Effect of quenching and tempering processes on properties and microstructure of G115 steel

The novel martensitic heat-resistant steel G115 was designed for thick-section boiler components of ultra-supercritical(USC) power plants at 630-650 ℃.The impact of the quenching and tempering processes on the properties and microstructure of G115 steel was explored.The samples that were quenched and tempered twice had a higher tensile strength at room temperature and 650 ℃,and the impact energy was significantly improved.The strength and impact energy increased in proportion to the increase in the first quenching temperature.The microstructure differences between the single and double quenched and tempered samples were examined using metallographic microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.The grain size of the double quenched and tempered samples was finer than that of the single quenched and tempered samples, and the tempered martensite lath is more visible, as are the carbides and other precipitates, which are finer and more uniformly distributed.As the first quenching temperature increased, the grains became coarser but more uniform.

Numerical simulation research of dimension variation in heavy plate during quenching and tempering process

The dimension variation of B610E steel during the quenching and tempering process was simulated by ABAQUS,the coefficient of heat transfer during quenching was verified by the buried thermocouple test and the trend of the dimension variation during the quenching process was also calculated by ABAQUS. It was shown by the comparison of simulated results and industrially measured results that only the simulation of thickness and width variation was accurate, while length variation needed further simulation. Besides, the dimension variation trend was identical with the measured results.

Study on Quenching and Tempering Process of Q960 High Strength Steel for Construction Machinery

To develop the Q960 high-strength quenched and tempered steel plates for construction machinery,the effects of quenching and tempering treating regime on the microstructures and mechanical properties were investigated.The results show that the perfect austenization and fine grain size can be achieved by the optimum quenching process that is quenching temperature 900℃ and holding time 20min.Considering performance and production efficiency,the optimum tempering process parameters are found that tempering temperature 600℃ and holding time 40min.The excellent overall properties of specimens with tempered sorbite microstructure can be ultimately obtained.The yield strength is 1030MPa,tensile strength 1080MPa,percentage elongation 16.8% and the Charpy impact energy 144J at-40℃.All these indexes come up to the National Standard GB/T 16270-2009.

Cold Cracking of Flux Cored Arc Welded Armour Grade High Strength Steel Weldments

In this investigation, an attempt has been made to study the influence of welding consumables on the factors that influence cold cracking of armour grade quenched and tempered （Q＆.T） steel welds. Flux cored arc welding （FCAW） process were used making welds using austenitic stainless steel （ASS） and low hydrogen ferritic steel （LHF） consumables. The diffusible hydrogen levels in the weld metal of the ASS and LHF consumables were determined by mercury method. Residual stresses were evaluated using X-ray stress analyzer and implant test was carried out to study the cold cracking of the welds. Results indicate that ASS welds offer a greater resistance to cold cracking of armour grade Q＆T steel welds.

Development of SA-533 Type B CL. 1+SA-240 Type 304L roll-bonded clad steel plate for safety injection tank of CAP1400 nuclear power plant

Aiming to meet the demand of the country＇ s nuclear demonstration project on the CAP1400 nuclear power plant, Baosteel uses the roll-bonding technology and develops the SA-533 Type B CL. 1 ＋ SA-240 Type 304L high-strength and high-toughness clad steel plate with a shear strength of over 310 MPa for the nuclear power plant＇ s safety injection tank. The properties of the quenched and tempered and the simulated post-weld heat treatment states are systematically studied herein through a comprehensive inspection and evaluation of the composition,microstructure,and properties of the clad steel plate. The results show that the bonding interface has high shear strength and that the base metal has high strength and good toughness at low temperatures. Hence, the performance fully meets the technical requirements of the CAP1400 nuclear power plant＇ s safety injection tank in the country＇ s nuclear demonstration project. The roll-bonded clad steel plate can be used to manufacture the safety injection tank of the CAP1400 nuclear power plant.

Experimental Investigation on the Performance of Armour Grade Q&T Steel Joints Fabricated by Flux Cored Arc Welding with Low Hydrogen Ferritic Consumables

Quenched and Tempered （Q＆T） steels are widely used in the construction of military vehicles due to its high strength to weight ratio and high hardness. These steels are prone to hydrogen induced cracking （HIC） and softening in the heat affected zone （HAZ） after welding. The use of austenitic stainless steel （ASS） consumables to weld the above steel was the only available remedy to avoid HIC because of higher solubility for hydrogen in austenitic phase. Recent studies revealed that low hydrogen ferritic （LHF） steel consumables can also be used to weld Q＆T steels, which can give very low hydrogen levels in the weld deposits and required resistance against cold cracking. Hence, in this investigation an attempt has been made to study the performance of armour grade Q＆T steel joints fabricated by flux cored arc welding with LHF steel consumables. Two different consumables namely （i） austenitic stainless steel and （ii） low hydrogen ferritic steel have been used to fabricate the joints by flux cored arc welding （FCAW） process. The joints fabricated by LHF consumable exhibited superior transverse tensile properties due to the presence of ferrite microstructure in weld metal. The joints fabricated by ASS consumable showed higher impact toughness due to the presence of austenitic phase in weld metal microstructure. The HAZ softening in coarse grain heat affected zone （CGHAZ） is less in the joints fabricated using LHF consumable due to the lower heat input involved during fabrication compared to the joints fabricated using ASS consumables.

Rotating arc horizontal narrow gap welding of high strength quenched and tempered steel

Rotating arc borizontal narrow gap welding of quenched ＆ tempered （Q＆T） steel was innovatively performed for solving the bottleneck that the molten pool sagged due to the gravity. The shapely multilayer single pass horizontal joint could be obtairzed by using the rotating are welding process. The cold crack was not observed in the joint without controlling the heat input and selecting the consumables intentionally. Microstructure of the joint could be divided into three zones： base metal zone （BMZ） , heat-affected zone （ HAZ） and weld zone （WZ）. Because of the characteristic of the rotating arc horizontal welding process, the defects in the joints were slag inclztsion formed at the interlayer of lower side wall. Tbe tensile strength and hardness of HAZ and WZ were larger than those of BMZ. The impact toughness in WZ, HAZ and BM at 0 % is equal to 11.5, 212 and 236 J, respectively.

Microstructural analysis of the softened zone in the welding joint of 100 kg class hot-rolled extra-high-strength steel

Using the Gleeble 3500 thermal-mechanical system to simulate thermal cycles with different peak temperatures, the hardness and microstructure in the heat-affected zones of two kinds of 100 kg class hot-rolled extra-high-strength steel were compared. When the peak temperature of the thermal cycle was 800℃ ,incomplete transformation occurred during quenching in both steels, and massive martensite and bainite grains were formed. The hardness was determined by the composition and distribution of the microstructure. The concentration of massive martensite was low, and hence the hardness was low,in steel #1. Conversely,the massive martensite content in steel #2 was high and uniformly distributed,resulting in a high hardness. These findings can provide a reference for improving the mechanical properties in the softened zone.

Laser Beam Welding of 600 MPa Quenched and Tempered High-Strength Steel

Conventional fusion arc welding of high-strength quenched and tempered steel can be improved through the use of non-conventional laser beam welding. This article presents the investigations of autogenous bead on plate and butt CO2 Laser Welding (LW) of 7 mm thick high-strength quenched and tempered low alloy SM570 (JIS) steel plates. The influence of laser welding parameters, mainly welding speed, defocusing distance and shielding gas flow rate on the weld profile, i.e., weld zone penetration depth and width, microstructure and mechanical properties of welded joints was determined. All welded joints showed smooth and uniform weld beads free from superficial porosity and undercuts. The selected best welding conditions were a laser power of 5.0 kW, welding speed of 500 mm/min, argon gas shielding flow rate of 30 L/min and a defocusing distance of -0.5 mm. It was observed that these conditions gave complete penetration and minimized the width of the weld bead. The microstructure of the welded joints was evaluated by light optical microscopy. The weld metal (WM) and heat-affected zone (HAZ) near weld metal achieved maximum hardness (355 HV). The tensile fractured samples showed the ductile mode of failure and ultimate tensile strength of 580 MPa.

Application of the Computer-aided Quenching Technology on the Connecting Bar of 42CrMo4

In order to obtain the desired mechanical properties of connecting bar after quenching and tempering,and reduce the cracking tendency and distortion,a program of controllable quenching was established.Furthermore,a computer-aided quenching (CAQ) system was developed.The applications show satisfactory results.

Ni segregation and thermal stability of reversed austenite in a Fe–Ni alloy processed by QLT heat treatment

High-resolution transmission electron microscopy(HRTEM) and X-ray diffraction(XRD) were used to investigate Ni segregation and thermal stability of reversed austenite(RA) in a Fe–Ni alloy processed by quench–lamellarize–temper(QLT) heat treatment. The results show that the 77 K impact energy of the alloy increases with RA content increasing. As an austenite-stabilizing element, Ni is found to segregate in RA, though Ni is not evenly distributed within RA. The amount of segregations increases near the boundary(twice as high as the balanced content)and decreases to some extent in the center of the RA regions. Ni concentration in matrix near the boundary is lower than that in matrix far from the boundary because of Ni atom transportation from a to c near the boundary. RA in this alloy has high heat and mechanical stability but is likely to lose its stability and transform to martensite when a mechanical load is applied at ultralow temperatures(77 K), which induces plasticity.

Comparison of Microstructures and Properties Obtained After Different Heat Treatment Strategies of High Strength Low Alloyed Steel

The influence of different heat treatment strategies on the microstructure and properties of 42SiCr steel was investigated.To compare the benefit of innovative treatment methods with more conventional ones,several strategies based on a new quenching and partitioning (Q-P) process were designed together with several strategies using more traditional quenching and tempering process.Different combinations of mechanical properties were obtained with ultimate strengths in the range of 1818-2120 MPa and ductility between 10% and 24%.Resulting microstructures were martensitic with 0-12% of retained austenite and they were analyzed by laser scanning confocal microscopy,transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction phase analysis.