Search Results (31)

The slag entrapment defect has become a big issue for the IF steel casting process. In this study, the mechanism of mold flux entrapment in deep oscillation mark of an IF steel shell was studied by a high-temperature mold simulator. Results show that both temperature and heat flux in a copper mold become lower when mold flux B with lower melting and viscosity is used, compared with these when mold flux A with higher melting and viscosity is used. The average thickness of the slag film for mold fluxes A and B is 1.31 mm and 1.63 mm, and the consumption of them is 0.33 kg/m² and 0.35 kg/m², respectively. The shell for mold flux A exhibits sharper oscillation marks, while the shell for mold flux B has shallower oscillation marks. These deeper oscillation marks capture the mold flux by overflow of molten steel at the meniscus, which finally produces the slag entrapment defect in the shell. Full article

Slivers on the surface of rolled plates, which are serious defects for interstitial-free (IF) steel, occur mainly as a result of inclusions in continuous casting (CC) slabs. It is, therefore, important to study inclusions in CC slabs in terms of their migration towards the surface during hot rolling. To investigate inclusion migration during the hot rolling of ultralow carbon steel, a 3D numerical model was constructed using the finite element method. The positions of the inclusions in the surface layer of an IF steel slab (50 mm) were tracked during hot rolling using a node-tracking method. Furthermore, the study analyzed the effects of scarfing on inclusion migration during hot rolling and inclusion distribution in a hot-rolled plate. During the hot-rolling process, inclusions in the wide faces of the intermediate slab gradually migrated to the surface of the intermediate slab. Owing to a thickness reduction, accumulation areas of inclusions were finally generated at the edge of the hot-rolled plate; these areas may lead to sliver defects. The scarfing of the slab did not affect the distribution of inclusions in the hot-rolled plate; however, it may have reduced the inclusion content in the outermost layers of the hot-rolled plate. The inclusions were mainly located within 1 mm underneath the hot-rolled plate. Moreover, the inclusions near the inner arc of the CC slab were concentrated within 1.5 mm of the upper plate surface. Using galvanostatic electrolysis, the number of large inclusions in samples prepared from a hot-rolled plate obtained from a plant was measured. The measurements agreed well with the numerical model predictions, which validated the FE model in the current work. Full article

This paper presents the formability results of galvanized Zn-Fe-based interstitial-free (IF) “galvanneal” steel sheets with different degrees of alloying. The Fe content of the Zn-Fe coatings was determined by titration method and the phase composition of the coatings was determined by raster electron microscopy with EDX analyzer. A deterioration of the adhesion of the Fe-Zn coating to the substrate was observed in the pre-alloyed coating. The applied modes of annealing and smooth rolling after the surface galvanization resulted in a change in the surface microgeometry parameters Ra and Pc. The suitability of the surface microgeometry of the used Zn-Fe-coated sheets was assessed using control diagrams and the capability indexes C_pk with respect to the defined specifications. The coefficient of friction was determined by dry friction cup test, and using Anticorit lubricant and microtene film as lubricants. With increasing Fe content in the coating, a slight increase in friction coefficient values was observed—a slight deterioration in formability. The results obtained indicate that for car body surface parts, the Fe content of the Zn-Fe coating should range from 7% to 12%. Full article

Gradient interstitial free (IF) steels have been shown to exhibit a superior combination of strength and ductility due to their multiscale microstructures. The novelty of the work resides in the implementation of a modified slip transmission and a back-stress quantity induced by a long-range dislocation interaction in the dislocation-based multiscale model. This is an improvement over the model we previously proposed. Simulations are performed on IF specimens with gradient structures and with homogeneous structures. The macroscopic behavior of the samples under tension and compression is studied. The evolution of the microstructure such as dislocations, geometrically necessary dislocations (GNDs), and the effects of grain orientation is analyzed. Results show that with our enhanced model, the simulations can successfully reproduce the stress-strain curves obtained experimentally on gradient nano IF steel specimens under tension. The simulations also capture the tension-compression asymmetry (TCA) in specimens with homogeneous and gradient microstructures. The initial texture is found to have a significant effect on the TCA of specimens with gradient microstructures. Full article

In interstitial-free (IF) steel with a certain microtexture, the micro-orientation of grains is essential to understand the occurrence of hydrogen-induced cracking in body-centered cubic (BCC) structural steels. In this study, the hydrogen embrittlement (HE) susceptibility of IF steels was determined by slow strain rate tensile (SSRT) tests and hydrogen microprinting (HMT) experiments from the perspective of crystal orientation. The strength of the specimen with hydrogen was slightly higher than that without hydrogen, while the ductility and toughness were drastically reduced by hydrogen charging during the SSRT test. The HE susceptibility was characterized by the loss of elongation (I_δ) and toughness (I_ψ), with losses of 46.3% and 70%, respectively. The microstructural observations indicate that cracks initiated along grains oriented in the {100} || normal direction (ND), and grain boundaries (GBs) around {100}||ND were prone to be enriched in hydrogen atoms; that is, {100} || ND showed poor resistance to intergranular cracking and susceptible to hydrogen segregation. HMT was used to confirm the above viewpoints. Meanwhile, the statistical results showed those high-angle misorientations of 50–60° deviation are the locations most vulnerable to fracture. Full article

The present paper investigates the role of parent phase topology on a crystallographic variant selection rule. This rule assumes that product phase nuclei appear at certain grain boundaries in the parent structure, such that a specific crystallographic orientation relationship is observed with both parent grains at either side of the grain boundary. The specific crystallographic orientation correspondence considered here is the Young–Kurdjumow–Sachs (YKS) orientation relationship <112>90° (which exhibits 24 symmetrical equivalents). The aforementioned relationship is characteristic of phase transformations in low-carbon steel grades. It is shown that, for different parent phase textures, ~20% of the grain boundaries comply with the double YKS condition allowing for a tolerance of 5°, ignoring the presence of topology in the parent phase microstructure. The presented model allows for connecting the presence of a specific parent phase topology with the condition of the double YKS variant selection rule in a number of practical cases: (i) for hot rolled Ti–Interstitial Free (IF) steel with and without Mn addition, (ii) for cold rolled IF steel exhibiting very strong texture memory after forward and reverse α ⇌ γ phase transformation and (iii) for a martensitic transformation in a Fe–8.5% Cr steel. It is shown that the double YKS variant selection criterion may explain several specific features of the observed transformation textures, while assuming a non-correlated arbitrary pair topology of the parent austenite structure (implying that for N parent orientations N/2 pairs are selected in an arbitrary manner). Full article

Interstitial free steels with various grain sizes and textures were prepared by cold-rolling followed by an annealing process. The effect of grain size, crystallographic orientations and stored energy on corrosion behavior of interstitial free steel was investigated. It was found that the deformed microstructure and dislocation boundaries were consumed by recrystallizing grains during annealing. The average grain size increase ranging from 0.61 μm to 11 μm and the volume fraction of recrystallized grains was about 96% after annealing for 64 h; meanwhile, the γ fiber was the dominated recrystallized texture component. The stored energy gradually decreased due to the reduction in dislocation density by annealing. The potentiodynamic polarization and Nyquist plots show that the corrosion potential exhibits a more positive shift and depressed capacitive semicircle radius increase with rising annealing time. The 64 h annealed specimens had the biggest depressed semicircle in the Nyquist plots and the highest positive corrosion potential, which indicates the enhancement of corrosion resistance. Such an improvement of corrosion resistance is attributed to the increase in the volume fraction of the γ fiber and decrease in the stored energy. Full article

The aim of this paper was to investigate the microstructural development and properties of interstitial free (IF) steel fabricated using the DSR (differential speed rolling) process. Severe plastic deformation of the DSR passes was imposed on the sample for up to four passes, leading to ~1.7 total strain with a speed ratio of 1:4 between the two rolls. Microstructural observation revealed that the equiaxed grain size of ~0.7 µm, including the formation of grain boundaries with a high angle of misorientation, was reached after four operations of DSR, which was attributed to the grain subdivision of severely elongated ferrite grain. Since the deformation mode of the DSR operation was dominated by severe shear deformation, the main shear texture of the bcc components appeared in all DSR operations in which the α-fiber of the {110} slip became a main component in accommodating the severe plastic deformation of the DSR process. The intensity of the shear texture, the {110} and {112} slip, increased by increasing the number of passes. Moreover, the γ-fiber of the <112>-type planes was activated as a result of the alternation of the shear direction during sample rotation. The microhardness and room temperature tensile tests revealed that the strength of the IF steel improved as the amount of strain increased, and this was attributed to the grain refinement and texture characteristics of the samples after the DSR processing. Full article

A pure Ni interlayer with a thickness of 0.1 mm was introduced between high-strength interstitial free steel and Al–Mg–Si alloy, which were friction stir lap welded, producing an excellent welded joint. The interface layer consisted of a γ-Ni solid solution, and the mixed stirring zone contained alternate lamellae of γ-Ni and α-Fe solid solutions. The addition of a Ni interlayer strongly suppressed the reaction between Al and Fe because of the atomic arrangement of Ni. Furthermore, the insertion depth of the stirring pin has a significant influence on the Al/steel interfacial reaction. Under shallow insertion depth, the intermetallic compounds of both FeAl and Fe₂Al₅ were observed at the interface layer. A maximum tensile-shear fracture load of 4.3 kN was achieved, with fractures being present in the steel substrate far away from the Al/steel weld. Full article

A combination of droplet solidification tester and confocal laser scanning microscope was used to simulate subrapid solidification and secondary cooling process pertinent to the strip casting. The IF steel droplet had a delamination structure and the bottom part went through sub-rapid solidification. During secondary cooling, γ/α transformation mechanism belonged to interface-controlled massive transformation and the ferrite grains grew quickly. With the increase of cooling rate, the γ/α transformation temperature decreased and the incubation period and phase transformation duration reduced. The hardness showed a slight increase due to fine-grain strengthening. With coiling temperature increasing from 600 °C to 800 °C, the grain size became larger, precipitates became coarse, and defects in grain were recovered. Consequently, the hardness decreased. Full article

Interstitial free (IF) steel is widely used in the automotive industry, due to its excellent deep drawing performance. In this study, in order to study the influence of different rolling processes on the texture evolution and deep drawing performance of IF steel, we conducted rolling experiments on IF steel with different temperatures, different reduction rates, and different lubrication conditions. The impact of texture on the deep drawing performance of the steel was also analyzed. The microscopic and macroscopic texture analyses were performed using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. Deep drawing performance was analyzed by measuring the r-value. The results showed that in non-lubricated rolling, the r-value increased with the decrease in the reduction rate, and the r-value increased with the increase in the deformation temperature. The maximum value of r is 0.85. But in the case of lubricated rolling, the r-value increased significantly from 0.74 to 1.47 compared to non-lubricated (keeping the reduction rate and the rolling temperature constant). The lubrication reduced the shear deformation of the steel surface, resulting in a γ texture on the surface. Texture uniformity along the thickness direction resulted in an increase in the r-value of the steel. Full article

The standard production route for mild steels for automotive purposes is still based on conventional continuous casting (CC) and hot strip rolling (HSR). The current trend towards the “zero-carbon car” will demand the abating of material emissions in the future. Thin slab casting and direct rolling (e.g., Arvedi endless strip production (ESP)) is an approach to reduce CO₂ emissions by 50% compared to CC and HSR. One of the main limitations in applying ESP for the production of ultra-low carbon/interstitial free (ULC/IF) steels is clogging. Clogging is the blockage of the submerged entry nozzle due to the build-up of oxide layers or an oxide network. The high clogging sensitivity of IF steels results most probably from the FeTi addition, and hence, a general change of the deoxidation practice might be an option to overcome these problems. In the present work, the thorough refining process of ULC steel was simulated by addressing the different deoxidation routes and the influence of titanium (Ti) alloying on steel cleanness. The developed ladle furnace (LF) and the Ruhrstahl Heraeus (RH) refining models were applied to perform the simulation. Before the simulations, the models are briefly described and validated by the published industrial data. Full article

Implantable devices fabricated from austenitic type 316L stainless steel have been employed significantly in medicine, principally because the material displays excellent mechanical characteristics and corrosion resistance. It is well known, however, that interaction of exposure of such a material to blood can initiate platelet adhesion and blood coagulation, leading to a harmful medical condition. In order to prevent undesirable surface platelet adhesion on biomaterials employed in procedures such as renal dialysis, we developed an ultrathin anti-thrombogenic covalently attached monolayer based on monoethylene glycol silane chemistry. This functions by forming an interstitial hydration layer which displays restricted mobility in the prevention of surface fouling. In the present work, the promising anti-thrombogenic properties of this film are examined with respect to platelet aggregation on 316L austenitic stainless steel exposed to whole human blood. Prior to exposure with blood, all major surface modification steps were examined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analysis and surface free-angle measurement by contact angle goniometry. End-stage anti-thrombogenicity detection after 20 min of blood exposure at 100 s⁻¹, 300 s⁻¹, 600 s⁻¹, 750 s⁻¹, and 900 s⁻¹ shear rates revealed that a significant reduction (>90%) of platelet adhesion and aggregation was achieved for surface-modified steel, compared with untreated material. This result is confirmed by experiments conducted in real time for 60-minute exposure to blood at 100 s⁻¹, 600 s⁻¹, and 900 s⁻¹ shear rates. Full article

The presented research background is a car body manufacturer’s request to test the car body’s components welded from dissimilar steel sheets. In view of the vehicle crew’s protection, it is necessary to study the static and dynamic behavior of welded steels. Therefore, the influence of laser welding on the mechanical and dynamical properties, microstructure, microhardness, and welded joint surface roughness of interstitial free CR180IF and dual-phase DP600 steels were investigated. Static tensile tests were carried out by using testing machine Zwick 1387, and dynamic test used rotary hammer machine RSO. Sheet steel was tested at different strain rates ranging from 10⁻³ to 10³ s⁻¹. The laser welds’ microstructure and microhardness were evaluated in the base metal, heat-affected zone, and fusion zone. The comprehensive analysis also included chemical analysis, fracture surface analysis, and roughness measurement. The research results showed that the strain rate had an influence on the mechanical properties of base materials and welded joints. The dynamic loading increases the yield stress more than the ultimate tensile strength for the monitored steels, while the most significant increase was recorded for the welded material. Full article

The aim of this work is the analysis of laser beam forming (LBF) in the bending of two relevant materials used in the transportation industry—interstitial-free (IF) steel and AA6013 high-strength aluminum alloy. Our experiments and numerical simulations consider two different operating scenarios achieved by varying the laser beam scanning velocity using linear paths. The material behavior during this process is described via a coupled thermomechanical-plasticity-based formulation that allows prediction of temperature profiles and bending angles. Metallography, glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction are used for microstructure characterization. In addition, microstress analyses are performed in order to study the stress behavior of the irradiated zones. It is found that LBF mainly induces grain growth and melting in the case of high surface temperatures. Before melting, the materials developed compressive stresses that could be useful in preventing cracking failures. The resulting bending angles are predicted and experimentally validated, indicating the robustness of the model to estimate LBF effects on advanced alloys. The present analysis relating bending angles together with temperature and microstructure profiles along the thickness of the sheets is the main original contribution of this work, highlighting the need for further modeling refinement of the effects of LBF on advanced alloys to include more microstructural properties, such as grain boundary diffusion and surface roughness. Full article