The microstructure and mechanical properties of NANOBAIN steel treated at different isothermal temperatures were investigated by scanning electron microscopy(SEM),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),uniaxial tensile tests and X-ray diffraction(XRD).It was found that bainitic ferrite(BF)plate was made of basic shear transformation units arranged in the same direction of subunits.The existence of defects,such as nanoscale twinning and dislocation,suggested that the growth of transformation units was controlled by the surrounding defect plane with dislocation,which was consistent with the moving direction of BF/austenite interface parallel to the twinning plane.The behavior of work hardening indicated that mechanical stability of microstructures obtained at 250 ℃ and 300 ℃ was much more stable than that obtained at 210℃.The evolution of carbon partitioning in retained austenite and bainitic ferrite also indicated that austenite was enriched in carbon at the initial stage step by step;after the formation of BF,the austenite did not seem to be greatly enriched in carbon and the carbon content showed a little decrease instead;subsequently,aphenomenon of little decarburization of supersaturated bainitic ferrite has also been found.
Yao HUANGXue-li ZHANGWei-ning LIUXu-min WANGJun-ke HAN
The effects of Mn and Cr contents on bainitic transformation kinetics,microstructures and mechanical properties of high-carbon low alloy steels after austempered at 230,300 and 350 ℃ were determined by dilatometry,optical microscopy,scanning electron microscopy,X-ray diffraction and tensile tests. The results showed that Mn and Cr can extend bainitic incubation period and completion time,and with the increase of Mn and Cr content,the bainitic ferrite plate thickness decreased and the volume fraction of retained austenite increased. TRIP( transformation induced plasticity) effect was observed during tensile testing which improved the overall mechanical property. The increase of Mn concentration can improve the strength to a certain extent,but reduce the ductility. The increase of Cr concentration can improve the ductility of bainitic steels which transformed at a low temperature. The low temperature bainitic steel austempered at 230 ℃ exhibited excellent mechanical properties with ultimate tensile strength of( 2146 ± 11) MPa and total elongation of( 12. 95 ± 0. 15) %.
Hui GuoPeng ZhouAi-min ZhaoChao ZhiRan DingJia-xing Wang
To develop super-high strength TRIP steel for automobile application with good combination of strength and plasticity,an ultra-high-strength TRIP steel 0.2%C-2.0%Si-1.8%Mn was investigated at different intercritical annealing temperatures and bainitic isothermal temperatures.Microstructures were observed by scanning electron microscopy,transmission electron microscopy,electron backscatter diffraction,and X-ray diffraction,and mechanical properties were tested under a uniaxial tensile testing machine.It shows that the best comprehensive mechanical properties were obtained for the experimental steel particularly annealed at 820 ℃ and austempered at 410 ℃.Yield strength of the tested steel mainly depends on ferrite,while the high strength of the tested steel is related to martensite which forms through blocky austenite transformation during cooling and subsequent tensile test attributed to the TRIP effect.Hence,it could be concluded that the grain size of the retained austenite and carbon content in retained austenite are the main reasons for high elongation of the tested steel.
The microstructures and properties of hot-rolled low-carbon ferritic steel have been investigated by optical microscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and tensile tests after isothermal transformation from 600°C to 700°C for 60 min. It is found that the strength of the steel decreases with the increment of isothermal temperature, whereas the hole expansion ratio and the fraction of high-angle grain boundaries increase. A large amount of nanometer-sized carbides were homogeneously distributed throughout the material, and fine(Ti, Mo)C precipitates have a significant precipitation strengthening effect on the ferrite phase because of their high density. The nanometer-sized carbides have a lattice parameter of 0.411-0.431 nm. After isothermal transformation at 650°C for 60 min, the ferrite phase can be strengthened above 300 MPa by precipitation strengthening according to the Ashby-Orowan mechanism.
Xiao-pei WangAi-min ZhaoZheng-zhi ZhaoYao HuangLiang LiQing He
