance and the stability of passive film of base material are better than those of CGHAZ with several heat input levels. Too small or too big heat input is inadvisable and better corrosion resistance of CGHAZ is attained when heat input is 30 kJ/cm.

Stress Corrosion of X80 Pipeline Steel Welded Joints by Slow Strain Test in NACE H_2S Solutions

The X80 pipeline steel was welded with the way of submerged arc welding. The SST （slow strain test） of the welded joint samples in the air, NACE （National Association of Corrosion Engineers） solution （no H2S）, NACE solution （saturated H2S） was performed to research the sensibility index of SCC （stress corrosion cracking） Iscc. The morphologies of the welded joint fractures and the fracture modes were observed with SEM （scanning electron microscope）, and the fracture chemical compositions were analyzed with EDS （energy dispersive spectrometer）, respectively. The fracture mechanisms of the welded joints were discussed. The results show that sensibility index of SCC in the air is not obvious, the fracture is dimple, and the mode of fracture is ductile fracture. The sensibility index of SCC in NACE solution （no H2S） is 13.21%, the stress corrosion is not obvious. The sample fracture shows quasi cleavage＋dimple, and the fracture mode is toughness＋brittle rupture. The sensibility index of SCC in NACE solution （saturated H2S） is 56.94%, the plastic loss is the most serious, appearing an obvious stress corrosion tendency, and there is no obvious necking phenomenon. The fracture mode is brittle fracture, and the sample fracture has a high sulfur concentration, prompting S to a aliquation of crisp crystal in the welded zone, and making its mechanical properties worsen.

Stress Corrosion Cracking of X80 Pipeline Steel in Near-Neutral pH Environment under Constant Load Tests with and without Preload

Constant load tests in NS4 solution purged with N2-5%CO2 gas mixture were conducted on American Petroleum Institute （API） X80 pipeline steel applied in the 2nd West-East （;as Pipeline project with and without preload. The results show that cracks could initiate and propagate in X80 pipeline steel in near-neutral pH environment under a constant load condition. The life of crack initiation and propagation increased with decreasing applied stress. Preload did not change its corrosion behavior obviously. However, preload reduced the time for crack initiation.

Effect of Nb on Mechanical Properties of HAZ for High-Nb X80 Pipeline Steels

The mechanical properties of heat affected zone （HAZ） of two commercial high-Nb X80 grade pipeline steels with different alloy elements were investigated using thermal simulation performed on a Gleeble-3500 thermal simulator. The results showed that the high-Nb steels have excellent weldability. Ernbrittlement regions appear in coarse grain heat affected zone （CGHAZ） and intercritically heat affected zone （ICHAZ） ~ Softening region appears in fine-grain heat affected zone （FGHAZ）, and the strength here was even lower than 555 MPa as required in the standard. Meanwhile, with the increase of heat input, the strength and the toughness of HAZ of steel with high Nb, C and lower alloy decrease notably. Therefore, take into account the welding procedure during manufacture of weld pipe, suitable amount of alloy elements, such as Cr, Ni, Cu, Mo and so on, is necessary for high Nb X80 heavy- thick steel plate.

Development mechanism of internal local corrosion of X80 pipeline steel

The occurrence and development mechanism of internal local corrosion has always been a controversial topic,and especially under flow conditions.In this paper,an improved high shear force loop was experimentally used,and local flow field is induced by simulating corrosion defects on the surface of X80 pipeline steel specimens.The characteristics of corrosion products deposited on the surface of specimens in CO2-saturated NACE solution were investigated by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),X-ray diffraction(XRD),and energy dispersive spectrometry(EDS).The 3D micromorphology of the corrosion test surface after remove the corrosion scale used to measure the size of localized corrosion pit.Under the influence of local defects,the wall shear stress(WSS)and turbulent kinetic energy of local flow fields enhanced significantly,and pressure fluctuations in local flow field were induced.The results showed that the characteristics of surface corrosion products varied with flow velocity.The corrosion scales formed in various regions of specimens with defects exhibited different surface micro-morphologies and chemical compositions.Overall,these data offer new perspectives for better understanding the mechanisms behind local corrosion.

In-situ Corrosion Characterization of API X80 Steel and Its Corresponding HAZ Microstructures in an Acidic Environment

During heat treatment processing, microstructures of heat affected zone （HAZ） were formed in X80 pipe- line steel. After observation by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microsco- py, microstructure of the as-received X80 steel was confirmed to be acicular ferrite, while the microstructures of quenched, normalized and annealed X80 steels were lath bainite, granular ferrite and quasi-polygonal ferrite, respec- tively. After immersion in the simulated acidic soil solution for 48 h, corrosion rates of these four steels were deter- mined by mass loss measurements and corrosion products were examined by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoe lectron spectroscopy. Scanning vibrating electrode technique was used to characterize the micro-galvanic corrosion be- haviors of the synthetic bimetallic electrodes which were formed by coupling each of the simulated HAZ microstruc- tures with the as-received steel in direct physical and electric contact. It is demonstrated that the as-received steel acts as cathode in the as-received/quenched and as-received/normalized couples, while the annealed steel acts as cathode when coupling with the as received steel. The distinction of current density between the galvanic couples reduces with prolonging the immersion time.

Austenitization Behaviors of X80 Pipeline Steel With High Nb and Trace Ti Treatment

The austenitization behaviors of two high niohium-containing X80 pipeline steels with different titanium contents, including the dissolution of microalloying precipitates and the austenite grain growth, were investigated by using physical-chemical phase analysis method and microstructural observation. The results illustrated that most niobium could be dissolved into austenite during soaking at 1 180 ℃, whereas little amount of titanium could be dissolved. It was found that during soaking, the austenite grain growth rate was initially high, and then decreased after soaking for 1 h; moreover, the austenite grains grew up more rapidly at temperatures above 1 180 ℃ than below 1 180 ℃. The results show that the steel with titanium content of 0. 016% has a larger austenite grain size than that with titanium content of 0. 012% under the same soaking conditions, which is explained by considering the particle size distribution.

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Intercritical Heat-affected Zone of X80 Pipeline Steel in Simulated In-Service Welding

The intercritical heat-affected zone（ICHAZ） of X80 pipeline steel was simulated by using the Gleeble-3500thermal/mechanical simulator according to the thermal cycle of in-service welding.The microstructures of ICHAZ with different cooling rates were examined,and the hardness,the toughness and corresponding fractography were investigated.Results show that untransformed bainite and ferrite as well as retransformed fine bainite and martensite–austenite（M–A）constituents constitute the microstructure of ICHAZ.The two different morphologies of M–A constituents are stringer and block.Second phase particles which mainly composed of Ti,Nb,C,Fe and Cu coarsened in ICHAZ.Compared with normal welding condition,the toughness of ICHAZ is poor when the cooling time is short under in-service welding condition because of the large area fraction and size of M–A constituents that connect into chains and distribute at the grain boundaries.The Vickers hardness of ICHAZ that decreases with the increase in the cooling time is independent with the area fraction of M–A constituents.

Effect of sulfate-reducing bacteria on corrosion of X80 pipeline steel under disbonded coating in a red soil solution

Effect of sulfate-reducing bacteria on the corrosion behaviors of API-X80 pipeline steel has been studied in crevices under simulated disbonded coatings in red soil solution.The results show that there are amounts of SRB in the crevice under the simulated disbonded coating in the red soil solution during the whole period of experiment.The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy shows that SRB can enhance the corrosion of the steel in the crevice under the simulated disbonded coating,and the thermodynamic analyses indicate that SRB can accelerate the corrosion of steel using not only sulfate but also ferric hydroxide as electron acceptors.

Stern-Geary Constant for X80 Pipeline Steel in the Presence of Different Corrosive Microorganisms

The Stern-Geary constant(B value)is indispensable to measure the corrosion rate in the microbiologically influenced corrosion(MIC)systems.Linear polarization resistance(LPR)and weight loss methods were used to study the variation of B values for X80 pipeline steel in the presence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa,Acetobacter aceti and Desulfovibrio vulgaris.The results showed that B values in the presence of three different bacteria were 35.60±0.55 mV,33.00±1.00 mV and 58.60±0.55 mV,respectively,suggesting that the change of corrosion system significantly affected the B values of X80 pipeline steel.This work further indicated that the determination of B values is necessary to accurately measure the MIC rate by LPR method.

Variation of Non-Metallic Inclusions Composition in X80 Pipeline Steel Refined by High Basicity Slag

The transformation of inclusions was studied when control technology of refining top slag in ladle furnace was used in X80 pipeline steelmaking.Sufficient amount of aluminum was added to experimental heats for final deoxidation during BOF tapping,and then the refining top slag with high basicity and strong reducibility was adopted to transform Al 2 O 3 to inclusions with low melting point.The results show that the composition of inclusions changes in order of "Al 2 O 3 → MgO-Al 2 O 3 system→ CaO-MgO-Al 2 O 3 system→ CaO-Al 2 O 3 system".And the inclusions after LF refining are liquid or semi-liquid state at the temperature of steelmaking,which are easily removable to obtain high cleanliness steel by collision,agglomeration and flotation.

Effect of Ti-enriched Carbonitride on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of X80 Pipeline Steel

In this study,two API X80 pipeline steels were fabricated by varying Ti additions,and their microstructures and fracture characteristics were analyzed to investigate the effects of Ti-enriched carbonitride on the tensile properties and Charpy impact properties.Lathy bainite,a mass of matensite/austenite（M/A）,coarse cubic Ti-enriched inclusions,chain-typed Ti-enriched precipitations,weak toughness and high tensile strength were found as consequences of higher amount of Ti content.Those large scale and chain-typed Ti-enriched carbonitrides are one kind of crack sources during fracture.The negative effect of higher amount of Ti on the impact properties is increased with decreased temperature.

FEM Simulation of the Hydrogen Diffusion in X80 Pipeline Steel During Stacking for Slow Cooling

The influence of temperature on the hydrogen diffusion behavior in X80 pipeline steel during stacking for slow cooling was studied using electrochemical penetration method, the temperature field and the hydrogen diffusion in this pipeline steel during stacking for slow cooling were simulated by ABAQUS finite element method （FEM） software. The results show that in this process there is a reciprocal relationship between the natural logarithm of hydrogen diffusion coefficient and temperature. The cooling rate decreases gradually with the increase of steel plate thickness. The hydrogen content is higher at high temperature （500-400 ℃） than that in low temperature region （300-100 ℃）. The FEM simulation results are consistent with the experimental ones, and the model can be used to predict the hydrogen diffusion behavior in industrial production of X80 pipeline steel.