PHASE TRANSFORMATION UNIT OF BAINITIC FERRITE AND ITS SURFACE RELIEF IN LOW AND MEDIUM CARBON ALLOY STEELS

The lath-or plate-shaped bainitic ferrite of low and medium carbon alloy steels consists of packets of ferrite sublaths which are composed of many finer and regular ferrite blocks.They are uniform shear growth units of bainitic phase transformation.No carbide is precipitated from them.The bainitic O-carbides are precipitated from γ-α interface or carbon-rich austenite.The mode of arrangement of the units in ferrite sublath packet is in uni-or bi-di- rection.Single surface relief is produced by the accumulation of uniform shear strains with all the ferrite units arranged unidirectionally in a sublath packet,while tent-shaped surface relief is formed by the integration of the uniform shear strains of two groups with ferrite units piling up in two directions and growing face to face;whereas if they grow back to back,the integra- tion will be responsible for invert-tent-shaped surface relief.The interface trace between two groups of ferrite units in a sublath packet is shown as“midrib”.

Influence of original microstructure on the transformation behavior and mechanical properties of ultra-high-strength TRIP-aided steel

The transformation behavior and tensile properties of an ultra-high-strength transformation-induced plasticity （TRIP） steel （0.2C-2.0Si-I.SMn） were investigated by different heat treatments for automobile applications. The results show that F-TRIP steel, a tradi- tional TRIP steel containing as-cold-rolled ferfite and pearlite as the original microstructure, consists of equiaxed grains of intercritical ferrite surrounded by discrete particles of M/RA and B. In contrast, M-TRIP steel, a modified TRiP-aided steel with martensite as the original mi- crostlucture, containing full martensite as the original microstructure is comprised of lath-shaped grains of ferrite separated by lath-shaped martensite/retained austenite and bainite. Most of the austenite in F-TRIP steel is granular, while the austenite in M-TRIP steel is lath-shaped. The volume fraction of the retained austenite as well as its carbon content is lower in F-TRIP steel than in M-TRIP steel, and austenite grains in M-TRIP steel are much finer than those in F-TRIP steel. Therefore, M-TRIP steel was concluded to have a higher austenite stability, re- sulting in a lower transformation rate and consequently contributing to a higher elongation compared to F-TRIP steel. Work hardening be- havior is also discussed for both types of steel.

Characteristics of microstructural evolution during deformation-enhanced ferrite transformation in Nb-microalloyed HSLA steel

Microstructure evolution during deformation of undercooled austenite at 760℃ was investigated in Nb-microalloyed steel by using SEM （scanning electron microscope）, TEM （transmission electron microscope）, and EBSD （electron backscattered diffraction）. It is indicated that during deformation-enhanced ferrite transformation （DEFT） in Nb-microalloyed steel, the incubation period is prolonged, and the higher strain is needed to accomplish ferrite transformation. Therefore, the transformation kinetics curves move to high strain parallelly; and the transformation kinetics curves of Nb-microalloyed steel can be divided into three stages. At the fast stage, the solute drag effect of Nb and the consumption of strain energy for the dynamic precipitation of Nb（CN） led to a long incubation period, and at the second stage, ferrite transformation was accelerated significantly and fine Nb（CN） precipitates restrict the grain growth of ferrite effectively. The results also showed that DEFT in Nb-microalloyed steel is still a nucleation dominated process, and during the microstructure evolution the interchange of 〈001〉 and 〈111〉 texture was obtained.

Bi-modal microstructure in a powder metallurgical ferritic steel

Ferritic steel with a nominal composition of Fe-14Cr-3W-0.42Ti-0.32Y was prepared by mixing gas-atomized prealloyed powder and mechanically alloyed powder. The microstructure is much different fxom other ferritic steels with the same composition and prepared via only mechanically alloyed powder. A bi-modal structure, which consists of pure ferritic grains and martensitic grains, was obtained after hot forging and air cooling. A phase transformation of αbcc→γfcc→α＇bcc was also discovered in microstructural observation. The bi-modal microstructure shows a good combination of high strength and high ductility.

Effects of mischmetal addition on phase transformation and as-cast microstructure characteristics of M2 high-speed steel

The influence of mischmetal （Ce-La） addition on phase transformation and as-cast microstructure characteristics of M2 high-speed steel （HSS） was investigated using Thermo-Calc software, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectrometry. The results showed that the measured phase transition points of M2 HSS were broadly consistent with the theoretical results. After mischmetal addition, the liquidus peak temperature, the peak temperature of the eutectic precipitation of M6C and MC were all increased, especially for the M6C which was affected significantly and increased about 31 °C. The contents of Mo and V in the eutectic carbide decreased and that of Fe increased, while in the matrix, the Mo, V and Cr contents all increased slightly. Furthermore, the microstructure of as-cast dendrite and ledeburite were refined, the total eutectic carbide content decreased and distributed into a discontinuous network, the lamellar spacing of M2C was reduced and the lamellae became thinner.

Dissolution Behavior of Delta Ferrites in Martensitic Heat-resistant Steel for Ultra Supercritical Units Blades

The dissolution behavior of delta ferrites in martensitic heat-resistant steel was studied.And the reason why the dissolution rate of delta ferrites decreased with dissolution time was discussed.The experimental results show that the chemical compositions of delta ferrites negligibly change with dissolution time.The decrease of dissolution rate of delta ferrites with dissolution time should be attributed to the change of shape and distribution of delta ferrites.The shape of delta ferrites tends to transfer from polygon to sphere with dissolution time,causing the decrease of specific surface area of delta ferrites.The distribution position of delta ferrites tends to transfer from boundaries of austenite grains to interior of austenite grains with dissolution time,decreasing the diffusion coefficient of alloy atoms.Both them decrease the dissolution rate of delta ferrites.

Effect of cooling parameters on the microstructure and properties of Mo-bearing and Cr-bearing steels

To develop low-cost low carbon bainitic steel,Mo-bearing and Cr-bearing steels were melted in a vacuum induction furnace and were researched by thermal simulation and hot rolling at the laboratory.As the cooling rate increases from 0.2 to 50°C/s,the transformation temperatures of two steels lie between 650 and 400°C,and the final microstructures of them change from quasi-polygonal ferrite and granular bainite to lath bainite.Compared with cooling in air or by interrupted cooling,Mo-bearing and Cr-bearing steel plates cooled by sprayed water boast higher strength and superior toughness,for large-size islands are responsible for the poor mechanical properties.Compared to Mo,Cr is effective to isolate the bainitic reaction in low carbon steel,and the bainitic microstructure can also be obtained in Cr-bearing steel cooled at a wide range of cooling rate.

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.

Microstructures and mechanical properties of ferrite-based lightweight steel with different compositions

The microstructures and mechanical properties of ferrite-based lightweight steel with different compositions were investigated by tensile test,scanning electron microscopy（SEM）,transmission electron microscopy（TEM）,X-ray diffraction（XRD）and thermodynamic calculation（TC）.It was shown that the ferrite-based lightweight steels with 5wt.%or 8wt.%Al were basically composed of ferrite,austenite andκ-carbide.As the annealing temperature increased,the content of the austenite in the steel gradually increased,while theκ-carbide gradually decomposed and finally disappeared.The mechanical properties of the steel with 5wt.%Al and 2wt.%Cr,composed of ferrite and Cr7C3carbide at different annealing temperatures,were significantly inferior to those of others.The steel containing 5wt.%Al,annealed at 820°C for 50sthen rapidly cooled to 400°C and held for 180s,can obtain the best product of strength and elongation（PSE）of 31242MPa·%.The austenite stability of the steel is better,and its PSE is higher.In addition,the steel with higher PSE has a more stable instantaneous strain hardening exponent（n value）,which is mainly caused by the effect of transformation induced plasticity（TRIP）.When theκ-carbide or Cr7C3carbide existed in the microstructure of the steel,there was an obvious yield plateau in the tensile curve,while its PSE decreased significantly.

Calculation on the Incubation Period of Proeutectoid Ferrite Transformation for Si-Mn TRIP Steel

The incubation period of proeutectoid ferrite transformation for Si-Mn transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) steel has been calculated by the Aaronson's incubation period model for transformation.The influences of chemical compositions and hot deformation of austenite on the incubation period have been taken into consideration in the calculation,and some parameters have been proposed and validated with the measured time temperature transformation (TTT) curves from dilation tests.The calculation results show that it is essential to take into account of the effect of solute atoms on the interfacial energy in the austenite grain boundaries.For hypoeutectoid steel,the incubation period of ferrite transformation increases with the increase of C and Mn contents,and C has a greater impact than that of Mn,while the incubation period of ferrite transformation decreases with the increase of Si content.Hot deformation shortens the incubation time and promotes austenite to ferrite transformation.

Role of Solute Rare Earth in Altering Phase Transformations during Continuous Cooling of a Low Alloy Cr–Mo–V Steel

Effects of solute rare earth(RE)on continuous cooling transformation of a low-alloy Cr–Mo–V bainitic steel are investigated in detail by dilatometry,optical microscopy(OM),scanning electron microscopy(SEM)and transmission electron microscopy(TEM).Microstructures appeared in thermal dilatometric samples of both low-alloy Cr–Mo–V(RE)steels are composed of quasi-polygonal ferrite(QPF),degenerate pearlite(DP),granular bainite(GB),lath bainite(LB),and martensite(M)depending on cooling rate.When cooling rate is lower than 2°C/s,the addition of RE suppresses QPF transformation,and thereby inducing a broader transformation region of GB.When cooling rate ranges from 2 to 100°C/s,the addition of RE decreases the start temperature of bainitic transformation distinctly,which results in finer bainitic ferrite grain size and higher dislocation density.The addition of RE can enhance the hardness of the low alloy Cr–Mo–V steel by affecting the aforementioned diffusional and/or partly displacive transformation.However,when cooling rate increases up to 150°C/s,two steels have the same hardness value of about 435 HV due to only martensite obtained by displacive transformation.

Prediction of Deformation-Induced γ→α Transformation of 16MnNb Steel

Based on the nucleation and growth theory together with the influence of deformation on driving force and nucleation site,a numerical model was developed for predicting deformation-induced transformation(DIT).The numerical results of DIT of 16 MnNb steel was presented and compared with the experimental ones.The calculated results are in agood agreement with the experimental ones,and the best calculated result is obtained when the constantα=0.25 for steel 16 MnNb.

Effects of ausforming strain on bainite transformation in nanostructured bainite steel

The effects of ausforming strain on bainite transformation in high-carbon low-alloy nanobainite steel were investigated using a Gleeble 3500 thermomechanical simulator machine. The bainite transformation speed at 300°C was found to be accelerated by ausforming at 300, 600, and 700°C under applied strains ranging from 10% to 50% followed by isothermal transformation at 300°C. The ausformed bainite volume fraction varied with the ausforming strain because of the mechanical stabilization of the deformed austenite. Ausforming at low temperatures not only enhanced the bainite ferrite volume fraction but also refined the microstructure substantially. Although the amount of bainite ferrite might have been reduced with increasing strain, the microstructures were refined by ausforming. © 2017, University of Science and Technology Beijing and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Effect of simulated thermomechanical processing on transformation behavior and microstructure of 82B steel

The effects of loop-laying temperature and austenite deformation on the phase(ransformation behavior during continuous cooling,microstructure,and pearlite interlaminar spaci ng in 82B steels were investigated.Static and dynamic conti nu ous cooling transformation(CCT)diagrams were measured with a Gleeble-3500 thermal simulator,and the mechanisms governing changes in the initial temperature,initial time,and duration of the phase transformation zone were also analyzed and discussed.The results show that CCT diagram shifted to the bottom right,the initial temperature of the phase transition decreased,the initial time of the phase transition increased,the duration of the phase transition increased,and the lamellar spacing of pearlite was finer as the loop-layi ng temperature in creased.The initial phase transition time decreased,and the phase transition duration first reduced,then increased,and finally decreased in the static condition and in the dynamic condition at 850℃as the cooling rate increased.Meanwhile,the phase transition duration continuously decreased in the dynamic condition at 900℃.At a given loop-laying temperature,the lamellar spacing in pearlite was finer due to austenite deformation compared with the undeformed case.Compared with the results shown in the dynamic CCT diagram,the corresponding phase diagrams of the static CCT diagram slightly shifted to the bottom right.Moreover,there was a clear lin ear relationship between the reciprocal of the lamellar spaci ng in pearlite and the average undercooling degree in the phase transformation zone.

EBSD Investigation on Effect of Cooling Rate on Microstructure and Transformation Textures of High Strength Hot-rolled Steel Plates

The effect of cooling rate on the microstructure and transformation textures of high strength hot-rolled steels was investigated.Heat treated samples subjected to different cooling conditions were characterized by optical and scanning electron microscopes using orientation imaging microscopy（OIM）.The experimental results demonstrate that there is a significant effect of cooling rate on microstructures and textures resulting from phase transformation.Slow cooling rates lead to the appearance of the cube（001）[010],rotated cube（001）[110]/（001）[110],Goss（110）[001]and rotated Goss（110）[110]components.In contrast,textures developed at rapid cooling rates are preferably of Cu（112）[111],Br（110）[112],transformed Cu（113）[110]and transformed Br（332）[113]/（112）[131].These texture changes are attributed to the selective character of the phase transformation.The OIM technique was used to have a better understanding of the formation of phases and their relationship between microstructure and processing conditions.The volume fraction of micro-constituents resulting from phase transformation such as bainite,martensite and different types of ferrite,can be measured satisfactorily by this technique correlating image quality of EBSD patterns to specific phases.

Application of phase-field modeling in solid-state phase transformation of steels

Solid-state phase transformation is usually associated with excellent mechanical properties in steel materials.A deep understanding of the formation and evolution of phase structure is essential to tailor their service performance.As a powerful tool for capturing the evolution of complex microstructures,phase-field simulation quantitatively calculates the phase structures evolution without explicit assumptions about transient microstructures.With the development of advanced numerical technology and computing ability,phase-field methods have been successfully applied to solid-state phase transformation in steels and greatly support the research and development of advanced steel materials.The phase-field simulations of solid-phase transformation in steels were summarized,and the future development was proposed.

Microstructural evolution during ultra-rapid annealing of severely deformed low-carbon steel: strain, temperature, and heating rate effects

An interaction between ferrite recrystallization and austenite transformation in low-carbon steel occurs when recrystallization is delayed until the intercritical temperature range by employing high heating rate. The kinetics of recrystallization and transformation is affected by high heating rate and such an interaction. In this study, different levels of strain are applied to low-carbon steel using a severe plastic deformation method. Then, ultra-rapid annealing is performed at different heating rates of 200–1100°C/s and peak temperatures of near critical temperature. Five regimes are proposed to investigate the effects of heating rate, strain, and temperature on the interaction between recrystallization and transformation. The microstructural evolution of severely deformed low-carbon steel after ultra-rapid annealing is investigated based on the proposed regimes. Regarding the intensity and start temperature of the interaction, different microstructures consisting of ferrite and pearlite/martensite are formed. It is found that when the interaction is strong, the microstructure is refined because of the high kinetics of transformation and recrystallization. Moreover, strain shifts an interaction zone to a relatively higher heating rate. Therefore, severely deformed steel should be heated at relatively higher heating rates for it to undergo a strong interaction.

“Quartus scale” of hot-rolled strip steels and its formation mechanism

The types and growth of various oxide scales formed during the different phases of the production of hotrolled strip steel products are reviewed. Similarities and differences between the ＂tertiary scale＂ on the surface of carbon steels at high temperatures and the oxide scale on pure iron are compared. The micro-structural features of the ＂final oxide scale＂ on the surface of strip steels at room temperature as well as the relationship between these features and the position of the steel coil （plate） and the subsequent processes of recoiling, temper rolling and trimming, etc. are summarized. The actual oxide scales retained on the commercial hot-rolled strip steels at room temperature have been proposed to define as ＂ quartus scale＂ for the first time. The micro-structural development and phase transformation of the initial ＂tertiary scale＂ during and after cooling and coiling are described. The reasons for the ＂tertiary scale＂ on carbon steels differing from the oxide scale formed on pure iron, and the major influencing factors in the formation of various types of ＂quartus scales＂ are analyzed from both thermodynamic and dynamic viewpoints. The development mechanism of ＂ quartus scales＂ is discussed and the potential effects of the ＂ quartus scale＂ state （thickness, constitution, structure and defects）, on the rusting and pickling properties of commercial hot-rolled strip steel, as well as on the mechanical properties of oxide scales are analyzed.

THREE-DIMENSIONAL VISUALIZATION OF DEGENERATE FERRITE FORMED BELOW TTT-DIAGRAM BAY IN AN Fe-C-Mo ALLOY

The evolution of degenerate ferrite in an Fe-0.28wt%C-3.0wt%Mo alloy isothermally reacted for 10ks at 20℃ below TTT diagram bay temperature have been revealed utilizing serial sectioning in conjunction with computer reconstruction and visualization. The degenerate ferrite is initially formed at prior austenite boundary and then grows toward grain interior rather than along the grain boundary. The degenerate morphology of ferrite may be attributed to repeated nucleation, growth and coalescence of adjacent ferrite crystals. The shape of individual ferrite crystals appears to be rod-like.

Study on rolling process optimization of high carbon steel wire

The existing problems in the manufacture of SWRH82B high carbon steel wire were discussed by sampling and testing the microstructure and properties of the steel from the workshop. To solve the problems, the experimental parameters for thermal simulation were optimized, and the thermal simulating experiments were carded out on a Gleeblel500 thermal simulator. The process parameters for the manufacture were optimized after analysis of the data, and the productive experiments were performed after the water box in front of the no-twist blocks was reconstructed, to control the temperature of the loop layer. The results from the productive experiments showed that the cooling rate of 10-15℃/s was reasonable before phase transformation, about 5℃/s during phase transformation, and 600-620℃ was the suitable starting temperature for phase transformation. The ultimate strength of the Ф11.0 mm wire was increased to 1150-1170 MPa with an increase of 20-30 MPa, the percentage reduction of section was to 34%-36% with an increase of 1%-3% by testing the finished products after reconstruction.