Effect of Quenching and Partitioning Process on MA Constituent in Nb-Bearing HSLA Steel

The effect of quenching-partitioning （Q-P） process on martensite-anstenite （MA） constituent is investigated by the thermo-analysis simulator for a niobium-bearing HSLA steel. The process includes quenching from 950 ℃ to the intermediate temperature of 350-550 ℃ at the rate of 30 ℃/s and subsequent reheating at the rate of 20-50 ℃/s and partitioning at 660-800 ℃. The microstructure is characterized by nano probe, EBSD, colored metallograph, optical microscope and graphic analytic method. The results show that the improvement of distribution homogeneity of MA in microstructure, the diminishment of the MA average grain size and increment of the MA volume fraction is caused by the intermediate temperature decrease, the reheating rate increase and a proper partitioning temperature. The volume fraction of MA is up to 7.9% while the sample is quenched to 450 ℃, reheated at 50 ℃/s and partitioned at 750 ℃ The grain is granular or equiaxed in shape and the average grain size of MA is about 0.77-1.48 grn after treated by Q＆P process. The grains tend to be coarse and with sharpy-angle as the intermediate temperature is up and the reheating rate and the partitioning temperature rises. The MA volume fraction depends on the untransformed austenite volume fraction after quenching and carbon diffusion time and temperature during partitioning process.

Sensitivity of the Impact Toughness and Microstructure of 15CrNi3MoV Steel Under Different Quenching Rates

The sensitivities of the mechanical properties and microstructure of 15CrNi3MoV alloy steel under different quenching rates were investigated in the present study.After subjection to quenching with four different cooling rates(water cooling,forced air cooling,static air cooling and furnace cooling)followed by tempering,the microstructure was characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM),electron back-scattered diffraction(EBSD),and transmission electron microscopy(TEM);and the low-temperature(−20°C)impact toughness was evaluated.The results showed that the tempered microstructure and mechanical properties had high sensitivity to the quenching rate.With a decrease in the quenching rate,the low-temperature impact energy of tempered specimens decreased with increasing fluctuation.Correspondingly,the fracture morphology changed from completely ductile to brittle.In addition,as the quenching cooling rate decreased,the as-quenched matrix changed from a lathy to a polygonal structure with the presence of carbides and martensite-austenite(M-A)constituents,and the effective grain size increased.Tempered martensite with dispersed fine carbides was found in the tempered water cooling specimen,and tempered bainite with a polygonal structure containing large carbides and rare incomplete undecomposed M-A constituents was found in the tempered forced air cooling,static air cooling and furnace cooling specimens.The small effective grain size and fine carbides contributed to the good temperature impact toughness of the tempered water cooling specimens.

Effects of rare earth on microstructure and impact toughness of low alloy Cr-Mo-V steels for hydrogenation reactor vessels

The effects of rare earth(RE) on the microstructure and impact toughness of low alloy Cr-Mo-V bainitic steels have been investigated where the steels have RE content of 0 to 0.048 wt.%. The results indicate that the normalized microstructures of the steels are typical granular bainite(GB) composed primarily of bainitic ferrite and martensite and/or austenite(M-A) constituents. The M-A constituents are transformed into ferrite and carbides and/or agglomerated carbides after tempering at 700℃ for 4 h. The addition of RE decreases the onset temperature of bainitic transformation and results in the formation of finer bainitic ferrite, and reduces the amount of carbon-rich M-A constituents. For the normalized and tempered samples, the ductile-to-brittle transition temperature(DBTT) decreases with increasing RE content to a critical value of 0.012 wt.%. Lower DBTT and higher upper shelf energy are attributed to the decreased effective grain size and lower amount of coarse agglomerated carbides from the decomposition of massive M-A constituents. However, the addition of RE in excess of 0.012 wt.% leads to a substantial increase in the volume fraction of large-sized inclusions, which are extremely detrimental to the impact toughness.

Simultaneously Improving Mechanical Properties and Stress Corrosion Cracking Resistance of High-Strength Low-Alloy Steel via Finish Rolling within Non-recrystallization Temperature

The effect of hot rolling process on microstructure evolution,mechanical properties and stress corrosion cracking(SCC)resistance of high-strength low-alloy(HSLA)steels was investigated by varying the finish rolling temperature(FRT)and total rolling reduction.The results revealed granular bainite with large equiaxed grains was obtained by a total rolling reduction of60%with the FRT of 950℃(within recrystallization temperature T_(r)).The larger grain size and much less grain boundaries should account for the relatively lower strength and SCC resistance.A larger rolling reduction of 80% under the same FRT resulted in the formation of massive martensite-austenite(M/A)constituents and resultant low ductility and SCC resistance.In contrast,a good combination of strength,ductility and SCC resistance was obtained via 80% rolling reduction with the FRT of 860℃(within non-recrystallization temperature T_(nr)),probably because of the fine grain size and M/A constituents,as well as a high density of grain boundary network.

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.

Effect of Heat Input on Cleavage Crack Initiation of Simulated Coarse Grain Heat-affected Zone in Microalloyed Offshore Platform Steel

The combined effects of martensite-austenite（MA）constituent and pearlite colony on cleavage crack initiation in the simulated coarse-grained heat-affected zone（CGHAZ）of V-N-Ti microalloyed offshore platform steel under different heat inputs were investigated.The results of welding simulation,instrumented impact test,and quantitative analysis indicated that the size of the MA constituent decreased with the increase in cooling time,and by contrast,the size of the pearlite colony increased.According to Griffith theory,the critical sizes of cleavage microcracks were calculated.With the increase of cooling time,the calculated microcrack size could be characterized by the size of the MA constituent first,and then fitted with the size of the pearlite colony.Moreover,the calculated microcrack size variation was opposite to the microcrack initiation energy.This phenomenon is probably due to the combined effects of the MA constituent and pearlite colony with increasing the cooling time of the specimen′s temperature from800 to 500 ℃.