Improvement in the Resistance to Wear of Work-Rolls Used in Finishing Stands of the Hot Strip Mills

Work-rolls manufactured through the Indefinite Chill Double Poured (ICDP) method present an exterior work layer manufactured in a martensitic white cast iron alloyed with 4.5 %Ni, 1.7 %Cr, and 0.7 %Nb (wt.%). In its microstructure, there are abundant carbides of the type M3C and MC, which give high resistance to wear, and graphite particles which improve the service behaviour of the rolls against thermal cycling. The core of the rolls is manufactured in grey cast iron of pearlitic matrix and spheroidal graphite. These work-rolls are used in the finishing stands in Hot Strip Mills for rolling slabs proceeding from continuous casting at 1200 °C. Through the application of a Design of Experiments (DoE), an attempt has been made to identify those manufacturing factors which have a significant effect on resistance to wear of these rolls and to find an optimal combination of levels of these factors which allow for improvement in resistance to wear. To increase resistance to wear, it is recommended to situate, simultaneously, the liquidus temperature and the percentage of Si in the respective ranges of 1250–1255 °C and 1.1–1.15 (wt.%). Higher liquidus temperatures favour the presence of the pro-eutectic constituent rather than the eutectic constituent. The outer zone of the work layer, in contact with the metal sheet, which is being rolled, does not show the graphitising effect of Si (0.8–1.15 wt.%). On the contrary, it confirms the hardening effect of the Si in solid solution of the ferrite. The addition of 0.02% of Mg (wt.%) and the inoculation of 6 kg/T of FeB tend to eliminate the graphitising effect of the Si, thus favouring that the undissolved carbon in the austenite is found to form carbides in contrast to the majority formation of graphite.

Effect of Heat Treatment on the As-Cast Microstructure and Hardness of NiSi3B2 Alloy

Cast Ni-Si-B alloys have the potential for high-temperature applications because of their high resistance to wear, impact, corrosion, and oxidation at elevated temperatures due to an appropriate balance of hard phases and austenite that ensures a good compromise between toughness and hardness. In this work, NiSi3B2 specimens, fabricated by the lost-wax casting process, were investigated. Given the complex multiphase cast microstructure, a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC-TGA) analysis was employed to characterize the reactions that occur during solidification and the resulting phases were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), with energy-dispersive microanalysis (EDS) and backscattered electron (BSE) image and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Due to the presence of hard phases, machining of the Ni-Si-B components can pose additional difficulties. Therefore, the conditions of the solution heat treatment, which might lead to the homogenization of the microstructure, consequently improving its machinability, were also investigated. The results of the heat-treated samples indicated that the dissolution of the eutectic constituent is accompanied by a significant decrease in the hardness (approximately 17%). It is important to emphasize that the solution heat treatments carried out reduced the hardness without affecting the percentage of borides, which will allow improving the machinability without adversely affecting the alloy performance in service.

Preparation and Microstructural Characterization of a High-Cr White Cast Iron Reinforced with WC Particles

High-chromium white cast iron (WCI) specimens locally reinforced with WC–metal matrix composites were produced via an ex situ technique: powder mixtures of WC and Fe cold-pressed in a pre-form were inserted in the mold cavity before pouring the base metal. The microstructure of the resulting reinforcement is a matrix of martensite (α’) and austenite (γ) with WC particles evenly distributed and (Fe,W,Cr)6C carbides that are formed from the reaction between the molten metal and the inserted pre-form. The (Fe,W,Cr)6C precipitation leads to the hypoeutectic solidification of the matrix and the final microstructure consists of martensite, formed from primary austenite during cooling and eutectic constituent with (Fe,Cr)7C3 and (Fe,W,Cr)6C carbides. The presence of a reaction zone with 200 µm of thickness, between the base metal and the composite should guarantee a strong bonding between these two zones.

Elevated Temperature Cracking Resistance of Ta-Bearing High Chromium Ni-Base Filler Metals

Tantalum is investigated in this work as an alternative eutectic forming element to replace niobium in high chromium, Ni-base filler metals. Three experimental Ni-30Cr filler metals with additions of tantalum (Ta) and molybdenum (Mo) were studied in order to investigate eutectic constituent formation at the end of weld solidification and to determine weld metal cracking resistance. The cast pin tear test (CPTT) and the strain-to-fracture (STF) test were utilized to determine solidification cracking and ductility-dip cracking (DDC) susceptibility, respectively. Differences in the morphology of the eutectic constituents were observed as a function of Ta and Mo additions. Mo appears to participate in the eutectic reaction at the end of solidification, but does not affect the solidification temperature range. The experimental filler metals showed good resistance to solidification cracking and were remarkably resistant to DDC, especially at higher levels of Ta and Mo.

In-Situ Tem Studies of Recrystallization and Grain Growth in Al-Mg-Mn-Zr Alloys

Recrystallization and grain growth studies of Al-Mg-Mn-Zr alloys have been carried out in-situ in the transmission electron microscope. Nucleation sites were primarily on large (>I μm diameter) eutectic constituent particles. The sub-micron A16Mn dispersoids were observed to be effective as nuclei if present in clusters, and were effective at retarding grain boundary migration and dislocation motion. The smaller A13Zr precipitates seemed to have little effect on nucleation and growth, but were effective in pinning dislocations. These results have been analyzed in terms of precipitate size and shape in both the as-cold-worked microstructure and during recrystallization. The implications on the microstructural refinement of these alloys for improved superplastic properties will be discussed.