Influence of Severe Accumulative Rolling in a Low Carbon Microalloyed Steel

Abstract

Effect of the severe deformation by multi-pass rolling on microstructure and tensile properties was analyzed in terms of rolling temperature, plate thickness, and cooling rate for a modified API X65 steel containing B. The plates, 80 and 50 mm thickness, were rolled six times by 20%/pass (total 75%) to 20 and 12 mm, at 1023 K of unrecrystallized γ region or 973 K of intercritical (α+γ) region, and then quenched in water or oil. All specimens except one oil-quenched condition showed relatively high UTS 700-830 MPa and the continuous yielding(YR～0.6), typical mode of the (ferrite + martensite (bainite)) dual phase microstructure. In contrast, one oil-quenched specimen with the 973 K-20 mm condition, exhibited the discontinuous yielding (YR～0.8), indicating that the microstructure basically consists of ferrite plus pearlite, as well as a relatively low UTS 660 MPa. The degree of deformation really occurring within materials, i.e., strain hardening seems to be enhanced with a decrease in deformation temperature. As the degree of deformation increases, the remaining austenite, not dynamically transformed to fine ferrite, becomes increasingly unstable. A lower hardenability of this remaining austenite thus would lead to a higher possibility to transform into the (ferrite + pearlite) structure of lower strength rather than the (ferrite + martensite (bainite)) of higher strength.