Recent progress in visualization and digitization of coherent transformation structures and application in high-strength steel

High-strength steels are mainly composed of medium-or low-temperature microstructures,such as bainite or martensite,with coherent transformation characteristics.This type of microstructure has a high density of dislocations and fine crystallographic structural units,which ease the coordinated matching of high strength,toughness,and plasticity.Meanwhile,given its excellent welding perform-ance,high-strength steel has been widely used in major engineering constructions,such as pipelines,ships,and bridges.However,visual-ization and digitization of the effective units of these coherent transformation structures using traditional methods(optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy)is difficult due to their complex morphology.Moreover,the establishment of quantitative relationships with macroscopic mechanical properties and key process parameters presents additional difficulty.This article reviews the latest progress in microstructural visualization and digitization of high-strength steel,with a focus on the application of crystallographic methods in the development of high-strength steel plates and welding.We obtained the crystallographic data(Euler angle)of the transformed microstruc-tures through electron back-scattering diffraction and combined them with the calculation of inverse transformation from bainite or martensite to austenite to determine the reconstruction of high-temperature parent austenite and orientation relationship(OR)during con-tinuous cooling transformation.Furthermore,visualization of crystallographic packets,blocks,and variants based on actual OR and digit-ization of various grain boundaries can be effectively completed to establish quantitative relationships with alloy composition and key process parameters,thereby providing reverse design guidance for the development of high-strength steel.

Flow characteristics and hot workability of a typical low-alloy high-strength steel during multi-pass deformation

Heavy components of low-alloy high-strength(LAHS) steels are generally formed by multi-pass forging. It is necessary to explore the flow characteristics and hot workability of LAHS steels during the multi-pass forging process, which is beneficial to the formulation of actual processing parameters. In the study, the multi-pass hot compression experiments of a typical LAHS steel are carried out at a wide range of deformation temperatures and strain rates. It is found that the work hardening rate of the experimental material depends on deformation parameters and deformation passes, which is ascribed to the impacts of static and dynamic softening behaviors. A new model is established to describe the flow characteristics at various deformation passes. Compared to the classical Arrhenius model and modified Zerilli and Armstrong model, the newly proposed model shows higher prediction accuracy with a confidence level of 0.98565. Furthermore, the connection between power dissipation efficiency(PDE) and deformation parameters is revealed by analyzing the microstructures. The PDE cannot be utilized to reflect the efficiency of energy dissipation for microstructure evolution during the entire deformation process, but only to assess the efficiency of energy dissipation for microstructure evolution in a specific deformation parameter state.As a result, an integrated processing map is proposed to better study the hot workability of the LAHS steel, which considers the effects of instability factor(IF), PDE, and distribution and size of grains. The optimized processing parameters for the multi-pass deformation process are the deformation parameters of 1223–1318 K and 0.01–0.08 s^(-1). Complete dynamic recrystallization occurs within the optimized processing parameters with an average grain size of 18.36–42.3 μm. This study will guide the optimization of the forging process of heavy components.

A review on the multi-scaled structures and mechanical/thermal properties of tool steels fabricated by laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing

The laser powder bed fusion(LPBF) process can integrally form geometrically complex and high-performance metallic parts that have attracted much interest,especially in the molds industry.The appearance of the LPBF makes it possible to design and produce complex conformal cooling channel systems in molds.Thus,LPBF-processed tool steels have attracted more and more attention.The complex thermal history in the LPBF process makes the microstructural characteristics and properties different from those of conventional manufactured tool steels.This paper provides an overview of LPBF-processed tool steels by describing the physical phenomena,the microstructural characteristics,and the mechanical/thermal properties,including tensile properties,wear resistance,and thermal properties.The microstructural characteristics are presented through a multiscale perspective,ranging from densification,meso-structure,microstructure,substructure in grains,to nanoprecipitates.Finally,a summary of tool steels and their challenges and outlooks are introduced.

Seismic Response Analysis of Steel Structure Isolation System Under Long-Period Seismic Motion

To analyze the seismic response of steel structure isolation systems under long-period seismic motion,a 9-story steel frame building was selected as the subject.Five steel structure finite element models were established using SAP2000.Response spectrum analysis was conducted on the seismic motion to determine if it adhered to the characteristics of long-period seismic motion.Modal analysis of each structural model revealed that the isolation structure significantly prolonged the structural natural vibration period and enhanced seismic performance.Base reactions and floor displacements of various structures notably increased under long-period seismic motion compared to regular seismic activity.Placing isolation bearings in the lower part of the structure proved more effective under long-period seismic motion.In seismic design engineering,it is essential to consider the impact of long-period seismic motion on structures and the potential failure of isolation bearings.

Improvement of the microstructural features and mechanical properties of advanced high-strength steel DP590 welds

The effects of the welding current mode in resistance spot welding on the microstructure and mechanical properties of advanced high-strength steel dual-phase 590(DP590)sheets were investigated.Results showed that a rough martensitic structure was formed in the weld zone of the sample welded via the single-pulsed mode,whereas the microstructure in the heat-affected zone consisted of a very rough martensitic microstructure and rough ferrite.However,using the secondary pulse mode led to the formation of tempered martensite in the weld zone.The maximum load and the energy absorption to failure of the samples with the secondary pulsed cycle were higher than those of the samples with the single-pulsed mode.Tensile shear results indicated that the secondary pulsed mode could significantly change the mode of failure upon shear tension testing.Therefore,the obtained results suggest that the use of secondary pulsed mode can improve the microstructural feature and mechanical properties of advanced high-strength steel DP590 welds.

Effects of Microstructural Modification Using Friction Stir Processing on Fatigue Strength of Butt-Welded Joints for High-Strength Steels

Friction stir processing (FSP) is an effective surface-microstructure modification technique using a rotational tool to refine and homogenize microstructure of metallic materials. In this study, FSP was conducted on the surface of the heat-affected zone (HAZ), which is a region exhibiting degraded mechanical properties and shown to have microstructural changes, of butt-welded joints for two high-strength steels with tensile strength grades of 490 MPa and 780 MPa (hereafter HT490 and HT780, respectively). Inhomogeneous mixing of materials derived from weld metals and base metals (BMs) in a stir zone (SZ) produced inhomogeneous distribution of elements and microstructure depending on the set of the advancing side and retreating side in the SZs. The welded joints with FSP for HT490 exhibited higher hardness than that of the BM through whole of the SZ surface (fine polygonal ferrite grains and bainite structure with laths at the Mn-rich and Mn-poor regions, respectively). On the other hand, those for HT780 exhibited the minimum hardness value similar to that of the BM at the SZ surface (a few polygonal ferrite grains in the matrix of martensite laths). Fatigue strength increased by about 35 MPa and 15 MPa in stress amplitude at 107 cycles as fatigue limit due to FSP. Fatigue failure occurred at the BM and the SZ, respectively, in the welded joints modified by FSP for HT490 and HT780, in comparison with the HAZs in the as-welded joints for both grade steels. The difference in fatigue strength increase due to FSP and failure location between the welded joints for HT490 and HT780 can be attributed to the topmost SZ microstructures and their distribution.

Effect of traveling-wave magnetic field on dendrite growth of high-strength steel slab: Industrial trials and numerical simulation

The dendrite growth behavior of high-strength steel during slab continuous casting with a traveling-wave magnetic field was studied in this paper. The morphology of the solidification structure and composition distribution were analyzed. Results showed that the columnar crystals could deflect and break when the traveling-wave magnetic field had low current intensity. With the increase in current intensity, the secondary dendrite arm spacing and solute permeability decreased, and the columnar crystal transformed into an equiaxed crystal. The electromagnetic force caused by the traveling-wave magnetic field changed the temperature gradient and velocity magnitude and promoted the breaking and fusing of dendrites. Dendrite compactness and composition uniformity were arranged in descending order as follows:columnar-toequiaxed transition (high current intensity), columnar crystal zone (low current intensity), columnar-to-equiaxed transition (low current intensity), and equiaxed crystal zone (high current intensity). Verified numerical simulation results combined with the boundary layer theory of solidification front and dendrite breaking–fusing model revealed the dendrite deflection mechanism and growth process. When thermal stress is not considered, and no narrow segment can be found in the dendrite, the velocity magnitude on the solidification front of liquid steel can reach up to 0.041 m/s before the dendrites break.

INVESTIGATION OF LOW CYCLE FATIGUE BEHAVIOROF BUILDING STRUCTURAL STEELS UNDEREARTHQUAKE LOADING

Based on the failure model of building structural steels under earthquake loading, the low cycle fatigue test at constant strain, the stochastical fatigue test under real earthquake load spectrum and the structural fatigue test are carried out. The experimental results show that microalloying of V Ti and Nb can improve the anti-seismic propersties of steel bars. In the high strain and shori life range, both the static strength and ductility of steels are very important to increasing the low cycle fatigue resistance of steels.

Effects of low temperature on properties of structural steels

The experiments were carried out to measure the mechanical properties ofthree grades of structural steels (Q235A, 16Mn and Q390E steel) at low temperature. It was shownthat the strength of the steels increases while the plasticity and toughness decrease as temperaturedrops. In the transitional area the toughness drops rapidly with temperature. Among the threestructural steels, Q390E steel has the best toughness and the lowest sensitivity.

Evaluation Indicators and Extraction Method for Pitting Corrosion of Structural Steel

A set of evaluation indicators based on corrosion ratio in theory for assessing the extent of pitting corrosion and performance reduction are proposed. In order to quantify the morphology of pitting corrosion and extract the evaluation indicators,the 3D profile data obtained by pitting morphology measurement are imported into a special written program to automatically determine the location of each corrosion pit and distill any desired data pertinent to the pitting morphology. The results show that this method seems to be effective to analyze the corroded surface and characterize the pitting morphology.

Determining role of heterogeneous microstructure in lowering yield ratio and enhancing impact toughness in high-strength low-alloy steel

Here we present a novel approach of intercritical heat treatment for microstructure tailoring,in which intercritical annealing is introduced between conventional quenching and tempering.This induced a heterogeneous microstructure consisting of soft intercritical ferrite and hard tempered martensite,resulting in a low yield ratio(YR)and high impact toughness in a high-strength low-alloy steel.The initial yielding and subsequent work hardening behavior of the steel during tensile deformation were modified by the presence of soft intercritical ferrite after intercritical annealing,in comparison to the steel with full martensitic microstructure.The increase in YR was related to the reduction in hardness difference between the soft and hard phases due to the precipitation of nano-carbides and the recovery of dislocations during tempering.The excellent low-temperature toughness was ascribed not only to the decrease in probability of microcrack initiation for the reduction of hardness difference between two phases,but also to the increase in resistance of microcrack propagation caused by the high density of high angle grain boundaries.

A process-level hierarchical structural decomposition analysis (SDA) of energy consumption in an integrated steel plant

A hierarchical structural decomposition analysis(SDA) model has been developed based on process-level input-output(I-O) tables to analyze the drivers of energy consumption changes in an integrated steel plant during 2011-2013. By combining the principle of hierarchical decomposition into D&L method, a hierarchical decomposition model for multilevel SDA is obtained. The developed hierarchical IO-SDA model would provide consistent results and need less computation effort compared with the traditional SDA model. The decomposition results of the steel plant suggest that the technology improvement and reduced steel final demand are two major reasons for declined total energy consumption. The technical improvements of blast furnaces, basic oxygen furnaces, the power plant and the by-products utilization level have contributed mostly in reducing energy consumption. A major retrofit of ancillary process units and solving fuel substitution problem in the sinter plant and blast furnace are important for further energy saving. Besides the empirical results, this work also discussed that why and how hierarchical SDA can be applied in a process-level decomposition analysis of aggregated indicators.

Effect of Fast Cooling Rate on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Low-Carbon High-Strength Steel Annealed in the Intercritical Region

The effect of fast cooling rate on the microstructure and mechanical properties of low-carbon high-strength steel annealed in the intercritical region was investigated using a Gleeble 1500 thermomechanical simulator and a continuous annealing thermomeehanical simulator. The results showed that the microstructure consisted of ferrite and bainite as the main phases with a small amount of retained austenite and martensite islands at cooling rate of 5 and 50 ℃/s, respectively. Fast cooling after continuous annealing affected all constituents of the microstructure. The mechanical properties were improved considerably. Ultimate tensile strength （U-TS） increased and total elongation （TEL） decreased with increasing cooling rate in all specimens. The specimen 1 at a cooling rate of 5 ℃/s exhibited the maximum TEL and UTSxTEL （20% and 27 200 MPa%, respectively） because of the competition between weakening by presence of the retained austenite plus the carbon indigence by carbide precipitation, and strengthening by martensitic islands and precipitation. The maximum UTS and YS （1 450 and 951 MPa, respectively） were obtained for specimen 2 at a cooling rate of 50 ℃/s. This is attributed to the effect of dispersion strengthening of finer martensite islands and the effect of precipitation strengthening of carbide precipitates.

Influence of rapid heating process on the microstructure and tensile properties of high-strength ferrite–martensite dual-phase steel

Three low-carbon dual-phase （DP） steels with almost constant martensite contents of 20vo1% were produced by intercritical annealing at different heating rates and soaking temperatures. Microstructures prepared at low temperature （1043 K, FH1） with fast-heating （300 K/s） show banded ferrite/martensite structure, whereas those soaked at high temperature （1103 K, FH2） with fast heating reveal blocky martensite uniformly distributed in the fine-grained ferrite matrix. Their mechanical properties were tested under tensile conditions and compared to a slow-heated （5 K/s） reference material （SH0）. The tensile tests indicate that for a given martensite volume fraction, the yield strength and total elongation values are noticeably affected by the refinement of ferrite grains and the martensite morphology. Metallographic observations reveal the formation of microvoids at the ferrite/martensite interface in the SH0 and FH2 samples, whereas microvoids nucleate via the fracture of banded martensite particles in the FH1 specimen. In addition, analyses of the work-hardening behaviors of the DP microstructures using the differential Crussard-Jaoul technique demonstrate two stages of work hardening for all samples.

DUCTILE CRACK INITIATION AND STEADY-STATE PROPAGATION OF HIGH STRENGTH STRUCTURAL STEEL

The resistance to crack propagation at earlier stage for a high strength structural steel with certain ductility and its correlation to microstructures,stress states,deformation history and strain characteristics have been investigated.The resistance to crack propagation is mainly de- termined by the plastic constrain ahead of the crack tip,the elastic energy and plastic work absorbed in the stress-strain field.These are connected with the state function of triaxial stress.The deformation history and strain characteristic during deformation of material are described by the flow line in which the deformation history and strain characteristic restrain the crack initiation at stage Ⅱ and the crack propagation at stage Ⅲ.The strain hardening rate may sensitively reflect the stress distribution and micro-fracture mechanism in the interi- or of material.

Finite element model updating of existing steel bridge based on structural health monitoring

Based on the physical meaning of sensitivity,a new finite element(FE) model updating method was proposed. In this method,a three-dimensional FE model of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge(NYRB) with ANSYS program was established and updated by modifying some design parameters. To further validate the updated FE model,the analytical stress-time histories responses of main members induced by a moving train were compared with the measured ones. The results show that the relative error of maximum stress is 2.49% and the minimum relative coefficient of analytical stress-time histories responses is 0.793. The updated model has a good agreement between the calculated data and the tested data,and provides a current baseline FE model for long-term health monitoring and condition assessment of the NYRB. At the same time,the model is validated by stress-time histories responses to be feasible and practical for railway steel bridge model updating.

Simplified Thermodynamic Model for Pro-Eutectoid Ferrite Formation in Multicomponent Structural Steel

By introducing aparameter of difference in ferrite formation temperature between binary Fe-C and multicomponent system,and referring to the thermodynamic model for Fe-C binary system,a simplified thermodynamic model for pro-eutectoid ferrite formation in Fe-ΣXiC multicomponent structural steels(Xi=Mn,Si,Mo,Cr,Ni or Ti,etc)was suggested.The comparison of the calculated Ae3 temperatures with the measured data of steels 42 shows that the relative standard deviation and root-mean-square(RMS)error between them are only 0.71% and 8.92 K,respectively.However,the deviations between the same measured data and the values calculated from the superelement model are as high as 1.86% and 23.83 K,respectively.It can be concluded that the simplified thermodynamic model for pro-eutectoid ferrite formation in multicomponent structural steels is acceptable and the calculated Ae3 temperatures are in good agreement with the experimental data.

Deformation Mechanism of Bimodal Structured 2205 Duplex Stainless Steel in Two Yield Stages

A kind of micro/nanostructured 2205 duplex stainless steel(DSS)with uniform distribution of nanocrystals was prepared via aluminothermic reaction method.The analysis of stress-strain curve showed that the fracture strength and elongation of the specimen were 946 MPa and 24.7%,respectively.At present,the research on microstructure of bimodal 2205 DSS at room temperature(RT)mainly depended on scanning electron microscope(SEM)observation after loading experiments.The test result indicates that there are two different yield stages in stress-strain curve of specimen during tensile process.The microstructure of duplex bimodal structured stainless steel consists of two pairs of soft hard regions and phases.By studying deformation mechanism of bimodal structured stainless steel,the interaction between soft phase and hard phase are discussed.The principle of composition design and microstructure control of typical duplex stainless steel is obtained,which provides an important research basis for designing of advanced duplex stainless steel.

Monte-Carlo Simulation of Surface Crack Growth Rate for Offshore Structural Steel E36-Z35

The Monte- Carlo method is used to simulate the surface fatigue crack growth rate for offshore structural steel E36-Z35, and to determine the distributions and relevance of the parameters in the Paris equation. By this method, the time and cost of fatigue crack propagation testing can be reduced. The application of the method is demonstrated by use of four sets of fatigue crack propagation data for offshore structural steel E36-Z35. A comparison of the test data with the theoretical prediction for surface crack growth rate shows the application of the simulation method to the fatigue crack propagation tests is successful.

Experimental study on stress-strain-temperature models for structural steel

For the research on steel structure in fire,it is very important to determine the properties of structural steel at elevated temperature.Up to now,the high-temperature properties of material is believed to be related to only temperature state,which is not precise enough to simulate the behavior of steel structures under different combinations of heating,cooling,loading,and unloading.To analyze the influence of the temperature-load history on the steel properties,a series of tests were carried out under different temperature-load paths about steel Q235,which is widely used in steel structures in China.In this paper,the method to set the temperature-load paths was introduced;the variety regulation of steel properties changing with temperature was analyzed under different paths;according to experimental results,the formulas of elastic modulus and yield strength at elevated temperature were fitted,and the stress-strain-temperature 3D relationships of structural steel under different paths were presented.