Microstructure and tensile properties of ultrafine grained copper processed by equal-channel angular pressing

Equal-channel angular pressing （ECAP） process was applied to a 12 mm ×12 mm ×80 mm billet of pure copper （99.98 wt.%） at room temperature. The shear deformation characteristics, microstructure evolution, and tensile properties were investigated. A combination of high strength （-420 MPa） and high elongation to failure （-25%） was achieved after eight ECAP passes at room temperature. The mixing of ultrafme grains （-0.2 μm） with nanocrystalline grains （-80 nm） resulted in high tensile strength and ductility.

Recrystallization Behavior Design for Controlling Grain Size in Strip Rolling Process

To promote effectively dynamic recrystallization and obtain a homogeneous distribution of ultrafine grain size in strip finish rolling process,the behavior of static and dynamic recrystallization must be appropriately designed to provide an ultrafine austenite microstructure without mixed grain size.The design of rolling schedule was analyzed based on the control of the recrystallization behavior to achieve ultrafine grain size in the strip rolling process of niobium microalloyed steel.The experimental simulations were presented to validate the twice dynamic recrystallization design to achieve ultrafine grain size control.

Microstructures and mechanical properties of the third generation automobile steels fabricated by ART-annealing

The mechanical properties dependence on the microstructure was reviewed and analyzed,and the ultrafine grained duplex microstructure of BCC matrix and large fractioned austenite was given as one of the optimum structures to develop the third generation steel with high strength and high ductility.The medium-Mn steels with different carbon contents processed by austenite reverted transformation(ART-annealing) were studied thoroughly to fabricate the ultrafine duplex steels with large fractioned austenite.The lamellar typed ultrafine structure,the granular typed ultrafine duplex structure and the corresponding mechanical properties of the medium-Mn steels processed by ART-annealing were demonstrated in this paper.It was revealed that the duplex structure with large fraction of austenite and ultrafine grain structure is capable of producing steels with excellent combination of strength and ductility,i.e.,Rm A about 30-50 GPa%,which is about two times of that of the conventional automobile steels and close to that of the TWIP steels.It was concluded that the ART-annealing of the medium-Mn steels would be at least one of the promising ways to fabricate the third generation automobile steels in the near future.

High Ductility and Toughness of a Micro-duplex Medium-Mn Steel in a Large Temperature Range from—196 ℃ to 200 ℃

A medium-Mn steel （0.2C5Mn） was processed by intercritical annealing at different temperatures （625 ℃ and 650 ℃ ）. An ultrafine-grained micro-duplex structure consisting of alternating austenite and ferrite laths was de- veloped by austenite reverse transformation （ART） during intercritical annealing after forging and hot rolling. Ultra- high ductility with a total elongation higher than 30% was achieved in the temperature range from -196 ℃ to 200 ℃, and high impact toughness no less than 200 J at -40 ℃ was obtained. Based on the analysis of microstructure and mechanical properties, it was found that the enhanced ductility was determined by the phase transformation effect of austenite （TRIP effect）, while the delayed ductile to brittle transition was controlled by austenite stability.