Effect of intercritical annealing on microstructure,mechanical properties,and work-hardening behavior of ultrahigh-strength dual-phase steels with different silicon contents

In this study,three kinds of dual-phase(DP) steels were used to investigate the influence of silicon content and intercritical annealing temperature on their microstructures,mechanical properties,and work-hardening behaviors. By adding silicon and matching the critical annealing temperature,a new DP steel(1.0Si and intercritically annealed at 790 ℃) that exhibits an excellent combination of ultrahigh strength and adequate ductility was obtained. Variations in the strength,elongation,and fracture mechanism of the specimens with respect to different intercritical annealing temperatures were correlated to microstructural features. With an increase in the silicon content,there is no significant change in the martensitic band structure or ferrite morphology. At the same annealing temperature,the yield strength and yield strength ratio of the specimens decreased,but at different annealing temperatures,the tensile strength was reduced. The Hollomon analysis results indicate that the workhardening behavior obeys a two-stage work-hardening mechanism. With an increasing intercritical annealing temperature,the "transition strain"shifts to the left,and with an increasing silicon content,the "transition strain"shifts to the right. The surface exhibits ductile fractures characterized by a high density of microvoid dimples. With an increase in the silicon content,the average dimple size on the fracture surface decreases and the plasticity of the material increases.

Phase transformation behavior of a hot-rolled,titanium microalloyed steel during heating and continuous cooling

The critical transformation temperatures,A_(c1) and A_(c3),of a hot-rolled low-carbon titanium microalloyed steel were determined as a part of an examination of its phase-transformation behavior. Austenite decomposition during the continuous cooling of the titanium microalloyed steel was studied by heating it to 1 250 ℃,cooling it to 880 ℃,holding for 2 s,and then cooling it to room temperature at different cooling rates. The transformation kinetics( CCT curve) was characterized as well.

Development of microalloyed steels for high temperature carburizing

The potential for use of microalloy additions to suppress abnormal austenite grain growth and produce steels with enhanced bending fatigue resistance after high temperature vacuum carburizing was investigated in a series of Ti-modified SAE 8620 steels with w(niobium) additions up to 0.1%.Results are considered from a series of papers at the Advanced Steel Processing and Products Research Center on the effects of Nb content,heating rate, rolling history,and processing temperature on the evolution of austenite grain structures in carburizing steels. Emphasis is placed on understanding the effects of alloying and processing on each stage in the annealing process including the as received laboratory rolled conditions,during the onset of carburizing after annealing at different heating rates,and after annealing for various times at carburizing temperatures up to 1 100℃.Heating rate to the carburizing temperature was shown to be an influential variable and suppression of abnormal grain growth was dependent on the development of a critical distribution of fine NbC precipitates,stable at the austenitizing temperature.The importance to industrial carburizing practice of heating rate effects on precipitates and austenite grain size evolution are discussed and correlated to selected data on fatigue performance.

Ultra-high strength sheet steel property developments

Conventional advanced high strength steels(AHSS) such as dual-phase,TRIP and martensitic sheet products have undergone extensive development and substantially increased implementation in automobile structures over the past few years.Efforts are now underway to extend these improvements and develop steels with even greater strengths and formability.A variety of alloy/process/microstructure/property approaches aimed at next generation AHSS properties are highlighted here.One approach involves the quenching and partitioning process,originally conceived at the Colorado School of Mines,but now being investigated around the global automotive steel development community.Early implementation efforts are underway,and new results demonstrate the capability to obtain ultra-high strength levels with usable ductility.Viewing the field more broadly,it appears that several approaches are converging,and it is likely that additional attention will continue to be placed on expanding the allowable range of austenite stabilizing elements.

Microalloyed Steels for Heat Treating Applications at Higher Process Temperatures

The potential is considered for use of microalloyed bar steels,in conjunction with thermomechanical processing,to enhance the properties of steels heat treated at higher process temperatures than have been used historically.Two examples are highlighted:microalloyed spring steels with enhanced resistance to tempering and Nb-modified gear steels for high temperature vacuum carburizing,e.g.on the order of 1050℃ versus 930℃ for a typical gas carburizing operation.In the spring steel example,the Nb+V steel results in significantly finer prior austenite grain sizes than the other steels considered,enhanced fatigue performance,and improved toughness.In the Nb-modified carburizing steel,Nb additions up to 0.1 wt pct to a Ti-modified 8620 steel,in conjunction with thermomechanical processing to control initial precipitate distributions prior to carburizing,are shown to lead to materials with improved resistance to abnormal austenitic grain growth at the higher process temperatures.Alloy content and heating rate to the carburizing temperature were shown to be important variables and suppression of abnormal grain growth was correlated with the development of a critical distribution of fine NbC precipitates,stable at the austenitizing temperature leading to improved fatigue performance in steels with fine and uniform grain structures.Opportunities for extending the results of this study to alloy design and controlled rolling in bar mills are assessed.