Effects of pre-fatigue damage on mechanical properties of high-strength steel: Research status and prospects

Post-fire performance of high-strength steel plate girders developing post-buckling capacity

The dynamic mechanical properties of different high-strength steels were measured and compared based on their respective microstructures. Beam-shaped test specimens were excited using an electric shaker while vibration responses were measured using a non-contact laser sensor. Flexural wave propagation was analyzed to precisely determine material damping. Measured properties were compared to those of carbon steels. In addition, the effects of grain size determined by optical micrographs on the dynamic properties were investigated. The influence of the tensile strength on the measured properties was analyzed. The high-strength steels exhibited smaller damping with a similar Young’s modulus compared to carbon steels, although the tensile strength was much greater.

Modern high-strength steels achieve their strength exclusively through the manufacturing process, as the chemical composition of these steels is very similar to the composition of standard-quality steels. Typically, hot-dip galvanizing is used to form a protective zinc layer on the steel parts of structures; nonetheless, the material is exposed to high temperatures during the process. With high-strength steels, this can lead to deterioration of the mechanical properties. This study aims to experimentally examine and evaluate the extent of deterioration of the mechanical properties of high-strength-steel members. The effect was studied on specimens made of three different types of steel with the yield strength ranging from 460 to 1250 MPa. For each type of steel, selected mechanical properties—yield strength, tensile strength, and hardness—were determined on specimens with and without hot-dip galvanization, and the obtained results were mutually compared. Our study shows a significant impact of the hot-dip galvanization process on the mechanical properties of some high-strength steels. With the studied types of steel, the yield strength decreased by up to 18%, the tensile strength by up to 13%, and the hardness by up to 55%.

Effects of the Arctic low temperature on mechanical properties of Q690 and Q960 high-strength steels

Experimental study on the post-fire mechanical properties of high-strength steel tie rods

This article is aimed at determining the mechanical properties of high-strength steel obtained by digital image correlation for specimens with a hole in different rolling direction. This geometry generates a heterogeneous strain field which was measured during the test using a digital image correlation system. The advantage of using a heterogeneous strain field in the identification procedure is that a complex state of stress-strain can be analyzed at the same time and much more information can be obtained in a single test. On the other hand, the stress field cannot be directly computed from the test and a suitable identification procedure must be developed. Here, the virtual fields method (VFM) adapted for large strains and plasticity was used to identify the hardening behaviour and the anisotropy of the material. The values obtained with the VFM were compared with the results from a standard identification made using uniaxial tensile tests.

This study thoroughly examines the effects of tempering temperature on the structure and mechanical properties of high-strength steel. The objective is to establish a solid foundation of raw materials for the production of relevant equipment. Experimental results show that: when tempering temperatures between 180°C~300°C, with the increase of tempering temperature, the tensile stress of the material decreases gradually, and the yield strength tends to increase. The comprehensive mechanical properties of the alloy are optimized in plasticity and toughness, and it can be seen that the strength reaches an excellent balance at 180°C. The carbide precipitation and impact fracture characteristics are analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, and it is found that a large number of needle-shaped ε-carbides are precipitated in the martensite lath, and the size of the ε-carbides increases with the increase in tempering temperature, which is the reason for the gradual decrease in the yield strength of the experimental steel with the increase in tempering temperature.

Identification of the mechanical properties of high-strength steel using digital image correlation. In this paper an experimental procedure to identify the plastic behaviour of sheet metals up to large strains using full field measurement is presented. The tests were conducted on notched specimens. This geometry generates a heterogeneous strain field which was measured during the test using a digital image correlation system. The advantage of using a heterogeneous strain field in the identification procedure is that a complex state of stress-strain can be analyzed at the same time and much more information can be obtained in a single test. On the other hand, the stress field cannot be directly computed from the test and a suitable identification procedure must be developed. Here, the virtual fields method (VFM) adapted for large strains and plasticity was used to identify the hardening behaviour and the anisotropy of the material. The values obtained with the VFM were compared with the results from a standard identification made using uniaxial tensile tests.

Mechanical properties and constitutive model of Q460 steel during the fire-cooling stage

Mechanical performances of thin-walled high-strength concrete-filled steel tube square columns with high-strength reinforced cages under biaxial eccentric compression

Chapter 1 - Introduction

This study investigates the mechanical properties of exceptionally high-strength steel produced by wire and arc additive manufacturing (WAAM), using the 304 stainless steel wire and the low carbon wire (LCS). The study found that annealing treatment can enhance the steel's mechanical properties. The microstructure in the LCS layer changed from ferrite to bainite and then to a mixture of austenite, pearlite, and bainite with increasing annealing temperature. In contrast, the SS layer retained its martensitic structure, albeit with altered lath sizes. The annealing treatment also improved the orientation of the grains in the steel. The optimal annealing temperature observed for the steel was 900 ℃, which resulted in a maximum tensile strength of 1176 MPa along the Y direction and 1255 MPa along the Z direction. Despite the superior mechanical properties, the LCS layer still exhibited failure during tensile testing due to its lower hardness. The study suggests that annealing treatment can be a useful technique for enhancing the mechanical properties of high-strength steel in WAAM applications.

High-strength steel is widely used in hot forging products for application to the oil and gas industry because it has good mechanical properties under severe environment. In order to apply to the extreme environment industry requiring high temperature and high pressure, heat treatments such as austenitizing, quenching and tempering are required. The microstructure of high-strength steel after heat treatment has various microstructures such as Granular Bainite (GB), Acicular Ferrite (AF), Bainitic Ferrite (BF), and Martensite (M) depending on the heat treatment conditions and cooling rate. Especially in large forged products, the difference in microstructure occurs due to the difference in the forging ratio depending on the location and the temperature gradient according to the thickness during post-heat treatment. Therefore, this study attempted to quantitatively analyze various phases of F70 high-strength steel according to the austenitizing temperature and hot forging ratio using the existing EBSD analysis method. In addition, the correlation between microstructure and mechanical properties was investigated through various phase analysis and fracture behavior of high-strength steel. We found that various microstructures of strength steel depend on the austenitizing temperature and hot forging ratio, and influence the mechanical properties and fracture behavior.

The sustainable and resource-efficient production of wind energy plants requires the use of modern high-strength fine-grain structural steels. This applies to both foundation and erection structures, like mobile or ship cranes. During the assembly of steel structures, unacceptable defects can occasionally be found in the weld area. In most cases, the economical solution would be local thermal gouging of the affected areas and re-welding. Due to the high shrinkage restraint of the joint groove in the overall structure, the superposition of global and local welding-induced stresses may lead to crack formation and component failure, particularly in interaction with the degradation of the microstructure and mechanical properties of high-strength steels during the repair process. However, manufacturers hardly have any information about these issues and there is a lack of recommendations and guidelines to take these safety-relevant aspects into account in adequate repair concepts. The aim of this research is to derive recommendations for repair concepts appropriate to the stresses and materials involved providing a basis for standards and guidelines to avoid cold cracking, damage and expensive reworking especially for high-strength steels. Part 1 of this study involves systematic investigations of influences of shrinkage restraint during repair welding of two high-strength steels S500MLO for offshore application and S960QL for mobile crane structures. The quantification of the shrinkage restraint of repair weld joints was achieved by means of experimental and numerical restraint intensity analysis. In welding experiments with self-restrained slot specimens, restraint intensity and introduction of hydrogen via the welding arc using anti spatter spray were varied systematically to analyse the effect on welding result, residual stresses and cold cracking. It could be shown that increasing restraint intensities result in significantly higher transverse residual stress levels. In the case of hydrogen introduction S500MLO showed no cold cracking independent of the restraint conditions. However, S960QL was found to be considerably cold cracking sensitive if hydrogen is introduced. With increasing restraint intensity length and number of cold cracks increases significantly. Part 2 [1] of this study is focussed on microstructure and residual stresses due to gouging and stress optimization via adequate heat control parameters in repair welding.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of the laser welded air-hardening steel joint