Papers by Author: Yun Bo Xu

Abstract: The low silicon transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) steel with phosphorus addition is consisted of the microstructure of retained austenite, ferrite and bainite which produced by intercritical annealing and isothermal bainite transformation followed by rapid cooling. In this study, isothermal bainite transformation of different experimental parameters in low silicon TRIP steel with phosphorus addition was investigated in laboratory. The addition of cheap element phosphorus, which has the same effect of silicon in retard the kinetics of carbide formation during isothermal bainite transformation, can reduce the silicon content, improve surface quality, solve galvanizing problem and reduce costs. The effect of bainite isothermal temperature, intercritical annealing temperature and heating rates were investigated by dilatometric experiment on a push-rod Formastor-FII high-speed dilatometer with radio frequency induction heating. The high resolution observations, composition analysis and elements distribution of microstructure were carried out using the electron scanning microscopy of a field emission electron probe microanalyzer (JEOL JXA-8530F) operating at 20KV accelerating voltage.

Abstract: In this work, the bainite transformation during isothermality of aluminium bearing TRIP steel was studied by dilatometric experiment on a pushrod Formastor-F highspeed dilatometer with radio frequency induction heating. The aluminium bearing TRIP steel consisted of the microstructure of austenite, ferrite and bainite in the form of laths which produced by intercritical annealing and isothermal transformation followed by rapid cooling. The effect of intercritical annealing temperature and isothermal transformation temperature were studied by dilatometric experiment and JEOL JXA-8530F Electron Probe Microscopic Analyzer (EPMA).

Abstract: Effect of coil temperature on the texture and microstructure evolution during cold rolling and annealing were investigated by OM, ODF and EBSD. The results indicate that the {223}<110> and {114}<110> textures appeared after cold rolling are inherited followed by annealing, whose intensities would be higher as the coil temperature decreased. Lower coil temperature could improve the uniformity of grain size and increase the fraction of low-angel grain boundaries as well as coincidence site lattice boundaries. And the {111}//ND texture is improved in the lower coil temperature cold and annealing steel sheet, which is beneficial for the deep-drawability.

Abstract: The effects of annealing routes (batch annealing and continuous annealing) on the development of microstructure and texture in a cold-rolled Nb-IF high strength steel sheet were studied by means of optical microscopy(OM), electron backscattered diffraction(EBSD) and ODF analysis. The results show that the finer and more homogenous recrystallization grain can be observed in the CA steel. The CA process leads to an increase in the intensity of the γ-fibers, and the very sharp and uniform γ-fibers are found in this case, which is beneficial to the deep-drawability.

Abstract: Good combination of high strength and high toughness has been considered as a critical factor of ultra-high strength steel plates. In this paper, a novel high strength steel plate of HSLA type containing Cu with 910MPa yield strength and 1163MPa tensile strength has been developed using an advanced TMCP (thermo-mechanical control processing) technology. The steel plates provide excellent combination of high strength, toughness and deformability. Microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of this steel during hot-working have been investigated. It is demonstrated that, at the relatively higher finish rolling temperature and cooling rate, the microstructure consists of acicular and granular bainite structures and a small amount of low bainite /martensite whose lath width is approximately 200~300nm. For the as-rolled conditions, despite the high strength and so low yield ratio, impact energy about 154J and fully ductility fracture at -90°C can still be obtained as documented for as-hot rolled plates.

Abstract: The simulation studies were carried out on the oriented silicon steel produced by thin slab casting and rolling (TSCR) and twin-roll strip casting in the laboratory. The precipitation of inhibiter, formation of microstructure and texture were investigated before cold rolling. The inhomogeneous microstructure and texture gradient were observed in the 7-pass hot-rolled strip（2mm）for TSCR process, and texture gradient was not changed after normalizing, and the twin-roll strip casting directly supplied a strip with approx 2mm of thickness being same as that of hot-rolled strip by TSCR. The microstructure of twin-rolling casting strip was almost composed of all equiaxed grains which similar to the normalizing microstructure in TSCR process, but the random texture was obtained by twin-rolling strip casting. The dispersed and clustered precipitates were presented in hot-rolled strip when the ingots were soaked at 1200°C and 1150°C respectively for the TSCR process. And disperse and acicular precipitates were observed by TEM for air-cooling cast strips for process twin-rolling casting.

Abstract: Laboratory hot rolling experiments on a low-carbon TRIP steel containing vanadium have been carried out to study the microstructure characteristics and mechanical properties. The results showed that the multiphase microstructure with ferrite, granular bainite and retained austenite could be obtained if the finish rolling initial temperature was properly decreased and the finishing temperature was controlled in the range of Ae3~ Ar3, and the tensile strength achieved 930 MPa or above. The average ferrite grain size was about 4.5 μm in this experiment, the vanadium nitrides and vanadium carbides precipitated dispersedly within ferritic grains or at grain boundaries, and the higher dislocation density existed in ferrite matrix. EBSD analyses revealed that the high angle boundaries accounted for a large proportion and the misorientation angles were within the interval between 29° and 60° mostly. When the finishing temperature was 800°C and the final air cooling temperature was 630°C, the steel had excellent mechanical properties, which was characterized by combination of high strength(about 930MPa), high elongation(21.7%), low yield/strength ratio(0.49) and as well as high work-hardening exponent(0.23).

Abstract: The microstructure and textures of oriented silicon steel produced by Thin Slab Casting and Rolling (TSCR) were studied in laboratory. The fractions of equiaxed grains and columnar grains are close to 35% and 65% respectively in as-quenched ingot after being pulled out from the mould. The equiaxed grains and no texture gradient from surface to center can be observed for the 3-pass hot-rolled strips, and the inhomogeneities of microstructure and texture in thickness are relatively clear for the 7-pass samples. The subsurface texture of the hot-rolled sample contains of e (TD// <110>) fibers. The texture of the cold-rolled samples mainly consists of a (<110>//RD) and g (<111>//ND) fibers, and Goss texture ({110}<001>) disappears. The strong a fiber, weak g fiber and minor {001}<110>can be found in all layers in the cold-rolled condition.

Abstract: The metallurgical equations have been implemented into the finite difference model to predict the microstructure evolution at different locations in the plate cross-section. Recrystallization kinetics and grain size distributions instead of average grain size values were computed for different rolling schedules. For 20mm plate, the austenite grain sizes at the surface are smaller than at the center, with the exception of the conner where there are the largest grain sizes in throughout cross-section, and the smallest grain sizes can be found near the end of the horizontal central line. The fine austenite grain size and relatively high retained strain could be obtained by modifying rolling practice, such as changing the temperature and thickness at the entrance of finishing rolling and adopting intermediate water cooling. The ferrite grain size and its distribution have a good agreement with the measurements.