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Advanced Steel Design: Casting, Forming and Heat Treatment

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Manufacturing Processes and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 May 2023) | Viewed by 13909

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Dr. Wei Li

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Guest Editor

Institute of Advanced Steels and Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Interests: high strength and toughness steels; hydrogen embrittlement in advanced high strength steel; plasma surface treatment on stainless steel

Dr. Wei Xu

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Guest Editor

State Key Laboratory of Rolling and Automation, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China
Interests: metal material genetic engineering; phase transformation mechanism and microstructure control of advanced automotive high strength steels; development, design and industrialization of ultra-high strength automotive steel, stainless steel, structural steel and wear-resistant steel

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Various types of advanced steels are used in modern industry and engineering applications. Advanced steel structures should satisfy multiple structural requirements during service conditions, which can be in the context of some extreme operational environments, such as high-temperature strength and creep strength, toughness, and the dimensional stability of the components. Due to the complexity of the microstructures and their evolutions in advanced steels, the whole process design and control is crucial—from casting and forging to manufacturing and heat treatment. The processing parameters, both individually and coupled, affect microstructures in respect of thermodynamical equilibrium and nonequilibrium.

Strength and ductility (toughness) are two key mechanical properties of crystalline metallic materials, especially in advanced steels. It is widely recognized that strength and ductility depend on the presence of crystal defects (e.g., dislocations and twins) and how they evolve and are rearranged under thermal mechanical coupling conditions.

Recent studies have focused on strength and toughening mechanisms occurring on the atomic and nanometer length scale of incipient concentration waves, on the interactions between matrix and second particles, and on coherent phase boundaries and grain boundaries. A thorough understanding of how these processes influence strength and toughness forms the key to the analysis of existing and the design of improved innovative structural elements.

The aim of this SI is to understand the relationship between microstructures and mechanical properties in advanced steels. For energy and car industry applications, advanced steel structures such as nuclear plants, boiler components, turbine rotors of ultra-supercritical power plants and hot stamping die, and tool steel require further improvement and innovative design. Improving and developing new steels in these fields can help to meet the demand of carbon emission and carbon neutralization.

Dr. Wei Li
Dr. Wei Xu
Guest Editors

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Keywords

advanced steel
casting
forming
heat treatment
toughness
strength
microstructure characterization

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 68559 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of Multi-Step Tempering and Partition Heat Treatment on 25Cr2Ni3MoV Steel’s Cryogenic Strength Properties

by Ye Chen, Ran Chen, Yanchen Yao, Na Min, Wei Li and Anna Diao

Materials 2024, 17(2), 518; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma17020518 - 21 Jan 2024

Viewed by 771

Abstract

In this study, the refinement of two microstructures was controlled in medium carbon 25Cr2Ni3MoV steel via multi-step tempering and partition (MTP) to achieve high cryogenic strength–ductility combinations. Microstructure evolution, the distribution of stress concentration, and microcrack formation and propagation during cryogenic Charpy impact testing were investigated. Compared with their performance in the quenching and tempering states (QT), the MTP steels showed a significant improvement in yield strength (1300 MPa), total elongation (25%), and impact toughness (>25 J) at liquid nitrogen temperature (LNT). The strengthening contributions mainly originated from the high dislocation density and refinement cementite (size: 70 nm) in the martensite lath (width: 1.5 μm) introduced by refined reversed austenite and its latter decomposition. The instrumented Charpy impact results indicated that cracks nucleated in the primary austenite grain (PAG) boundary for two steels due to the strain concentration band preferring to appear near PAGs, while cracks in the QT and MTP samples propagated along the PAGs and high-angle grain boundary (HAGB), respectively. The crystallized plasticity finite element simulation revealed that the PAG boundary with cementite precipitates of large size (>200 nm) was less able to dissipate crack propagation energy than the HAGBs by continuously forming a high strain concentration area, thus leading to the low-impact toughness of the QT steel. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Steel Design: Casting, Forming and Heat Treatment)

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7 pages, 1153 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Mechanisms of Serrated Flow and Microstructural Evolution in MarBN Steel

by Tongfei Zou, Quanyi Wang, Yubing Pei, Ting Mei and Hong Zhang

Materials 2023, 16(19), 6411; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma16196411 - 26 Sep 2023

Viewed by 538

Abstract

The mechanisms of serrated flow and microstructural evolution in MarBN steel were studied under two strain rates (5 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹ and 5 × 10⁻⁵ s⁻¹) at room temperature and high temperatures (430 °C and 630 °C). The experimental results show that the type-C serrations occurred at all temperatures under a high strain rate of 5 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹. In contrast, type-B serrations occurred at 430 °C and 630 °C under a low strain rate of 5 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹, indicating that the type of serrated flow was related to the strain rate. The microstructural results reveal that pinning and unpinning dislocation under both strain rates were responsible for the serrations at both strain rates. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Steel Design: Casting, Forming and Heat Treatment)

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19 pages, 7454 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Variation Mechanism of Three-Dimensional Force and Force-Based Defect Detection in Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum Alloys

by Jihong Dong, Yiming Huang, Jialei Zhu, Wei Guan, Lijun Yang and Lei Cui

Materials 2023, 16(3), 1312; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma16031312 - 03 Feb 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1318

Abstract

As a direct reflection of the interaction between the stirring tool and the base metal in the friction stir welding process, the force signal is an important means to characterize welding quality. In this paper, the variation mechanism of three-dimensional force and its relation with welding quality were explored. The acquired signals were subject to interference from high-frequency noise, so mean filtering and variational mode decomposition were applied to obtain the real signals. The denoised signals were analyzed and the results showed that the traverse force was ahead of the lateral force by a ratio of π /4, while the phase difference between the axial force and the other two forces changed with the process parameters. Through application of the least square method and polynomial fitting, the empirical formulas of three-dimensional force were obtained, and these were applicable regardless of tunnel defects. The minimum value of the lateral force increased several times more than that of traverse force when the welding speed increased from 80 mm/min to 240 mm/min. When the pole radiuses of most data points had a value greater than 4, tunnel defects were highly likely to generate. In order to predict welding quality more accurately, a prediction model based on long short-term memory was constructed. The model recognized the various modes of good welds and tunnel defects with 100% accuracy. The identification ability for large and small defects was relatively poor, and the average accuracy of classifying the three categories of welding quality was 84.67%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Steel Design: Casting, Forming and Heat Treatment)

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13 pages, 6864 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Martensite Start Temperature Prediction through a Deep Learning Strategy Using Both Microstructure Images and Composition Data

by Zenan Yang, Yong Li, Xiaolu Wei, Xu Wang and Chenchong Wang

Materials 2023, 16(3), 932; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma16030932 - 18 Jan 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2032

Abstract

In recent decades, various previous research has established empirical formulae or thermodynamic models for martensite start temperature (Ms) prediction. However, most of this research has mainly considered the effect of composition and ignored complex microstructural factors, such as morphology, that significantly affect Ms. The main limitation is that most microstructures cannot be digitized into numerical data. In order to solve this problem, a convolutional neural network model that can use both composition information and microstructure images as input was established for Ms prediction in a medium-Mn steel system in this research. Firstly, the database was established through experimenting. Then, the model was built and trained with the database. Finally, the performance of the model was systematically evaluated based on comparison with other, traditional AI models. It was proven that the new model provided in this research is more rational and accurate because it considers both composition and microstructural factors. In addition, because of the use of microstructure images for data augmentation, the deep learning had a low risk of overfitting. When the deep-learning strategy is used to deal with data that contains both numerical and image data types, obtaining the value matrix that contains interaction information of both numerical and image data through data preprocessing is probably a better approach than direct linking of the numerical data vector to the fully connected layer. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Steel Design: Casting, Forming and Heat Treatment)

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15 pages, 3344 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Phosphorus Content on Magnetic and Mechanical Properties of Non-Oriented Electrical Steel

by Qinyu He, Yulong Liu, Chengyi Zhu, Xiaohui Xie, Rong Zhu and Guangqiang Li

Materials 2022, 15(18), 6332; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15186332 - 13 Sep 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1320

Abstract

The effect of target phosphorus (P) content on the precipitates, microstructure, texture, magnetic properties, and mechanical properties of low-carbon (C) and low-silicon (Si) non-oriented electrical steel (NOES) was investigated and the influence mechanism was clarified. The results indicate that the precipitates in the steels are mainly aluminum (Al)-manganese (Mn)-Si-bearing complex nitrides ((Al,Si,Mn)_xN_y) and P-bearing complex nitrides ((Al,Si,Mn)_xN_y-P). Increasing target phosphorus content in the steels decreases (Al,Si,Mn)_xN_y, and increases (Al,Si,Mn)_xN_y-P. The number density of the precipitates is the lowest, and the average size of the precipitates and grain size of the finished steel is the largest in the samples with target P content at the 0.14% level (0.14%P-targeted). The average grain size and microstructure homogeneity of the steels are influenced by the addition of phosphorus. The content of the {111}<112> component decreases, and the favorable texture increases after phosphorus is added to the steel. The magnetic induction of the steel is improved. Grain refinement and microstructure inhomogeneity lead to an iron loss increase after target phosphorus content increases in the steel. The best magnetic induction B₅₀ is 1.765 T in the 0.14%P-targeted samples. The tensile strength and yield strength are improved owing to solid solution strengthening and the grain refinement effect of phosphorus added to the steels. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Steel Design: Casting, Forming and Heat Treatment)

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12 pages, 2822 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Long-Term Thermal Aging on Microstructure Evolution and Creep Deformation Behavior of a Novel 11Cr-3W-3Co Martensite Ferritic Steel

by Hongchang Zhao, Xi Han, Mingjia Wang and Zixi Wang

Materials 2022, 15(10), 3659; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15103659 - 20 May 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1143

Abstract

This paper focused on the microstructure evolution under different thermal aging times at 650 °C and its effect on creep behavior in 11Cr-3W-3Co heat-resistant steel. After short-term thermal aging at 650 °C (>750 h), a Laves phase was found in the regions adjacent to the PAG boundaries, martensitic lath boundaries, and M23C6 carbides, and gradually swallowed adjacent M23C6 carbides with the aging time increased. Higher contents of Si and P are good promoters of the nucleation of the Laves phase during long-term aging. In addition, the coarsening behavior of the Laves phase, M23C6, and MX were investigated. As the aging time increases, the coarsening behavior among precipitated phases in the above-mentioned example exhibits remarkable variability, which is discussed in detail in this paper, and the evolution of the subgrain size was also analyzed in detail. The increasing rate of subgrain size is, in general, consistent with that of the M23C6 carbide size. The evolution of dislocation density in different aging times shows an obvious difference, and the decreasing rate of dislocation density is significantly affected by the precipitated phase after long-term aging time. The creep performance of the material decreases significantly as the aging time increases, which is closely related to the coarsening of the precipitates such as M23C6 carbides and subgrain during long-term aging. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Steel Design: Casting, Forming and Heat Treatment)

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19 pages, 4134 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hot Ductility Prediction Model of Cast Steel with Low-Temperature Transformed Structure during Continuous Casting

by Dae-Geun Hong, Sang-Hum Kwon and Chang-Hee Yim

Materials 2022, 15(10), 3513; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15103513 - 13 May 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1257

Abstract

When various alloying elements are added or the cooling rate is increased, steel grades with U- or V-typed ductility behavior show N-shaped ductility behavior in which the ductility decreases in the low-temperature region. This study proposes a method that uses N-shaped data fitting and random forest to predict ductility behavior of steel grades that have bainite microstructure. To include the phenomenon in which that ductility decreases below the intermediate temperature, the data range was extended to temperature T < 700 °C. To identify the T range in which the ductility decreases at T < 700 °C, an N-shaped data fitting method using six parameters was proposed. Comparison with the experimental values confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed model. Also, the model has better ability than models to predict bainite start temperature T_BS. In a case study, the change of ductility behavior according to the cooling rate was observed for Nb-added steel. As the cooling rate increased from 1 °C/s to 10 °C/s, the formation of hard phase was relatively promoted, and different transformation behaviors appeared. This ability to predict the ductility behavior of alloy steels with a bainite microstructure, and to predict T_BS below the intermediate temperature enables effective control of the secondary cooling conditions during continuous casting process, minimizing the formation of cracks on the slab surface. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Steel Design: Casting, Forming and Heat Treatment)

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12 pages, 5022 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Influence of Precipitate Morphology on the Growth of Austenite Grain in Nb-Ti-Al Microalloyed Steels

by Junfeng Yuan, Yang Xiao, Na Min, Wei Li and Sixin Zhao

Materials 2022, 15(9), 3176; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15093176 - 27 Apr 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1431

Abstract

The present study investigates the morphological evolution of carbonitrides and the effect of these precipitates on grain boundary pinning during pseudo-carburizing a Nb-Ti-Al microalloyed steel. The result indicated that three kinds of complex precipitates with different morphologies containing Nb, Ti, and Al respectively were observed in samples austenitized at different temperatures and times. The NbC and TiN precipitates played an important role in pinning grain boundaries and suppressing the growth of austenite grains, relying on the high thermal stability of TiN precipitates and small size of NbC precipitates. The precipitate characteristics affected the size of austenite grain. Based on the Zener pinning model, the effect of precipitate characteristic on austenite grain size was quantitatively analyzed. It is found that the existence of NbC and TiN precipitated at high temperature makes austenite grain growth difficult when austenite grain boundaries were pinned by fine and diffused precipitates. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Steel Design: Casting, Forming and Heat Treatment)

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10 pages, 3717 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Long-Term Aging on the Microstructural Evolution in a P91 Steel

by Hongchang Zhao, Zixi Wang, Xi Han and Mingjia Wang

Materials 2022, 15(8), 2847; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15082847 - 13 Apr 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1292

Abstract

The precipitation and growth mechanism of the Laves phase and the coarsening behaviors of Laves phase, M23C6 and MX carbonitrides have been emphatically investigated in P91 steel at 625 °C under different aging conditions. After long-term aging at 625 °C (>1500 h), it was observed that the Laves phase grew rapidly in the region near the M23C6 carbide once precipitated, and further gradually completed the engulfment process until the M23C6 carbide particles disappeared. Furthermore, a new crystallographic orientation relationship between M23C6 carbides and Laves phase has been observed at 625 °C for 5000 h, which is {0001}_Laves∥{111}_M23C6, <11

\bar{2}

1>_Laves∥ <011>_M23C6. The coarsening behaviors of Laves phase, M23C6 carbides and MX carbonitrides have been emphatically investigated, conforming to the existing ripening model of multicomponent alloys. The coarsening rates for the Laves phase, M23C6 and MX have values of ~32.2 (≥5000 h), 5.3 and 0.6 nm/h^1/³, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Steel Design: Casting, Forming and Heat Treatment)

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18 pages, 38458 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Study on the Heat Transfer Characteristics of Steel Plate in the Matrix Laminar Cooling Process

by Jing Xu, Guang Chen, Xiangjun Bao, Xin He and Qingyue Duan

Materials 2021, 14(19), 5680; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14195680 - 29 Sep 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1708

Abstract

Accurate prediction and control of the steel plate temperature in the laminar cooling process are very challenging. In this research, an experimental platform was built to measure the heat transfer characteristics of the steel plate in the process of matrix laminar spray cooling when the steel plate is one millimeter away from the upper surface. The “buried couple method” was used, including the cooling temperature and cooling rate. Then, the temperature and the integrated heat transfer coefficient at the steel plate surface were calculated by the time-sequential function method (TSFM). The obtained results show that the fast cooling stage under the water cooling condition occurred in the first 1.5 s, and the measuring point temperature decreased by 8%. The “re-reddening” phenomenon of the steel plate appeared with time, and the measuring point temperature increased by 37%. Second, the maximum calculated difference between the surface temperature and the measuring point temperature was 0.75 °C, and the integrated heat transfer coefficient conformed to the periodic boundary features. The comprehensive convective heat transfer coefficient on the surface was in agreement with the periodic boundary characteristics, and its value exhibited oscillatory attenuation with the cooling process, and the oscillatory peak period was about 6 seconds. Two methods, sequential function method (SFM) and finite difference method (FDM), were used to verify the correctness of TSFM. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Steel Design: Casting, Forming and Heat Treatment)

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