Prevention of burn-on defect on surface of hydroturbine blade casting of ultra-low-carbon refining stainless steel

The burn-on sand is common surface defect encountered in CO2 -cured silicate-bonded sand casting of hydroturbine blade of ultra-low-carbon martensitic stainless steel,its feature,causes and prevention measures are presented in this paper.Experiments showed that the burn-on defect is caused by oxidization of chromium in the molten steel at high temperature and can be effectively eliminated by using chromium-corundum coating.

Carbon and oxygen behavior in the RH degasser with carbon powder addition

For ultra-low-carbon(ULC)steel production,the higher oxygen content before Ruhrstahl-Heraeus(RH)decarburization(de-C)treatment could shorten the de-C time in the RH degasser.However,this would lead to oxidation rates being exceeded by molten steel production,affecting ULC steel surface quality.In this work,a carbon powder addition(CPA)process was proposed to reduce the dissolved oxygen content at the end of RH de-C through addition of carbon powder to molten steel in the vacuum vessel.Carbon and oxygen behavior during the CPA and conventional process was then studied.The results demonstrated that the de-C rate with CPA was lower compared to the conventional process,but the carbon content at the end of de-C presented no difference.The de-C reaction for CPA process took place in the four reaction sites:(1)within the bulk steel where the spontaneous CO bubbles form;(2)splashing area on the liquid steel surface;(3)Ar bubble surface;(4)molten steel surface.The CPA process could significantly reduce the dissolved oxygen content at the end of de-C,the sum content of FeO and MnO in the slag,the aluminum consumption,and the defect rate of rolled products.This was beneficial in improving ULC steel cleanliness.

Microstructure and Properties of Ti and Ti+Nb Ultra-Low-Carbon Bake Hardened Steels

Hot rolling, cold rolling and continuous annealing processes of Ti bearing and Ti＋ Nb stabilized ultra-low-carbon bake hardened steels were experimentally studied. The microstructure and texture evolution, as well as the morphology, size and distribution of second phase precipitates during hot rolling, cold rolling and continuous annealing were also analyzed. The results showed that the size of NbC precipitates in Ti＋Nb stabilized ultra-low-carbon bake hardened steel was smaller than that of TiC precipitates in Ti bearing ultra-low-carbon bake hardened steel, which made the average grain size of Ti＋ Nb stabilized ultra-low-carbon bake hardened steel finer than that of Ti bearing ultra-low-carbon bake hardened steel; for the yield strength, the former was higher than the latter; but for the r value which reflects the deep-drawing performance, the former was lower than the latter.

Partitioning of nitrogen atoms and its effect on retained austenite content in an ultra-low-carbon Cr-Mn-N stainless steel

The partitioning of nitrogen atoms and its effect on the retained austenite content(RAC)during quenching and partitioning(Q&P)process were investigated by dilatometry,X-ray diffraction,and field emission transmission electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectrometer mapping in a 00Cr13Mn8N steel.Nitrogen partitioning by diffusion of N atoms from martensite to austenite occurred at 400℃after quenching.N atoms are enriched in austenite after partitioning,and the stability of these N-rich austenite is improved and retained at room temperature during subsequent cooling.The different quenching temperatures(QTs)result in different phase fractions after partitioning.With the increase in QT,RAC first increases and then decreases,and the maximum RAC is 28.5 vol.%after quenching at 80℃.A mathematical model was developed to rapidly and accurately characterize the phase fraction in Q&P process based on the relative length change of the samples partitioned after quenching at different QTs.

Ultra-low-carbon steel spheroidization and torsion

Spheroidizing annealing and torsion testing of 0.027 wt% carbon steel rod were conducted to evaluate spheroidization kinetic behavior at 943 K （670 ℃） under deformed and non-deformed states. Kinetic curves were also predicted using the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov equation, and the results agree well with the experimental ones. After spheroidization was performed twice, the spherical cementite and precipitated carbides became smaller and the distribution was more uniform. Comparison of materials subjected to single and double spheroidizing annealing indicated a difference in grain size. Torsion performance was considerably improved under double spheroidization, especially the maximum torque with slight variations.

Effect of trace Si on MgO·Al_(2)O_(3)inclusion in ultra-low-carbon steel

There are four types of Mg–Al–Si–O inclusions observed in the Mg-treated Al-deoxidized ultra-low-carbon steel con-taining trace Si,including SiO_(2),2MgO·SiO_(2),3Al_(2)O_(3)·2SiO_(2),and 2MgO·Al_(2)O_(3)·5SiO_(2)and their composite inclusions.Using FactSage,the phase relationship of Mg–Al–Si–O system at 1473–2073 K was calculated using FactSage software,and the change in Si content can change the stable region range of different Mg–Al–Si–O-based inclusions.Based on the types of inclusions observed experimentally,the formation pathways of inclusions were predicted and a kinetic model was established to describe the formation process of the xMgO·yAl_(2)O_(3)–Mg–Al–Si–O and xAl_(2)O_(3)·ySiO_(2)–Mg–Al–Si–O inclusions.

Effect of Baking Process on Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of Low Silicon TRIP Steel Sheet With Niobium

After 2% predeformation,the baking treatment with different schedule was carried out for low silicon TRIP steel sheet with niobium.The effects of baking temperature and time on microstructures and mechanical properties were investigated.The results showed that with increasing the baking temperature and time,the volume fraction of retained austenite decreases,and the volume fraction of tempered martensite increases; as baking temperature ranges from 80 ℃ to 170 ℃,the bake-hardening（BH）value increases obviously,while from 170 ℃ to 230 ℃,the variation of BH value is very slight; as baking time ranges from 2 min to 20 min,the BH value increases significantly,while the BH value decreases when baking time exceeds 20 min.So that when the baking temperature is 170 ℃ and the baking time is 20 min,the low silicon TRIP steel sheet exhibits good bake-hardening behavior,and the highest BH value is above 70 MPa.

Annealing Response of Cold-Rolled Vanadium Microalloyed Sheet Steels

Vanadium microalloying is widely employed in hot-rolled HSLA products;because of its relatively high solubility in austenite,vanadium plays a special role in thin-slab cast hot-rolled products where reheating is limited prior to direct-rolling.In cold-rolled and annealed sheet steels,vanadium technology has been employed in bake-hardenable drawing-quality steels,and in HSLA products.Recent studies have investigated the continuous and batch annealing response of vanadium-containing cold-rolled HSLA steels,with an emphasis on aluminum and nitrogen variations (because of the special importance of nitrogen in vanadium microallyed steels,and interesting interactions between vanadium,aluminum and nitrogen).The present contribution reviews some key aspects of vanadium-microalloyed coldrolled sheet steels,and highlights the results of selected studies showing the influence of steel composition and processing.