Papers by Author: C. Isaac Garcia

Abstract: Modern thermomechanical controlled processing (TMCP) of advanced steels is now an important processing route in the production of engineering structures and products that are of value to society. The principles of TMCP are now practiced in the hot mill, cold mill and press forming shops around the world. Successful TMCP means that the proper metallurgical microstructure has been obtained in the required areas of the steel. The ideal microstructure is often defined by the correct phase balance and dimensions either of the parent austenite or final ferritic phase. Technological and economic demands have led to ever increasing levels of strength, especially for applications such as large diameter linepipe. The operative yield strengths in 18mm hot rolled plate have increased from X52(ferrite pearlite) in 1970 to X80(ferrite-bainite) today. The next frontier is the X100-X120 strength range, where bainitic or martensitic microstructures are required. It is clear that achieving a high-strength bainitic microstructure in heavy plate requires a high Carbon Equivalent value (C. E. II or Pcm), a rapid cooling rate, and a low water-end temperature. The requirement of high toughness and good weldability also means a low carbon content. This paper will describe the results of a research program where a steel of C. E. 0.56 and Pcm 0.23 was reheated, rough rolled for grain refinement, finish rolled for austenite pancaking, and direct quenched to below the Bs temperature. It was found that the strength and especially the toughness of the fully processed plates could not be explained using conventional metallographic techniques in conjunction with known structure-property relationships. However, the application of modern metallographic techniques based on FEG-SEM incorporating OIM led to microstructural characterization that more fully explained the observed mechanical properties. Of particular importance were the amount of MA micro-constituent, the crystallographic packet size of the bainite, and the high angle boundary character, especially the CSL boundaries, found in the microstructure. In the future, improved modeling of microstructural evolution and attendant mechanical properties will incorporate these important features.

Abstract: Stored energy in deformed metals plays an important role during the annealing process by providing the initial driving force for recovery and recrystallization. Many direct or indirect measurement and calculation methods have been used to evaluate the amount and distribution of the stored energy in the past decades. The advent of relatively new analytical techniques such as Electron Back-Scattered Diffraction (EBSD) has permitted the development of mathematical models such as Sub-grain Method, Image Quality (IQ) Method and Taylor Factor Method etc., these new techniques have permitted a much better understanding of the annealing behavior of cold rolled steels. The sub-grain method based on the level of sub-grain structure is used in our study to quantify the stored energy distribution prior to and its evolution during the batch annealing process of cold rolled HSLA steels. Orientation dependent stored energy distribution maps at different annealing stages have been constructed and analyzed. The results of this study show that the stored energy increases with cold rolling reduction ratio and its distribution through the thickness of the steel sample is not uniform due to the inherit inhomogeneous deformation process. The stored energy was continuously consumed during annealing. The amount of γ-fiber was relatively lower than the α-fiber in the specific steel sample, which can have a strong effect on the available driving force for recovery and recrystallization. Hence other structural factors such as precipitation and/or solute drag might become more important in controlling the kinetic behavior of the steel during annealing.

Abstract: The annealing behavior of cold rolled Type 430 ferritic stainless steel is the subject of this paper. The steel was cold rolled 79%, then heated at 6 °C/s to the soaking temperature of 841 °C, which is just below the Ae₁ temperature. During heating, specimens were quenched from selected temperatures between 650 and 841 °C and after various times at 841 °C. These quenched samples underwent metallographic examination and micro-hardness determination. The results indicated that under the prevailing experimental conditions, the hardness appeared to correlate strongly with the extent of recrystallization. The kinetics of recrystallization appeared to originate in the cold worked state, where three kinds of grain were found: (i) smooth elongated, featureless of α-fiber orientation {001}<100>; (ii) irregular fishbone grains of the γ-fiber orientations {111}<112> plus {111}<110>; and (iii) twisted grains of the η-fiber orientation {001}<100>. It was found that the twisted grains of the η-fiber were the first to recrystallize, with the fishbone grains of the γ-fiber second, and the smooth elongated, featureless grains of the α-fiber last. It was found that the grains of the α-fiber orientation {001}<100> and the η-fiber orientation {001}<100> were replaced with grains of the γ-fiber orientations as recrystallization progressed. These results are discussed in terms of recrystallization and texture development.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: Modern, cost-effective pipelines are moving beyond the API X70-X80 limits of the 1990s. Over the last few years, more interest has been placed on the X100-120 grades because they are potentially more economical to build and operate. To reach the impressive properties required by these new grades, the proper combination of alloy and rolling process design must be implemented, along with highly controlled interrupted accelerated cooling and hot leveling. This paper discusses some of the underlying physical metallurgy that is required and points out areas where further research and development would be useful.

Abstract: There are two obstacles to be overcome in the CSP production of HSLA heavy gauge strip and skelp, especially for API Pipe applications. First, the microalloying should be conserved by eliminating the high temperature precipitation of complex particles. Second, the heterogeneous microstructure that normally results from the 800 micron initial austenite in the 50mm slab as it is rolled to 12.5mm skelp must be eliminated to optimize the final microstructure and improve the final mechanical properties. Alteration in the hot rolling sequence can strongly homogenize the final austenite and resulting final ferritic microstructure. When coupled with a low coiling temperature near 550°C, the new rolling practice can result in Nb HSLA steels that can easily meet requirements for strength, toughness and ultrasonic testing in 12.5mm skelp gauges for X70 API pipe applications. The underlying physical metallurgy of these two breakthroughs will be presented and discussed in detail.

Abstract: The development of microstructure of Nb,Ti-bearing microalloyed steel during the CSP process was studied. Three samples were taken from the as-cast slab prior to tunnel furnace, intermediate bar after stand F2 and the hot band, respectively. In the as-cast slab, the average austenite grain size is 654 µm with a large size range from 150 to 2000 µm. In the intermediate bar after stand F2, the austenite grains are remarkably refined, but are heterogenous due to the incomplete recrystallization, which are in the size range of 23 to 116 µm. In the hot band is mainly non-polygonal ferrite. Microstructural heterogeneity exists in the hot band. It is attributed to the heterogeneous austenite grain size in the intermediate bar and the less rolling reduction after stand F2. With regards to precipitation, cubic TiN and fine precipitates less than 20nm are commonly observed in the as-cast slab and the intermediate bar. Some complex (Ti,Nb)(C,N) precipitates with a slightly larger size also exist. In the hot band, most particles are complex (Ti,Nb)(C,N) precipitates, in a shape of irregular or cruciform. The fine precipitates which can strengthen the ferrite matrix are seldom seen. These results are in good agreement with the size distribution of the precipitates determined using small angle X-ray scattering method. The chemical phase analysis reveals that 45%Nb of the total and 43%Ti of the total are still in solution in ferrite of the hot band.

Abstract: TRIP steels containing Mn, Si, Al, Mo, and Nb have been examined using a laboratory simulation of a continuous hot dipped galvanizing line. The evolution of microstructure has been studied as the steel passes through the various stages of CG line processing. Tensile strengths approaching 800 MPa and ductilities approaching 30% have been achieved in the 1.5Mn-0.5Si- 1.0Al-0.015Mo-0.03Nb system.