Effect of Bainite to Ferrite Yield Strength Ratio on the Deformability of Mesostructures for Ferrite/Bainite Dual-Phase Steels.

The strength and plasticity balance of F/B dual-phase X80 pipeline steels strongly depends on deformation compatibility between the soft phase of ferrite and the hard phase of bainite; thus, the tensile strength of ferrite and bainite, as non-negligible factors affecting the deformation compatibility, should be considered first. In this purely theoretical paper, an abstract representative volume elements (RVE) model was developed, based on the mesostructure of an F/B dual-phase X80 pipeline steel. The effect of the yield strength difference between bainite and ferrite on tensile properties and the strain hardening behaviors of the mesostructure was studied. The results show that deformation first occurs in ferrite, and strain and stress localize in ferrite prior to bainite. In the modified Crussard-Jaoul (C-J) analysis, as the yield strength ratio of bainite to ferrite (σy,B/σy,F) increases, the transition strain associated with the deformation transformation from ferrite soft phase deformation to uniform deformation of ferrite and bainite increases. Meanwhile, as the uncoordinated deformation of ferrite and bainite is enhanced, the strain localization factor (SLF) increases, especially the local strain concentration. Consequently, the yield, tensile strength, and yield ratio (yield strength/tensile strength) increase with the increase in σy,B/σy,F. Inversely, the strain hardening exponent and uniform elongation decrease.

Enhancing Strain Capacity by the Introduction of Pearlite in Bainite and Polygonal Ferrite Dual-Phase Pipeline Steel.

In this study the strain capacity and work-hardening behavior of bainite (B), bainite + polygonal ferrite (B + PF), and bainite + polygonal ferrite + pearlite (B + PF + P) microstructures are compared. The work hardening exponent (n), instantaneous work hardening value (ni), and differential Crussard-Jaoul (DC-J) analysis were used to analyze the deformation behavior. The best comprehensive mechanical properties were obtained by the introduction of the pearlite phase in B + PF dualphase with the tensile strength of 586 MPa and total elongation of 31.0%. The additional pearlite phase adjusted the strain distribution, which increased the initial work hardening exponent and then maintained the entire plastic deformation at a high level, thus delayed necking. The introduction of pearlite reduced the risk of micro-void initiation combined with the high frequency of high angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) in triple-phase steel, which led to a low crack propagation rate.

A New Maraging Stainless Steel with Excellent Strength-Toughness-Corrosion Synergy.

A new maraging stainless steel with superior strength-toughness-corrosion synergy has been developed based on an innovative concept of alloy design. The high strength-toughness combination is achieved by forming dispersive nano-sized intermetallic compounds in the soft lath martensitic matrix with a slight amount of residual austenite. The good corrosion resistance is guaranteed by exactly controlling the Co content based on understanding the synergistic effect between Co and Cr. The fine structure characteristics of two dominant strengthening precipitations including Ni3Ti and Mo-rich phases were finely characterized associated with transmission electron microscope (TEM) and atom probe tomography (APT) analyses. The relationship among microstructure, strength and toughness is discussed. The precipitation mechanism of different precipitates in the new maraging stainless steel is revealed based on the APT analysis.