Effect of reverse-phase transformation annealing process on the microstructure and mechanical properties of hot-rolled medium manganese steel

In order to develop a third-generation automobile steel with powerful strength and elongation, we propose a method through high temperature quenching and two-phase region reverse-phase transformation annealing to develop such steel with 0.13% C and 5.4% Mn. To investigate the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of manganese steel, SEM, XRD and TEM are employed in our experiments. Experimental results indicate that the microstructure after quenching is mainly lath martensite microstructure with average of lath width at 0.5 μm. The components of the steel after along with reverse-phase transformation annealing are ultra-fine grain ferrite, lath martensite and different forms of austenite microstructure. When the temperature at 625 °C, the components of the steel mainly includes lath martensite microstructure and ultra-fine grain ferrite and the fraction of austenite volume is only 5.09%. When the annealing temperature of reverse-phase transformation increase into 650 °C and 675 °C, the austenite appears in the boundary of the ferritic grain boundary and the boundary of lath martensite as the forms of bulk and lath. The phenomenon appears in the bulk of austenite, and the size of is 0.22 μm, 0.3 μm. The fraction of austenite volume is 22.34% at 675 °C and decreases into 9.32% at 700 °C. The components of austenite mainly includes ultra-fine grained ferrite and lath martensite. Furthermore, the density of decreases significantly, and the width of martensite increases into 0.32 μm. In such experimental settings, quenching at 930 °C with 20 min and at 675 °C with 30 min reverse-phase transformation annealing, the austenite volume fraction raises up to 22.34%.

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Microstructure Evolution and Mechanical Properties of 67GPa•% Grade Medium Manganese Steel

Materials Science Forum ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/msf.1035.404 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1035 ◽

pp. 404-409

Author(s):

Zhe Rui Zhang ◽

Ren Bo Song ◽

Nai Peng Zhou ◽

Wei Feng Huo

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Properties ◽

Microstructure Evolution ◽

Annealing Temperature ◽

High Strength ◽

Total Elongation ◽

Manganese Steel ◽

Experimental Steel ◽

Medium Manganese Steel ◽

Hot Rolled ◽

Hot Rolled Steel

In this study, a new Fe-6Mn-4Al-0.4C high strength medium manganese hot rolled steel sheet was designed. The influence mechanism of the intercritical annealing (IA) temperature on microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of experimental steel were studied by SEM and XRD. The experimental steel was held for 30 minutes at 640°C, 680°C, 720°C, 760°C, 800°C, respectively. When the annealing temperature was 640°C, cementite particles precipitated between the austenite and ferrite phase boundary. As the annealing temperature increased, the cementite gradually dissolved and disappeared, the fraction of lamellar austenite increased significantly. When the annealing temperature is 800°C, the coarse equiaxed austenite and ferrite appeared. The yield strength (YS) decreased, the product of strength and elongation (PSE) and total elongation (TE) both increased first and then decreased, while the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) showed the opposite trend. The experimental steel exhibited excellent comprehensive mechanical properties after held at 760°C for 30 min. The UTS was 870 MPa, the YS was 703 MPa, and the TE was 77 %, the PSE was 67 GPa·%.

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