Search Results (19)

Edge cracks in hot-rolled sheets of industrial grain-oriented electrical steel significantly affect the yield rate and pose substantial challenges to cold rolling fabrication. Eliminating such structural defects through hot rolling requires a thorough understanding of their formation mechanism. This study investigates the formation mechanism of edge cracks in hot-rolled sheets, which are characterized by coarse strip-like grains with typical thicknesses ranging from 20 μm to 100 μm. Coarse, strip-shaped grains have low fracture stress, which is the cause of edge cracks. They originate from abnormally developed columnar grains in continuous casting slabs after reheating, which is unavoidable in industrial large-scale production. Inadequate fragmentation and insufficient recrystallization during rough rolling result in residual coarse grains of intermediate slabs, and their preferential deformation and outward protrusion lead to the formation of grooves. In the subsequent finishing rolling process, deformed coarse grains near the grooves undergo further elongation, developing into distinct strip-like structures. Based on the above mechanistic understanding, the edge microstructure under various rolling parameters was investigated, and targeted improvement measures for edge cracks were proposed. It is concluded that the edge quality can be significantly enhanced through increasing the total width reduction, additional rough rolling passes, and the implementation of edge heating during rough rolling. Quantitative analysis demonstrates that increasing the rolling passes from D to E significantly reduces the fraction of band structure from 64% to 48% and the average width of elongated grains from 43.5 μm to 38.4 μm. Full article

The existing studies mainly focus on the coarse-grained heat-affected zone and the inter-critically reheated coarse-grained heat-affected zone, while the studies on other sub-zones are relatively low. Meanwhile, the studies on the Cr element in steel mainly focus on the influence of the Cr element on strength and hardness; however, its mechanism is not very clear. Therefore, three kinds of X80 experimental steels with different Cr contents (0 wt.%, 0.13 wt.%, and 0.40 wt.%) were designed in this paper. The thermal simulation experiments on the supercritically coarse-grained heat-affected zone (SCCGHAZ) were carried out using a Gleeble-3500 thermal simulator. The effects of Cr on the microstructure and toughness of SCCGHAZ were systematically investigated through Charpy impact tests and microstructural characterization techniques. The results indicate that the microstructures of the three Cr-containing X80 experimental steels in SCCGHAZ are predominantly composed of fine granular bainite. However, impact tests at −10 °C show that the SCCGHAZs of 0 wt.% and 0.13 wt.% Cr steel exhibit higher impact energy, while that of the 0.40 wt.% Cr steel demonstrates significantly reduced energy impact (<100 J). Microstructural characterization reveals that the impact toughness of the SCCGHAZ in X80 steel is correlated with microstructural features, including effective grain size, grain boundary angles, and the volume fraction and shape of martensite–austenite (M-A) constituents. Among these factors, the volume fraction of M-A constituents substantially influences toughness. It was found that island-shaped M-A constituents inhibit crack propagation, whereas blocky M-A constituents impair toughness. Full article

There are still internal defects such as triangular zone cracks, centerline cracks, and intermediate cracks in 65Mn-Cr steel during the production process, which mostly occur in the initial solidification. In order to explore the evolution of intermediate cracks during the initial solidification process of 230 mm × 1255 mm slab 65Mn-Cr steel, this study was based on a combination of numerical simulation and experiment, using COMSOL numerical simulation software to establish a flow and heat transfer coupling model and stress model, and carried out simulation research. The results show that the solidification speed of slab 65Mn-Cr steel is different at different positions from the meniscus. At the position where the reheating occurs, the heat transfer speed from the solidification front to the surface of the slab slows down, but the solidification speed varies in different areas of the section. At the same time, the flow field, temperature field, and cross-sectional stress and strain field are all non-uniformly distributed, and the maximum plastic strain value exceeds the critical strain 0.004. The experimental results show that internal cracks occur within the range of 9–35 mm below the surface. This shows that the intermediate crack defects of 65Mn-Cr steel are easily caused by stress and strain. Adjusting the spray distribution and cooling intensity of the spray water in the secondary cooling section can be a feasible solution to reduce the occurrence of internal cracks. Full article

The effect of pre-weld heat treatment on the microstructure and low-temperature impact toughness of the coarse-grained heat-affected zone (CGHAZ) after simulated welding was systematically investigated through the utilization of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron back-scattering diffraction (EBSD). The Charpy impact test validated the presence of an optimal pre-weld heat treatment condition, resulting in the highest impact toughness observed in the CGHAZ. Three temperatures for pre-weld heat treatment (690, 720 and 750 °C) were used to obtain three different matrices (Steel 1, Steel 2, Steel 3) for simulated welding. The optimal pre-weld heat treatment is 720 °C for 15 min followed by water quench. Microstructure characterization showed that there is an evident microstructure comprising bainite (B) in Steel 1 and Steel 2 after pre-weld heat treatment, while the addition of martensite (M) with the pre-weld heat treatment temperature exceeds Ac₁ by almost 60 °C (Steel 3). These differences in microstructures obtained from pre-weld heat treatment influence the refinement of high-temperature austenite during subsequent simulated welding reheating processes, resulting in distinct microstructural characteristics in the CGHAZ. After the optimal pre-weld heat treatment, Steel 2 subjected to single-pass welding thermal simulation demonstrates a refined microstructure characterized by a high density of high-angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) within the CGHAZ, particularly evident in block boundaries. These boundaries effectively prevent the propagation of brittle cracks, thereby enhancing the impact toughness. Full article

Among the technologies proposed for achieving carbon neutralization in asphalt road pavements, warm-mix asphalt (WMA) has garnered increasing attention in recent years. While WMA holds the potential for various environmental and technical benefits, a comprehensive understanding of its implementation, technology selection, and additives is essential for successful application. This study presents a case where a bio-based chemical additive was employed to produce WMA containing 50% reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) for a surface course in Bern, Switzerland. To minimize additional variables during testing and analysis, no other additive or rejuvenator was introduced into the mixtures. The testing plan encompassed laboratory tests on samples collected during material placement and recompacted at varying temperatures in the laboratory, as well as cores extracted from the job site. As anticipated, the presence of the chemical WMA additive did not alter the rheological properties of the reference bitumen. Although in the mixture-scale tests, the WMA mixture exhibited comparable properties to the control hot-mix asphalt (HMA), it is not expected that the small dosage of the chemical additive functions the same grade after reheating and compaction. Nevertheless, the cores extracted from the job site proved the efficiency of the applied WMA technology. In addition, consistent with existing literature, the cracking tolerance (CT) index values of 62 for HMA and 114 and 104.9 for WMA mixtures indicated that the latter is less susceptible to cracking. Consequently, this characteristic could contribute to the enhanced durability of asphalt pavements. Full article

Stress relaxation cracking (SRC) is considered one of the major failure mechanisms for 347H stainless steel welds at elevated service temperatures or during post weld heat treatment (PWHT), especially within the heat-affected zone (HAZ). This work focuses on the characterization of SRC susceptibility within 347H physically simulated arc welded HAZ at elevated temperatures. A four-step SRC thermomechanical test in combination with finite element modeling (FEM) of the welding and testing processes is developed to establish a susceptibility map for HAZ. The test first runs a thermal cycle with three different peak temperatures (1335, 1275, and 1150 °C) to duplicate representative HAZ subzone microstructures, followed by time-to-failure examination under a variety of pre-stress (260–600 MPa) and pre-strain conditions (0.03–0.19) as a function of reheat temperatures between 750 and 1050 °C. With the aid of FEM, SRC susceptibility maps are generated to identify the threshold stress, plastic strain, and creep strain as a function of test temperature. It was found out that HAZ subzone with a lower peak temperature (1150 °C) appears to be slightly less susceptible to SRC than the other two subzones that experienced higher peak temperatures. Generally, time-to-fracture reduces with increasing initially applied stress and strain for all test temperatures. The pre-stress thresholds decrease from about 500 to 330 MPa as the testing temperature increases from 800 to 1050 °C, while the corresponding initial plastic strain thresholds reduces from 0.15 to 0.06. The SRC susceptibility was also evaluated through the Larson–Miller Parameter (LMP) analysis as a function of plastic strain, initial stress and starting stress upon reaching the testing temperature, respectively. The 1050 °C test with a high pre-applied strain (0.1) exhibits an extremely short time to failure (t = 3 s) that lies outside the general trend in LMP analysis. Additionally, it was identified that a plastic strain above 0.07 is identified to significantly reduce the bulk creep strain tolerance to fracture and therefore increases SRC susceptibility. Hardness measurement and fractography analysis indicated that the strain aging of niobium carbonitrides and other potential phases in conjunction with intergranular precipitates contributes to an increase in microhardness and increased intergranular cracking susceptibility. Full article

The influence of Ti on the behavior of hot ductility was examined in four different Ti-containing micro-alloyed steels with a constant content of Nb. Thermomechanical investigations using a dilatometer were carried out to simulate the conditions during casting and cooling in the strand of a continuous caster with temperatures in the range of 650–1100 °C, strain rates of 0.01 s⁻¹ and 0.001 s⁻¹, and reheating rates between 60 and 180 Kmin⁻¹. To understand the fracture mechanism, optical (LOM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), elemental analysis via energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), MatCalc “Scheil–Gulliver” calculations, and precipitation kinetics calculations were carried out for the critical conditions, showing low hot ductility between Ar₃ and Ae₃ temperatures and a brittle to ductile transition temperature at 900 °C. The existence of TiNb(CN), thin ferrite formation, and grain boundary sliding (GBs) due to limited dynamic recrystallization (DRX) has been documented and discussed. As a result, the reheating rate has no sufficient effect on the ductility. The existence of Nb-rich TiNb(CN) of sizes below ~1 μm triggers brittle fracture by increasing the frequency of micro-voids around grain boundaries. It can be stated that if the conditions in the hot ductility trough are avoided, the addition of Ti and high strain support minimize the risk of crack formation. Full article

The objective of this research work is to obtain the hot ductility behavior, and the structural, microstructural and mechanical characteristics of one of the latest generation of AHSS steels, a complex phase (CP) steel microalloyed with boron (0.006 wt.%), processed by hot and cold rolling operations and heat-treated using two different quenching and partitioning (Q&P) treatments, a one-step partitioning (quenching to 420 °C) and the other a two-step partitioning (quenching to 420 °C and reheated to 600 °C). The results show that boron has a marked effect on the solidification process of the CP steel, refining the austenitic grain size. Due to its refinement, the boron-containing steel had better ductility throughout the temperature range examined (700–900 °C), i.e., the hot ductility trough. Thus, the minimum percentage of reduction in area (%RA) value occurring at 800 °C was 43% for the boron-free steel, compared with 58% for the boron-containing steel. Hence, cracking would not be a problem when straightening the strand on continuous casting. The benefit of boron addition on the room temperature properties was found to be very marked for the higher temperature two-step partitioning treatment, giving a yield stress of 1200 MPa, a UTS (ultimate tensile strength) of 1590 MPa and a total elongation above 11%. The final Q&P microstructure, in both one- and two-step partitioning conditions, consisted of retained austenite (RA-γ), martensite and ferrite islands in a bainitic matrix. Furthermore, the boron treated steel on quenching produced a greater amount of RA-γ, which accounted for its better room temperature ductility and produced a martensitic matrix rather than a bainitic one, giving it greater strength. The addition of boron improved the corrosion resistance of this type of third generation AHSS steel. Full article

Additive Manufacturing (AM) of multimaterial components is a promising way of fabricating parts with improved functional properties. It allows for the combination of materials with different properties into a single component. The Ti₂AlNb-based intermetallic alloy provides high temperature strength, while the Ti-6Al-4V (Ti64) alloy has good fracture toughness, ductility, and a relatively low cost. A combination of these alloys into a single component can be used to produce advanced multimaterial parts. In this work, Ti₂AlNb/Ti-6Al-4V bimetallic structures were fabricated from pre-alloyed powders using the Selective Laser Melting (SLM) process. The effects of high-temperature substrate preheating, post-processing by annealing, and hot isostatic pressing on defect formation, the microstructural evolution of the interface area, and the mechanical properties of the bimetallic samples were investigated. High-temperature substrate preheating during the SLM process was necessary to prevent reheat cracking of the Ti₂AlNb part, while annealing and hot isostatic pressing post-processing improved the chemical and microstructural homogeneity of the transition zone and enhanced the tensile properties of the bimetallic structure. Full article

Additive manufacturing (AM) techniques can be applied to produce carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) elements. Such elements can be exposed to different environmental factors, e.g., temperature, moisture, and UV radiation, related to their operational conditions. From a variety of environmental factors, the temperature is one of the most typical. Temperature strongly influences matrix material joining together CFRP components, resulting in material strength reduction. Therefore, it is important to understand processes in the composite material caused by temperature. This experimental work investigated the thermal effects on the performances of AM CFRP composites. Specimens with unidirectional (UD) alignments of the fiber reinforcement were printed using the fused deposition modeling (FDM) technique. The printed specimens were subjected to two different thermal conditions: stable continuous at 65 °C and cyclic temperature between 50 and 70 °C. Tensile testing was performed to study the mechanical strength and Young’s modulus of AM UD-CFRPs. In order to investigate the morphological structure on the surface of AM specimens, an optical microscope, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and digital microscope were utilized. Untreated (intact) samples attained the highest average tensile strength value of 226.14 MPa and Young’s modulus of 28.65 GPa. The ultimate tensile strength of the sample group subjected to stable heat treatment decreased to 217.99 MPa, while the thermal cycling group reduced to 204.41 MPa. The Young’s modulus of the sample group subjected to stable thermal exposure was decreased to 25.39 GPa, while for the thermal cycling group, it was reduced to 20.75 GPa. The visual investigations revealed that the intact or untreated specimen group exhibited lateral damage in top failure mode (LAT), the thermally stable group underwent edge delamination in the middle (DGM) as the nominated failure mode, and the explosive breakage at gauge in the middle (XGM) failure mode occurred in the sample from the thermal cycling group. Based on morphological observations at the microscale, the delamination, fiber pull-out, and matrix cracking were the dominant damages in the 3D-printed tensile-tested specimens. The molecular chains of the polymer changed their structure into an amorphous one, and only local motions of stretching occurred when the specimens were exposed to stable heating (prolonged). In the case of thermal cycling, the strain gradients were accumulated in the matrix material, and the local stresses increased as a result of the reheating and re-cooling exposure of the polymeric composites; the molecular motion of the long-range polymer structure was reactivated several times. Micro-cracking occurred as a result of internal stresses, which led to material failure and a reduction of the mechanical properties. Full article

This paper aims to study the relationship between the microstructure and the mechanical properties of X70 submarine pipeline steel with 40.5 mm thickness. The microstructure was examined by using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and an electron backscattered diffractometer, while the mechanical properties were examined by using a hardness test, a tensile test, a Charpy impact test and a drop weight tear test (DWTT), respectively. The results show that the base metal (BM) of the pipe has a low yield ratio of 0.83 and an excellent elongation of more than 45%. The DWTT shear area of the steel plate reaches 87%, showing excellent low-temperature toughness. The Charpy impact energy increases when the distance from the fusion line increases, and it reaches a maximum at the BM near the heat-affected zone (HAZ) due to the small martensite-austenite (MA) constituents and fine grains. The concentrated distribution of blocky/slender MA constituents along the prior austenite grain boundaries of the intercritically reheated coarse-grained HAZ and the large MA constituents are the main reasons for the deteriorating impact toughness. Delamination cracks in the DWTT fracture surface only occurred in the midthickness of a sample with a small opening width that spread about 2.1 mm perpendicular to the DWTT fracture surface and were finally arrested at the acicular ferrite clusters containing a high density of high-angle boundaries. Full article

The structural and thermophysical characteristics of an Ni-rich NiTi alloy rod produced on a laboratory scale was studied. The soak temperature of the solution heat-treatment steps above 850 °C taking advantage of the precipitate dissolution to provide a matrix homogenization, but it takes many hours (24 to 48) when used without thermomechanical steps. Therefore, the suitable reheating to apply between the forging process steps is very important, because the product’s structural characteristics are dependent on the thermomechanical processing history, and the time required to expose the material to high temperatures during the processing is reduced. The structural characteristics were investigated after solution heat treatment at 900 °C and 950 °C for 120 min, and these heat treatments were compared with as-forged sample structural characteristics (one hot deformation step after 800 °C for a 30 min reheat stage). The phase-transformation temperatures were analyzed through differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and the structural characterization was performed through synchrotron radiation-based X-ray diffraction (SR-XRD) at room temperature. It was observed that the solution heat treatment at 950 °C/120 min presents a lower martensitic reversion finish temperature (A_f); the matrix was fully austenitic; and it had a hardness of about 226 HV. Thus, this condition is the most suitable for the reheating stages between the hot forging-process steps to be applied to this alloy to produce materials that can display a superelasticity effect, for applications such as crack sensors or orthodontic archwires. Full article

9CrMoW steel tubes were welded in multiple passes by gas-tungsten arc welding. The reheated microstructures in the Gr. 92 weld metal (WM) of a multiple-pass weld were simulated with an infrared heating system. Simulated specimens after tempering at 760 °C/2 h were subjected to constant load creep tests either at 630 °C/120 MPa or 660 °C/80 MPa. The simulated specimens were designated as the over-tempered (OT, below A_C1, i.e., WT-820T) and partially transformed (PT, below A_C3, i.e., WT-890T) samples. The transmission electron microscope (TEM) micrographs demonstrated that the tempered WM (WT) displayed coarse martensite packets with carbides along the lath and grain boundaries. Cellular subgrains and coarse carbides were observed in the WT-820T sample. A degraded lath morphology and numerous carbides in various dimensions were found in the WT-890T sample. The grain boundary map showed that the WT-820T sample had the same coarse-grained structure as the WT sample, but the WT-890T sample consisted of refined grains. The WT-890T samples with a fine-grained structure were more prone to creep fracture than the WT and WT-820T samples were. Intergranular cracking was more likely to occur at the corners of the crept samples, which suffered from high strain and stress concentration. As compared to the Gr. 91 steel or Gr. 91 WM, the Gr. 92 WM was more stable in maintaining its original microstructures under the same creep condition. Undegraded microstructures of the Gr. 92 WM strained at elevated temperatures were responsible for its higher resistance to creep failure during the practical service. Full article

In this study, we investigated the effects of different frying conditions on the quality characteristics of fried Spanish mackerel (Scaberulous niphonius) to address the food quality degradation of self-heating fish products after frying, sterilization, and reheating. Furthermore, the effect of different moisture contents (65%, 60%, 55%, and 50%) of fried Spanish mackerel on texture, color, and microstructure after sterilization and self-heating were examined. The flavor fingerprints of different frying temperatures (140 °C, 160 °C, 180 °C, and 200 °C) coupled with the optimal moisture content were identified; furthermore, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were studied using headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS) with principal component analysis (PCA). The results indicated that the shear force value significantly increased, while the hardness and chewiness significantly decreased simultaneously with decreasing moisture content. Samples containing 65% moisture content showed the highest L*, a*, and W values, while their b* value was the lowest, and the most clearly visible fibrous veins with tiny cracks could be observed in them. Samples fried at 160 °C and 65% moisture content exhibited the richest VOCs, with a greasy or fried aroma. Based on the PCA, there were significant differences in the sample VOCs under different frying conditions. In summary, among all treatments, frying at 160 °C with 65% moisture content resulted in the highest food quality of fish filets. The results of this study could provide a theoretical basis for improving the food quality of self-heated fish products. Full article

A novel continuous process of severe plastic deformation (SPD) named continuous close die forging (CCDF) is presented. The CCDF process combines all favorite advances of multidirectional forging and other SPD methods, and it can be easily scaled up for industrial use. Keeping constant both the cross section and the length of the sample, the new method promotes a refinement of the microstructure. The grain refinement and mechanical properties of commercially pure aluminum (AA1050) were studied as a function of the number of CCDF repetitive passes and the previous conditioning heat treatment. In particular, two different pre-annealing treatments were applied. The first one consisted of a reheating to 623 K (350 °C) for 1 h aimed at eliminating the effect of the deformation applied during the bar extrusion. The second pre-annealing consisted on a reheating to 903 K (630 °C) for 48 h plus cooling down to 573 K (300 °C) at 66 K/h. At this latter temperature, the material remained for 3 h prior to a final cooling to room temperature within the furnace, i.e., slow cooling rate. This treatment aimed at increasing the elongation and formability of the material. No visible cracking was detected in the workpiece of AA1050 processed up to 16 passes at room temperature after the first conditioning heat treatment, and 24 passes were able to be applied when the material was subjected to the second heat treatment. After processing through 16 passes for the low temperature pre-annealed samples, the microstructure was refined down to a mean grain size of 0.82 µm and the grain size was further reduced to 0.72 µm after 24 passes, applied after the high temperature heat treatment. Tensile tests showed the best mechanical properties after the high temperature pre-annealing and 24 passes of the novel CCDF method. A yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of 180 and 226 MPa, respectively, were obtained. Elongation to fracture was 18%. The microstructure and grain boundary nature are discussed in relation to the mechanical properties attained by the current ultrafine-grained (UFG) AA1050 processed by this new method. Full article