Effect of Heat Input on Microstructure and Toughness of Coarse Grain Heat Affected Zone in Nb Microalloyed HSLA Steels

The influence of Nb on microstructure, mechanical property and the transformation kinetics of the coarse grain heat affected zone （CGHAZ） in HSLA steels for different heat inputs, has been investigated. When welded at higher heat inputs （100-60 kJ/cm）, impact toughness values of the steel without Nb are much higher than those of the steel with Nb, and the lowest span is 153 J at 60 kJ/cm. But only a little higher values are observed at lower heat inputs （40-30 kJ/cm）, and the highest span is 68 J at 30 kJ/cm. Dilatation studies indicate that continuous cooling transformation starting temperatures （Ts） of CGHAZ for the steel with Nb are approximately 15-30℃ which are lower than those of the steel without Nb at all heat inputs. For higher heat inputs, Nb in solid solution suppresses ferrite transformation and promotes the formation of granular bainite which has detrimental effect on impact toughness. For lower heat inputs higher Charpy impact energy values in the steel with Nb are associated with the formation of low carbon self-tempered martensite.

Thermal simulation of single thermal cycle for high strength steel pipe

Single thermal cycle simulation tests were carried out for X80 high strength steel pipes from three steel mills by a Gleeble 3500HS thermal simulation test machine,and coincidence degree of the thermal simulation curve with the set curve under heat inputs of 6–30 kJ/cm was observed;The relationship between different heat inputs and microstructure,impact toughness and hardness of steel pipe CGHAZ(coarse grain heat affected zone)was studied by metallographic examination,impact test and hardness test.The results show that with the increase of heat input,original austenite grain size increases gradually,the lath bainite ratio decreases and the granular bainite ratio increases.The impact toughness of C steel pipe is lower than those of A and B steel pipe,and the impact toughness of CGHAZ from the three steel pipes show different trends:for A steel pipe CGHAZ,impact toughness increases first and then decreases,with the highest value of 270–320 J under 20–25 kJ/cm;for B steel pipe CGHAZ,impact toughness decreases slightly;for C steel pipe CGHAZ,impact toughness increases,with the highest value of 260–300 J under 25 kJ/cm.As the heat input increases,the hardness of three X80 steel pipes CGHAZ shows a decreasing trhighend,and C steel pipe has the largest decreasing range.

Effect of Vanadium Microalloying on the HAZ Microstructure and Properties of Low Carbon Steels

Four Steels,C-Mn-0.05V,C-Mn-0.11V,C-Mn-0.03Nb and C-Mn were subjected to heat treatment to simulate the microstructure of a coarse grained heat affected zone (CGHAZ) and an intercritically reheated coarse grained heat affected zone (ICCGHAZ).This involved reheating to 1350°C,rapid cooling (Δt 8/5 =24s) to room temperature and then reheating to either 750°C or 800°C.The toughness of the HAZs was assessed using both Charpy and CTOD tests.Microstructural features were characterised by optical,scanning` and transmission electron microscopy.Fractographic examinations of the Charpy and CTOD specimens were carried out to understand the micromechanism of fracture under different microstructural and test conditions.The CGHAZ toughness was similar for the steels except that Steel C-Mn-0.05V had a slightly lower ITT compared to the others.The toughness deteriorated in the ICCGHAZ for all the steels,again Steel C-Mn-0.05V had a superior toughness compared to the other three steels in both ICCGHAZ conditions.Raising the level of vanadium to 0.11% caused a decrease in ICCGHAZ toughness.Steel C-Mn-Nb exhibited a greater degradation of impact toughness after the intercritical cycles.The presence of M-A constituents was the dominant factor in determining the toughness of the ICCGHAZs.The size and area fraction of the M-A constituents were the smallest in Steel C-Mn-0.05V.Increasing vanadium level to 0.11% resulted in a greater area fraction of the M-A constituents,larger average and maximum sizes of M-A particles,and significantly more fields containing the M-A.The addition of 0.031% Nb produced the largest M-A particles and the greatest area fraction for the steels tested.