On the Microstructure of Plate Steels for API-5L X120 Applications

2012 ◽  
Vol 706-709 ◽  
pp. 17-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Isaac Garcia ◽  
Ming Jian Hua ◽  
X. Liang ◽  
P. Suikannen ◽  
Anthony J. DeArdo

The very high strength now achievable in low carbon HSLA steel plates is caused by the formation of bainite or martensite during the post-hot rolling cooling in interrupted direct quenching. Modern electron optical examination, especially FEG-SEM, has allowed the microstructural features such as packet, block and lath dimensions and crystallography to be quantitatively determined. Several recent studies have attempted to relate the strength and toughness to these features, with limited success. However, one observation is clear, these microstructural features scale with the prior-austenite grain size and state of recrystallization. The role of microalloying, beyond grain refinement, remains inconclusive. This paper will discuss these microstructures and suggest possible ways of further refining them.

1989 ◽  
Vol 5 (03) ◽  
pp. 200-205
Author(s):  
J. G. Speer ◽  
S. S. Hansen

As-rolled high-strength, low-alloy (HSLA) steel plates offer a number of benefits compared with heat-treated plates, and this paper discusses laboratory and production experiments which have been conducted to develop as-rolled grades for high-strength Navy shipbuilding applications (for example, HSLA-65 and HSLA-80). A low-carbon niobium/vanadium microalloyed steel is shown to offer favorable combinations of strength, toughness, and weldability. The results indicate that an as-rolled grade which meets the current HSLA-80 strength and impact requirements can be produced in thicknesses up to approximately 19 mm (3/1 in.); HSLA-65 plates can be produced up to about 51 mm (2 in.) thick. This grade is generally weldable without preheat using HY-80 consumables.


2014 ◽  
Vol 922 ◽  
pp. 316-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antti J. Kaijalainen ◽  
Sakari Pallaspuro ◽  
David A. Porter

The direct quenching of low-carbon steel has been shown to be an effective way of producing ultra-high-strength, tough structural steels in the as-quenched state without tempering. However, in the present study, the influence of tempering at 500 °C has been studied in order to evaluate the possibilities of widening the range of strengths that can be produced from a single base composition. The chosen composition was 0.1C-0.2Si-1.1Mn-0.15Mo-0.03Ti-0.002B. In order to compare direct quenching with conventional quenching, two pre-quench austenite states were studied: a thermomechanically rolled, non-recrystallized, pancaked austenite grain structure and a recrystallized, equiaxed grain structure. Quenched and quenched-and-tempered microstructures were studied using FESEM and FESEM-EBSD. The as-quenched microstructures of the reheated and quenched and direct quenched specimens were fully martensitic and martensitic-bainitic, respectively. In both cases, tempering made the needle-shaped auto-tempered carbides of the as-quenched materials more spherical. In the case of the direct quenched (DQ) material, tempering led to a notable increase in the size of the grain boundary carbides. Prior austenite grain size and effective grain size after quenching were larger in the case of reheated and quenched material (RQ). Tempering had no effect on effective grain size. The crystallographic texture of the DQ material showed strong {112}<131> and {554}<225> components. The RQ material also contained the same components, but it also contained an intense {110}<110> and {011}<100> components. The effects of these microstructural changes on tensile, impact toughness and fracture toughness are described in part II.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 1988
Author(s):  
Tibor Kvackaj ◽  
Jana Bidulská ◽  
Róbert Bidulský

This review paper concerns the development of the chemical compositions and controlled processes of rolling and cooling steels to increase their mechanical properties and reduce weight and production costs. The paper analyzes the basic differences among high-strength steel (HSS), advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) and ultra-high-strength steel (UHSS) depending on differences in their final microstructural components, chemical composition, alloying elements and strengthening contributions to determine strength and mechanical properties. HSS is characterized by a final single-phase structure with reduced perlite content, while AHSS has a final structure of two-phase to multiphase. UHSS is characterized by a single-phase or multiphase structure. The yield strength of the steels have the following value intervals: HSS, 180–550 MPa; AHSS, 260–900 MPa; UHSS, 600–960 MPa. In addition to strength properties, the ductility of these steel grades is also an important parameter. AHSS steel has the best ductility, followed by HSS and UHSS. Within the HSS steel group, high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steel represents a special subgroup characterized by the use of microalloying elements for special strength and plastic properties. An important parameter determining the strength properties of these steels is the grain-size diameter of the final structure, which depends on the processing conditions of the previous austenitic structure. The influence of reheating temperatures (TReh) and the holding time at the reheating temperature (tReh) of C–Mn–Nb–V HSLA steel was investigated in detail. Mathematical equations describing changes in the diameter of austenite grain size (dγ), depending on reheating temperature and holding time, were derived by the authors. The coordinates of the point where normal grain growth turned abnormal was determined. These coordinates for testing steel are the reheating conditions TReh = 1060 °C, tReh = 1800 s at the diameter of austenite grain size dγ = 100 μm.


2021 ◽  
Vol 890 ◽  
pp. 17-24
Author(s):  
Aurel Valentin Bîrdeanu ◽  
Alin Constantin Murariu ◽  
Horia Florin Daşcău ◽  
Iuliana Duma

Reproducibility in respect to welded structures realization is one of the main requirements for a wide variety of industrial applications. One of the international tendencies regarding the use of the steel is the replacing, in critical areas, of structural steels with high performance steel, e.g. with HSLA steels. The paper presents the results of a factorial designed experimental program focused on determining mathematical correlations between the GMAW process parameters for T joints of 4mm thick steel plates of structural (S235JR+AR according to SR EN 10025-2) and hot-rolled, high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steel plates (S420MC according to EN 10025-4), respectively. A comparison between the obtained mathematical correlations that connect the welding parameters and the main mechanical characteristics is presented. The correlations can be used for applying the optimal combination of welding process parameters for realizing the T-joints of welded products.


Metals ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 988 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liangyun Lan ◽  
Zhiyuan Chang ◽  
Penghui Fan

The simulation welding thermal cycle technique was employed to generate different sizes of prior austenite grains. Dilatometry tests, in situ laser scanning confocal microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy were used to investigate the role of prior austenite grain size on bainite transformation in low carbon steel. The bainite start transformation (Bs) temperature was reduced by fine austenite grains (lowered by about 30 °C under the experimental conditions). Through careful microstructural observation, it can be found that, besides the Hall–Petch strengthening effect, the carbon segregation at the fine austenite grain boundaries is probably another factor that decreases the Bs temperature as a result of the increase in interfacial energy of nucleation. At the early stage of the transformation, the bainite laths nucleate near to the grain boundaries and grow in a “side-by-side” mode in fine austenite grains, whereas in coarse austenite grains, the sympathetic nucleation at the broad side of the pre-existing laths causes the distribution of bainitic ferrite packets to be interlocked.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1000 ◽  
pp. 404-411
Author(s):  
Eddy S. Siradj

This study was presented due to the increasing demand of High Strength Low Alloy (HSLA) steel, such as demand for thinner-walled and large diameter pipes in oil and gas industries. In order to meet the imposed economic restrictions, the high standard of all kinds of steel properties is required and can be achieved by controlling the steel microstructure. The austenite grain size influences the microstructure and properties of steel significantly, in which fine austenite grain size leads to higher strength, better ductility, and higher toughness. Studying the behavior of steel grain growth during the reheating process is still being a fascinating subject. P.R. Rios and D Zollner [1] mentioned that grain growth is the most important unresolved issue that has been a topic of research for many years. In this research, the behavior of austenite grain growth at a high niobium-low carbon (High Nb-low C) and low Nb-high C HSLA steel was evaluated, and the result was compared with other investigation. The results found that the austenite grain growth at high Nb-high C steel was slower than the growth at a low Nb-low C steel. The activation energy of austenite grain growth and both constant A and exponent n ware determined close agreement was obtained between the prediction of the model and the experimental grain size value.


2007 ◽  
Vol 539-543 ◽  
pp. 4720-4725 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Nagao ◽  
K. Hayashi ◽  
K. Oi ◽  
S. Mitao ◽  
N. Shikanai

The precipitation behavior of cementite in low carbon steels at various heating rates from 0.3 to 100 K/s has been studied using a high-frequency induction heating apparatus. The materials used in this study were steel platesfor welded structures: 610 and 780 MPa class steel plates with a mixed microstructure of bainite and martensite.Cementite was observed using a carbon extraction replica method and the hardness and toughness were also examined. When heated at the conventional slow rate of 0.3 K/s, relatively large cementite particles with an average diameter of 72 nm precipitated at the lath boundaries, whereas when heated at a rapid rate over 3.0 K/s, cementite precipitated both within the laths and at the lath boundaries, and the cementite was refined down to an average diameter of 54 nm. With such refinement of the cementite, the toughness was improved. On the other hand, the hardness was irrespective of the heating rate and was dependent on the tempering parameter. TEM observations of the cementite precipitation behavior during the rapid heating process revealed that cementite begins to precipitate at the lath boundaries at about 773 K and within the laths at about 873 K. It is concluded that rapid heating especially from 773 to 873 K contributes to the cementite refinement and consequently the improvement in toughness. The effect of alloying elements such as chromium, molybdenum or silicon on the cementite growth during the rapid heating and tempering treatment is also discussed.


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