The Influence of Hot‐Rolling Conditions on the Content and Morphology of Retained Austenite in Ultra‐High Strength Bainitic Steel and Its Mechanical Properties

2019 ◽  
Vol 90 (6) ◽  
pp. 1800386
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Korpała ◽  
Frank Hisker ◽  
Brigitte Hammer ◽  
Thomas Heller ◽  
Rudolf Kawalla ◽  
...  
2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 2331-2338 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Rana ◽  
S. Chen ◽  
A. Haldar ◽  
S. Das

AbstractA carbide-free bainitic microstructure is suitable for achieving a combination of ultra high strength and high ductility. In this work, a steel containing nominally 0.34C-2Mn-1.5Si-1Cr (wt.%) was produced via industrial hot rolling and laboratory heat treatments. The austenitization (900°C, 30 min.) and austempering (300-400°C, 3 h) treatments were done in salt bath furnaces. The austempering treatments were designed to approximately simulate the coiling step, following hot rolling and run-out-table cooling, when the bainitic transformation would take place and certain amount of austenite would be stabilized due to suppression of carbide precipitation. The microstructures and various mechanical properties (tensile properties, bendability, flangeability, and room and subzero temperature impact toughness) relevant for applications were characterized. It was found that the mechanical properties were highly dependent on the stability of the retained austenite, presence of martensite in the microstructure and the size of the microstructural constituents. The highest amount of retained austenite (~ 27 wt.%) was obtained in the sample austempered at 375°C but due to lower austenite stability and coarser overall microstructure, the sample exhibited lower tensile ductility, bendability, flangeability and impact toughness. The sample austempered at 400°C also showed poor properties due to the presence of initial martensite and coarse microstructure. The best combination of mechanical properties was achieved for the samples austempered at 325-350°C with a lower amount of retained austenite but with the highest mechanical stability.


2010 ◽  
Vol 654-656 ◽  
pp. 82-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu Zhou ◽  
Ying Wang ◽  
Nai Lu Chen ◽  
Yong Hua Rong ◽  
Jian Feng Gu

The quenching-partitioning-tempering (Q-P-T) process, based on the quenching and partitioning (Q&P) treatment, has been proposed for producing high strength steels containing significant fraction of film-like retained austenite and controlled amount of fine martensite laths. In this study, a set of Q-P-T processes for C-Mn-Si-Ni-Nb hot rolled plates are designed and realized. The steels with Q-P-T processes present a combination of high strength and relatively good ductility. The origin of such mechanical properties is revealed by microstructure characterization.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1016 ◽  
pp. 732-737
Author(s):  
Junya Kobayashi ◽  
Hiroto Sawayama ◽  
Naoya Kakefuda ◽  
Goroh Itoh ◽  
Shigeru Kuraoto ◽  
...  

Various high strength steel sheets for weight reduction and safety improvement of vehicles have been developed. TRIP-aided steel with transformation induced plasticity of the retained austenite has high strength and ductility. Conventional TRIP-aided steels are subjected to austempering process after austenitizing. Generally, elongation and formability of TRIP-aided steel are improved by finely dispersed retained austenite in BCC phase matrix. The finely dispersed retained austenite and grain refinement of TRIP-aided steel can be achieved by hot rolling with heat treatment. Therefore, the improvement of mechanical properties of TRIP-aided steel is expected from the manufacturing process with hot rolling and then isothermal transformation process. In this study, thermomechanical heat treatment is performed by combining hot rolling and isothermal holding as the manufacturing process of TRIP-aided steel sheets. The complex phase matrix is obtained by hot rolling and then isothermal holding. Although the hardness of the hot rolled and isothermal held TRIP-aided steel is decreased, the volume fraction of retained austenite is increased.


2018 ◽  
Vol 941 ◽  
pp. 329-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiang Ying Meng ◽  
Lei Jie Zhao ◽  
Fan Huang ◽  
Fu Cheng Zhang ◽  
Li He Qian

In the present study, the effects of ausforming on the bainitic transformation, microstructure and mechanical properties of a low-carbon rich-silicon carbide-free bainitic steel have been investigated. Results show that prior ausforming shortens both the incubation period and finishing time of bainitic transformation during isothermal treatment at a temperature slightly above the Mspoint. The thicknesses of bainitic ferrite laths are reduced appreciably by ausforming; however, ausforming increases the amount of large blocks of retained austenite/martenisite and decreases the volume fraction of retained austenite. And accordingly, ausforming gives rise to significant increases in both yield and tensile strengths, but causes noticeable decreases in ductility and impact toughness.


Metals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 1064 ◽  
Author(s):  
Víctor H. Vargas Cortés ◽  
Gerardo Altamirano Guerrero ◽  
Ignacio Mejía Granados ◽  
Víctor H. Baltazar Hernández ◽  
Cuauhtémoc Maldonado Zepeda

The combination of high strength and formability of transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) steels is interesting for the automotive industry. However, the poor weldability limits its industrial application. This paper shows the results of six low-alloy TRIP steels with different chemical composition which were studied in order to correlate retained austenite (RA) and non-metallic inclusions (NMI) with their resistance spot welded zones to their joints’ final mechanical properties. RA volume fractions were quantified by X-ray microdiffraction (µSXRD) while the magnetic saturation technique was used to quantify NMI contents. Microstructural characterization and NMI of the base metals and spot welds were assessed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Weld nuggets macrostructures were identified using optical microscopy (OM). The lap-shear tensile test was used to determine the final mechanical properties of the welded joints. It was found that NMI content in the fusion zone (FZ) was higher than those in the base metal and heat affected zone (HAZ). Whereas, traces of RA were found in the HAZ of highly alloyed TRIP steels. Lap-shear tensile test results showed that mechanical properties of spot welds were affected by NMI contents, but in a major way by the decomposition of RA in the FZ and HAZ.


Materials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Guo ◽  
Xianying Feng ◽  
Aimin Zhao ◽  
Qiang Li ◽  
Jun Ma

A multiphase microstructure comprising of different volume fractions of prior martensite and ultra-fine bainite (bainitic ferrite and retained austenite) was obtained by quenching to certain temperatures, followed by isothermal bainitic transformation. The effect of the prior martensite transformation on the bainitic transformation behavior, microstructures, and mechanical properties were discussed. The results showed that the prior martensite accelerated the subsequent low-temperature bainite transformation, and the incubation period and completion time of the bainite reaction were significantly shortened. This phenomenon was attributed to the enhanced nucleation ratio caused by the introduced strain in austenite, due to the formation of prior martensite and a carbon partitioning between the prior martensite and retained austenite. Moreover, the prior martensite could influence the crystal growth direction of bainite ferrite, refine bainitic ferrite plates, and reduce the dimension of blocky retained austenite, all of which were responsible for improving the mechanical properties of the ultra-fine bainitic steel. When the content of the prior martensite reached 15%, the investigated steels had the best performance, which were 1800 MPa and 21% for the tensile strength and elongation, respectively. Unfortunately, the increased content of the prior martensite could lead to a worsening of the impact toughness.


2012 ◽  
Vol 184-185 ◽  
pp. 940-943
Author(s):  
Wei Lv ◽  
Di Wu ◽  
Zhuang Li

In the present paper, controlled cooling in different ways was performed using a laboratory hot rolling mill in ultra-high strength hot rolled ferrite-bainite dual phase (DP) steel. The results have shown that the final microstructures of DP steel comprise ferrite, bainite and a small amount of retained austenite and martensite. DP steel has a tensile strength ranging from 1010 to 1130MPa and yet retains considerable total elongation in the range of 14–17%. The addition of Mn and Nb to DP steel leads to the maximum ultimate tensile strength, yield strength and the product of ultimate tensile strength and total elongation due to the formation of retained austenite and granular bainite structure. Laminar flow cooling after hot rolling results in a significant increase in the quantity of ferrite and bainite due to the suppression of pearlite transformation, and as a result, the present steel possesses high strengths and good toughness.


2012 ◽  
Vol 531-532 ◽  
pp. 596-599
Author(s):  
Kai Zhang ◽  
Shang Wen Lu ◽  
Yao Hui Ou ◽  
Xiao Dong Wang ◽  
Ning Zhong

The recently developed “quenching and partitioning” heat treatment and “quenching-partitioning-tempering” heat treatment are novel processing technologies, which are designed for achieving advanced high strength steels (AHSS) with combination of high strength and adequate ductility. In present study, a medium carbon steel containing Nb was subjected to the Q-P-T process, and both the microstructure and mechanical properties was studied. The experimental results show that the Nb-microalloyed steel demonstrates high tensile strength and relatively high elongation. The microstructure of the steel was investigated in terms of scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope, and the results indicate that the Q-P-T steel consist of fine martensite laths with dispersive carbide precipitates and the film-like interlath retained austenite. The orientation relationships between martensite and retained austenite is as well-known Kurdjurmov-Sachs relationship and Nishiyama-Wasserman relationship.


2013 ◽  
Vol 313-314 ◽  
pp. 77-81
Author(s):  
M.H. Sheikh Ansari ◽  
M. Aghaie-Khafri

In this study, medium carbon low alloy steel was used to obtain bainitic structures. The lower bainite and tempered martensite-lower bainite structures were achieved by isothermal austempering and up quenching treatment, respectively. Based on the results obtained these structures showed a very good combination of strength and toughness. Furthermore, it has been shown that austenitization time and temperature, as well as austempering time and temperature play a major role in achieving ultra-high strength bainitic steels.


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