The microstructure and mechanical properties of low carbon bainite high strength steel plate were studied via different cooling paths at the pilot scale. There was a significant increase in mechanical properties, and notably, the yield strength, tensile strength, and toughness at-40 ℃ for the tested steel processed by ultra-fast cooling were 126 MPa, 98 MPa and 69 J, respectively, in relation to steel processed by accelerated cooling. The ultra-fast cooling rate not only refined the microstructure, precipitates, and martensiteaustenite（M/A） islands, but also contributed to the refinement of microstructure in thick plates. The large size M/A constituents formed at lower cooling rate experienced stress concentration and were potential sites for crack initiation, which led to deterioration of low-temperature impact toughness. In contrast, the acicular ferrite and lath bainite with high fraction of high-angle grain boundaries were formed in steel processed by ultra-fast cooling, which retarded cleavage crack propagation.
The effects of different solution methods on microstructure, mechanical properties and precipitation behavior of Al-Mg-Si alloy were investigated by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, tensile test, and differential scanning calorimetry. The results revealed that the recrystallized grains of the alloy after the solution treatment with hot air became smaller and more uniform, compared with solution treatment with electrical resistance. The texture of the alloy after two solution treatment methods was different. More rotated cube components were formed through solution treatment with electrical resistance, which was better for improving the drawability of the alloy. The strength of the alloy under the solution treatment with hot air was higher before stamping, because of the small uniform grains and many clusters in the matrix. The alloy solution treated with hot air also possessed good bake hardenability, because the transformation occurred on more clusters in the matrix.
Guan-jun GAOChen HEYong LIJia-dong LIZhao-dong WANGR. D. K. MISRA
A kinetic model based on the classical nucleation and growth theory has been proposed to predict the precipitation behavior of complex precipitate. The method for calculating absolute solution temperature, which is an important guidance for determining solution treatment temperature, is also proposed based on thermodynamic model. In the model, nucleation of the second phase is assumed to be controlled by the effective diffusion, which involves the bulk diffusion and dislocation pipe diffusion, and growth is controlled by the bulk diffusion of forming elements. The interfacial energy of complex precipitate is calculated by the linear interpolation method, and the effects of alloying elements on precipitation behavior are manifested using weighted means of their diffusivities and concentration. The predictions were compared with the experimental measurements, and a good agreement was obtained.
