Hydrogen Permeation and Diffusion in Low-carbon Steels and 16Mn Steel

In the present work. the hydrogen permeation and diffusion in two low-carbon steels. # 10 and #20. and 16Mn stee1 over the temperature range of 80 to 330℃ were investigated using gaseous permeation technique. The temperature dependence of hydrogen permeability. diffusivity and solubility for the three steels was obtained in the form of the Arrhenius equations. It was shown that the hydrogen permeability of the 16Mn steel is somewhat lower than that of the two low-carbon steels.whereas the hydrogen diffusivity is lowered in the order of #10, #20 and 16Mn but the activation energy of diffusion is much the same for the three steels. The difference in the diffusivity was attributed to the increase of ferrite-cementite interface areas with the refinement of pearlitic structure in the steels

Mechanical properties of fine-grained dual phase low-carbon steels based on dynamic transformation

The fine grained dual phase （FG-DP） steel with ferrite grains of 2-4.5 μm and martensite islands smaller than 3 μm was obtained through the mechanism of deformation-enhanced ferrite transformation （DEFT）. Mechanical properties of the steel were tested at room temperature. The results indicated that with a similar volume fraction of martensite （about 20vol%）,FG-DP steel exhibited a superior combination of higher strength and more rapid strain hardening at low strains compared with the coarse-grained dual phase （CG-DP） steel obtained by critical annealing. The combination of higher strength,large elongation,and more rapid strain hardening of FG-DP steel can be attributed to the fine ferrite grain and finely dispersed martensite islands. In addition,the uniformly distributed martensite islands in FG-DP steel have smaller interspacing compared with that of CG-DP steel. So,at the initial plastic deformation stage,the plastic deformation of ferrite was restrained and more pronounced load was transferred from ferrite to martensite. The plastic deformation of martensite in FG-DP steel started earlier.

Effects of inclusions on microstructure and properties of heat-affected-zone for low-carbon steels

The characteristics of inclusions in two types of low-carbon steels by different deoxidization methods have been investigated by using the welding thermal simulation, the optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. In addition, the effects of inclusions on microstructure and properties of heat-affected-zone were studied. The nucleation and growth of intragranular acicular ferrite was observed in situ by the laser scanning confocal microscopy. The distribution of Mn element near the inclu- sion was also analyzed by the auger electron spectroscopy. The results showed that the inclusions in A1 killed steel are mainly aluminum oxides, manganese sulfide and titanium nitrides, and that the inclusions in Ti killed steel are mainly titanium oxide, manganese sulfide complex inclusion and single manganese sulfide. The auger electron spectroscopy showed that there is an Mn-depleted zone near the interface of TiOffMnS complex inclusion in the size of 1-3 gm. It could be the effective nucleus of intragranular acicular ferrite which could divide the prior austenite grains, inhibit the growth of low-temperature microstruc- ture, and refine the final microstructure, so as to improve the toughness of heat-affected-zone significantly.

Prediction model for corrosion rate of low-alloy steels under atmospheric conditions using machine learning algorithms

This work constructed a machine learning(ML)model to predict the atmospheric corrosion rate of low-alloy steels(LAS).The material properties of LAS,environmental factors,and exposure time were used as the input,while the corrosion rate as the output.6 dif-ferent ML algorithms were used to construct the proposed model.Through optimization and filtering,the eXtreme gradient boosting(XG-Boost)model exhibited good corrosion rate prediction accuracy.The features of material properties were then transformed into atomic and physical features using the proposed property transformation approach,and the dominant descriptors that affected the corrosion rate were filtered using the recursive feature elimination(RFE)as well as XGBoost methods.The established ML models exhibited better predic-tion performance and generalization ability via property transformation descriptors.In addition,the SHapley additive exPlanations(SHAP)method was applied to analyze the relationship between the descriptors and corrosion rate.The results showed that the property transformation model could effectively help with analyzing the corrosion behavior,thereby significantly improving the generalization ability of corrosion rate prediction models.

Influence of Prior Austenite Deformation and Non-Metallic Inclusions on Ferrite Formation in Low-Carbon Steels

Effects of prior austenite deformation and non-metallic inclusions on the ferrite nucleation and grain refine- ment of two kinds of low-carbon steels have been studied. The ferrite nucleation on MnS and V（C, N） is observed. The combination of thermomeehanical processes with adequate amounts of non-metallic inclusions formed in low-car- bon steels could effectively refine the grain size and the microstructure. Ferrite nucleated on the single MnS or V（C, N） inclusions and complex MnS＋V（C,N） inclusion. The proper addition of elements S and V could effectively promote the formation of ferrite and further refinement of ferrite grains.

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.

Grain refinement in the coarse-grained region of the heat-affected zone in low-carbon high-strength microalloyed steels

The microstructural features and grain refinement in the coarse-grained region of the heat-affected zone in low-carbon high-strength microalloyed steels were investigated using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and electron backscattering dif- fraction. The coarse-grained region of the heat-affected zone consists of predominantly bainite and a small proportion of acicular ferrite. Bainite packets are separated by high angle boundaries. Acicular ferrite laths or plates in the coarse-grained region of the heat-affected zone formed prior to bainite packets partition austenite grains into many smaller and separate areas, resulting in fine-grained mixed microstruc- tures. Electron backscattefing diffraction analysis indicates that the average crystallographic grain size of the coarse-grained region of the heat-affected zone reaches 6-9 μm, much smaller than that of anstanite grains.

Effect of temperature and time on the precipitation ofκ-carbides in Fe-28Mn-10Al-0.8C low-density steels:Aging mechanism and its impact on material properties

In low-density steel,κ-carbides primarily precipitate in the form of nanoscale particles within austenite grains.However,their precipitation within ferrite matrix grains has not been comprehensively explored,and the second-phase evolution mechanism during aging remains unclear.In this study,the crystallographic characteristics and morphological evolution ofκ-carbides in Fe-28Mn-10Al-0.8C(wt%)low-density steel at different aging temperatures and times and the impacts of these changes on the steels’microhardness and properties were comprehensively analyzed.Under different heat treatment conditions,intragranularκ-carbides exhibited various morpho-logical and crystallographic characteristics,such as acicular,spherical,and short rod-like shapes.At the initial stage of aging,acicularκ-carbides primarily precipitated,accompanied by a few spherical carbides.κ-Carbides grew and coarsened with aging time,the spherical carbides were considerably reduced,and rod-like carbides coarsened.Vickers hardness testing demonstrated that the material’s hardness was affected by the volume fraction,morphology,and size ofκ-carbides.Extended aging at higher temperatures led to an increase in carbide size and volume fraction,resulting in a gradual rise in hardness.During deformation,the primary mechanisms for strengthening were dislocation strengthening and second-phase strengthening.Based on these findings,potential strategies for improving material strength are proposed.

Critical precipitation behavior of MnTe inclusions in resulfurized steels during solidification

Te treatment is an effective method for modifying sulfide inclusions,and MnTe precipitation has an important effect on thermal brittleness and steel corrosion resistance.In most actual industrial applications of Te treatment,MnTe precipitation is unexpected.The critical precipitation behavior of MnTe inclusions was investigated through scanning electron microscopy,transmission electron microscopy,machine learning,and first-principles calculation.MnTe preferentially precipitated at the container mouth for sphere-like sulfides and at the interface between MnS grain boundaries and steel matrix for rod-like sulfides.The MnS/MnTe interface was semicoherent.A composition transition zone with a rock-salt structure exhibiting periodic changes existed to maintain the semicoherent interface.The critical precipitation behavior of MnTe inclusions in resulfurized steels involved three stages at varying temperatures.First,Mn(S,Te)precipitated during solidification.Second,MnTe with a rock-salt structure precipitated from Mn(S,Te).Third,MnTe with a hexagonal NiAs structure transformed from the rock-salt structure.The solubility of Te in MnS decreased with decreasing temperature.The critical precipitation behavior of MnTe inclusions in resulfurized steels was related to the MnS precipitation temperature.With the increase in MnS precipitation temperature,the critical Te/S weight ratio decreased.In consideration of the cost-effectiveness of Te addition for industrial production,the Te content in resulfurized steels should be controlled in accordance with MnS precipitation temperature and S content.

Electromagnetic responses on microstructures of duplex stainless steels based on 3D cellular and electromagnetic sensor finite element models

Microstructures determine mechanical properties of steels,but in actual steel product process it is difficult to accurately control the microstructure to meet the requirements.General microstructure characterization methods are time consuming and results are not rep-resentative for overall quality level as only a fraction of steel sample was selected to be examined.In this paper,a macro and micro coupled 3D model was developed for nondestructively characterization of steel microstructures.For electromagnetic signals analysis,the relative permeability value computed by the micro cellular model can be used in the macro electromagnetic sensor model.The effects of different microstructure components on the relative permeability of duplex stainless steel(grain size,phase fraction,and phase distribu-tion)were discussed.The output inductance of an electromagnetic sensor was determined by relative permeability values and can be val-idated experimentally.The findings indicate that the inductance value of an electromagnetic sensor at low frequency can distinguish dif-ferent microstructures.This method can be applied to real-time on-line characterize steel microstructures in process of steel rolling.

Review on the plastic instability of medium -Mn steels for identifying the formation mechanisms of Lüders and Portevin -Le Chatelier bands

Plastic instability,including both the discontinuous yielding and stress serrations,has been frequently observed during the tensile deformation of medium-Mn steels(MMnS)and has been intensively studied in recent years.Unfortunately,research results are controversial,and no consensus has been achieved regarding the topic.Here,we first summarize all the possible factors that affect the yielding and flow stress serrations in MMnS,including the morphology and stability of austenite,the feature of the phase interface,and the deformation parameters.Then,we propose a universal mechanism to explain the conflicting experimental results.We conclude that the discontinuous yielding can be attributed to the lack of mobile dislocation before deformation and the rapid dislocation multiplication at the beginning of plastic deformation.Meanwhile,the results show that the stress serrations are formed due to the pinning and depinning between dislocations and interstitial atoms in austenite.Strain-induced martensitic transformation,influenced by the mechanical stability of austenite grain and deformation parameters,should not be the intrinsic cause of plastic instability.However,it can intensify or weaken the discontinuous yielding and the stress serrations by affecting the mobility and density of dislocations,as well as the interaction between the interstitial atoms and dislocations in austenite grains.

Interplay between temperature-dependent strengthening mechanisms and mechanical stability in high-performance austenitic stainless steels

The effects of deformation temperature on the transformation-induced plasticity(TRIP)-aided 304L,twinning-induced plasti-city(TWIP)-assisted 316L,and highly alloyed stable 904L austenitic stainless steels were compared for the first time to tune the mechan-ical properties,strengthening mechanisms,and strength-ductility synergy.For this purpose,the scanning electron microscopy(SEM),electron backscattered diffraction(EBSD),X-ray diffraction(XRD),tensile testing,work-hardening analysis,and thermodynamics calcu-lations were used.The induced plasticity effects led to a high temperature-dependency of work-hardening behavior in the 304L and 316L stainless steels.As the deformation temperature increased,the metastable 304L stainless steel showed the sequence of TRIP,TWIP,and weakening of the induced plasticity mechanism;while the disappearance of the TWIP effect in the 316L stainless steel was also observed.However,the solid-solution strengthening in the 904L superaustenitic stainless steel maintained the tensile properties over a wide temper-ature range,surpassing the performance of 304L and 316L stainless steels.In this regard,the dependency of the total elongation on the de-formation temperature was less pronounced for the 904L alloy due to the absence of additional plasticity mechanisms.These results re-vealed the importance of solid-solution strengthening and the associated high friction stress for superior mechanical behavior over a wide temperature range.

Progress in weldability research of duplex stainless steels

Duplex stainless steels(DSSs)show better corrosion resistance with higher strength than traditional austenite stainless steels in many aggressive environments,and can be welded properly with almost every welding processes,if proper heat input is provided.Progresses of research works on weldability of DSSs in recent years are reviewed in this paper.Balance control of ferrite/austenite phases is most important for DSSs welding.The phases balance can be controlled with filler materials,nitrogen addition in shielding gas,heat input,post weld heat treatment,and alternating magnetic field.Too high cooling rate results in not only extra ferrite,but also chromium nitride precipitation.While too low cooling rate or heating repeatedly results in precipitation of secondary austenite and intermetallic compounds.In both situations,mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of the DSS joints deteriorate.Recommended upper and lower limits of heat input and maximum interpass temperature should be observed.

Development of a new irradiation-embrittlement prediction model for reactor pressure-vessel steels

Predicting the transition-temperature shift(TTS)induced by neutron irradiation in reactor pressure-vessel(RPV)steels is important for the evaluation and extension of nuclear power-plant lifetimes.Current prediction models may fail to properly describe the embrittlement trend curves of Chinese domestic RPV steels with relatively low Cu content.Based on the screened surveillance data of Chinese domestic and similar international RPV steels,we have developed a new fluencedependent model for predicting the irradiation-embrittlement trend.The fast neutron fluence(E>1 MeV)exhibited the highest correlation coefficient with the measured TTS data;thus,it is a crucial parameter in the prediction model.The chemical composition has little relevance to the TTS residual calculated by the fluence-dependent model.The results show that the newly developed model with a simple power-law functional form of the neutron fluence is suitable for predicting the irradiation-embrittlement trend of Chinese domestic RPVs,regardless of the effect of the chemical composition.

A Physical Core-Loss Model for Laminated Magnetic Sheet Steels

A full-frequency instant core-loss equation built from the induction physical model of magnetic materials, where the iron loss, eddy loss, and hysteresis loss no longer have an integral term, and this new equation provides high simulation accuracy and performs dynamic core loss analysis on non-sinusoidal or pulse magnetic fields. The simulation examples use a high-grade electrical steel sheet 65CS400 by Epstein experimental data covering magnetic field 0.1 - 1.8 T and frequency 50 - 5000 Hz, and the average error of the simulated core loss is less than 4%. Since the simulation is converged by magnetic physical parameters, so the physical relevance of the similar laminated materials can be compared with the coefficient results. .

Effect of Ni content on the weldability of middle-chromium hyperpure ferritic stainless steels 00Cr21Ti

Excellent weldability substantially contributes to the intrinsic quality of steels,while appropriate chemical composition plays a primary role in the essential weldability of steels.The poor weldability of ferritic stainless steels could be improved through modification with minor alloy elements while minimally increasing the cost.Therefore,studying the effect of minor alloy elements on the weldability of steels is of considerable importance.In this study,several steels of middle-chromium hyperpure ferritic stainless 00Cr21Ti with different Ni content(0.3%,0.5%,0.8%,and 1.0%)were developed,and their weldabilities of butt joint samples welded using the metal inert gas welding process,including the influence of welded joints on the microstructure,tensile performance,corrosion resistance,and fatigue property,were investigated.Results show that the steels with w(Ni)≥0.8%exhibit excellent mechanical properties compared with those with low-Ni content steels,further,their impact toughness at normal atmospheric temperature meets the industrial application standard and the fatigue property is similar to that of 304 austenitic stainless steel.Moreover,results show that the corrosion resistance of all the samples is almost at the same level.The results acquired in this study are supposed to be useful for the optimization of the chemical composition of stainless steels aiming to improve weldability.

Formation of Phosphorous Surface Inverse Segregation in Twin-Roll Cast Strips of Low-Carbon Steels

The formation of phosphorous surface inverse segregation （SIS） in twin-roll cast strips of low-carbon steels was studied. High phosphorous strips were fabricated by using a pilot twin-roll strip caster and a melt/substrate contacting apparatus, respectively. Solidification structures of strips were observed and analyzed, and phosphorus distributions along longitudinal sections of strips were investigated and discussed. The results showed that solidification structures of all strips were columnar grains, either integrated or coarse in the strip made by the melt/substrate contacting apparatus or damaged in some degree in cast strips; and that during cast strip solidification, enrichment of phosphorus occurred between columnar grains, and the average phosphorus concentration near the surface in the strip with 0.15% of phosphorus was measured to be about 0.27% which was obviously higher than that in the bulk.

Quickly obtaining densely dispersed coherent particles in steel matrix and its related mechanical property

Densely distributed coherent nanoparticles(DCN)in steel matrix can enhance the work-hardening ability and ductility of steel simultaneously.All the routes to this end can be generally classified into the liquid-solid route and the solid-solid route.However,the formation of DCN structures in steel requires long processes and complex steps.So far,obtaining steel with coherent particle enhancement in a short time remains a bottleneck,and some necessary steps remain unavoidable.Here,we show a high-efficiency liquid-phase refining process reinforced by a dynamic magnetic field.Ti-Y-Mn-O particles had an average size of around(3.53±1.21)nm and can be obtained in just around 180 s.These small nanoparticles were coherent with the matrix,implying no accumulated dislocations between the particles and the steel matrix.Our findings have a potential application for improving material machining capacity,creep resistance,and radiation resistance.

GROWTH OF MnS IN Fe-CU-C-MnS SINTERED STEELS WITH ADMIXED MnS

MnS growth in sintered steels with admixed Fe, Cu, C and MnS has been investigated by SEM and X-ray diffraction, MnS in Fe-Cu-C-MnS sintered steels in which MnS has been admixed is not stable and MnS growth may be ascribed to sintering between MnS particles or reaction between MnS and Fe, Cu, C elements.

Failure Analysis of Electron Beam Weld Joints for 18Ni Co-free Maraging Steels

Microstructure of two different 18Ni Co-free maraging specimens and their electron beam weld joints were investigated comparatively by optical microscopy and SEM. It is showing that both of the steels are typical lath martensite, however, one grain size is about three times as another one, and XRD reveals that the amount of the retained austenitic phase in the former is less then the latter. The austenite distributes in plate form along granular and lath boundaries while some in fine particle within the matrix. The microstructural difference between two specimens led to diverse behaviors in electron beam welding. The first specimen is weldable well but the second shows obvious welding defects of pits and burn-through holes in weld face. The welding microstructure exhibits a typical dendritic morphology, and the grains in the heat-affected zone recrystallized and grew up obviously for high temperature heated by welding electron beam. The weldablity is relative to the thermal conduction performance of the base materials,which is contributed greatly for grain size and austenite content.