Mn-Series Low Carbon Air Cooling Bainitic Steels Containing Niobium

Abstract

The effect of four different niobium(From 0-0.1%) addition on the mechanical properties of allotriomorphic ferrite (FGBA)/ granular bainite (BG) air cooling bainitic steels has been investigated in this paper. The results show that (1) The 0.06%Nb steel acquired superior strength and toughness combination by applying 1250°C×60min solution treated, finish rolling at 850°C, and air cooling. The corresponding mechanical property of the thick plate (30mm) is: σb>1050MPa, σ0.2>700MPa, δ5>17%, Akv>90J. (2) The addition of niobium refine the grain size of FGBA, and promoted the transformation of bainite structure. With the increase of niobium content, the refinement of ferrite grain and bainitic cluster is improved. (3) More refined M-A island is acquired by the small addition of niobium. According to M-A Analysis tools and transversal methods, with the rise of niobium content, the volume fraction of M-A island increase from 21% to 35%, and the average size of M-A island decrease from 1.1μm to 0.7um. (4) It is suggested that 0.02-0.06% niobium can improve the mechanical properties of the steel obviously. However, excess addition of Nb (0.1%) deteriorates the impact toughness obviously. (5) Under the synthetic roles of the microstructure refinement and precipitation strengthen, 60-160MPa yield strength improvement has been acquired in the low carbon air cooling bainitic steel by the small addition of niobium. (6) This steel is with low production cost since the alloying element Mn is cheap.