Nb Ti Steel Research Articles

Research on the strengthening mechanism of Nb–Ti microalloyed ultra low carbon IF steel

Interstitial free (IF) steels are characterized by their interstitial free ferritic matrix due to addition of micro-alloying elements that draw carbon and nitrogen out of matrix to form carbonitrides. The IF steels typically have excellent deep drawing ability, certain mechanical strength, and high plastic deformation performance. In this paper, the microstructure evolution and carbides precipitation behavior during the hot rolling, cold rolling and annealing processes have been studied using both experimental and thermodynamic and kinetic modeling approaches. The strengthening mechanism of Nb–Ti microalloyed IF steel has been investigated. The results of the thermodynamic simulation indicates that the addition of Nb into Ti bearing IF steel promotes recrystallization at 900 °C, leading to fine recrystallized grains. Due to the recrystallization of austenite during the final rolling process, Nb–Ti microalloyed hot rolled plates exhibit finer grain size, fewer substructures, and lower dislocation density compared to the hot rolled plates containing only Ti. Building upon the initial fine and uniform structure, Nb–Ti microalloyed steel maintains a refined structure after undergoing cold rolling and annealing. The study of the carbides precipitation behavior suggests that TiN precipitates at high temperature above 1100 °C, while a substantial amount of (Nb,Ti)C and TiC precipitate at about 900 °C in Nb–Ti and Ti bearing steels, respectively. There is no significantly difference between the amount of carbides in steels hot deformed at 900 °C and in the hot rolled plates, indicating that the carbides mainly precipitate during the hot rolling process. There are negligible carbides precipitated during the coiling process at 600 °C. In Nb–Ti containing steel, Nb and Ti in solid solution are significantly reduced due to the large amount precipitation of (Nb,Ti)C during the final rolling process. The reduction of solid solution Nb effectively promotes the recrystallization of austenite. Therefore, the grains of hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and annealed strips are refined. In addition, there are more small size carbides in Nb–Ti bearing steel than that in Ti bearing steel. Therefore, the higher strength of Nb–Ti steel is mainly from the strengthening effect of grain refinement and carbides precipitation.

Back-Annealing of Hot Dip Galvanised Strip Steel Microalloyed with Vanadium

Back-annealing during the hot dip galvanising (HDG) process was applied to heavily cold-worked low C-microalloyed VN steels in an attempt to achieve a yield strength of 700 MPa and a minimum A80 elongation of 10 percent. HDG simulations were performed to compare recovery and recrystallisation kinetics in VN steel with that experienced in plain low C and Nb-Ti grades. Based on these results, an industrial melt was subjected to conventional hot rolling, cold rolling and back-annealing cycles during HDG. Precipitation in both VN and Nb-Ti steels extended the recovery window by about 75 degrees Celsius when compared to that found in low CMn steel. A temperature-time parameter M was used to compare the rates of softening. The Mrs (recrystallisation start) in both VN and Nb-Ti steels was 20.1 compared to 18 in a low CMn grade. The above properties were achieved by subjecting low C-microalloyed VN steel to low finishing and low coiling temperatures followed by back-annealing heavily cold-worked strip to a maximum temperature to prevent full recrystallisation. The softening rate during annealing is higher in both microalloyed steels than the CMn grade, with recrystallisation being completed more rapidly in the VN steel. Laboratory results implied insensitivity of restoration behaviour to hot rolling parameters whilst industrial results suggest that they are effective.

Effect of V, Nb, and Ti microalloying on low–temperature impact fracture behavior of non–quenched and tempered forged steel

In this study, three kinds of non-quenched and tempered forged steels with V, V–Nb and V–Nb–Ti microalloying elements were designed. The microstructure and low–temperature impact fracture behavior of the three steels were comprehensively compared and analyzed. The results showed that the addition of Nb and Ti elements can significantly refine the grains and form precipitated particles to improve the strength of the steel. The fracture behavior of the three steels types at a low temperature of −28 °C was dominated by brittle cleavage fractures. V–Nb–Ti steel exhibited the worst low–temperature impact toughness. The SEM analysis result showed that coarse (V, Nb, Ti) (C, N) particles present in the steel acted as local cleavage initiation sites. No cleavage fracture caused by (V, Nb) (C, N) particles occurred in the V–Nb steel. The results showed that the high impact energy (70.4 J) at room temperature and low ductile–brittle transition temperature (DBTT, −20 °C) of the V–Nb steel were mainly attributable to the grain refinement of Nb. The micron–sized coarse (V, Nb, Ti) (C, N) particles were the main factor responsible for the low impact energy (35.5 J) at room temperature and high DBTT (−7 °C) of V–Nb–Ti steel and can act as the local cleavage initiation sites to dominate the cleavage fracture at low temperature and decrease the impact toughness.

Use of Borides in Strengthening Fe–Ni–Mn–Mo–V–Ti–Nb Steel

The strength of 30N8G6M3FTB steel alloyed with boron nitride and carbide depends on the compounds Nb6C5, V6C5, NbC, Mo0.72Nb0.28B2, VB, Ti3N1.29, NbN, and NbVN2 formed in surfacing by means of powder-core wire. This material may be used in coating components operating with moderate wear.

Effect of Mo on the Precipitation Behavior of FB780 Steel with a High Hole-Expanding Ratio at Different Coiling Temperatures

The investigations conducted on the effect of molybdenum (Mo) on the precipitation behavior of FB780 steel with the high hole-expanding ratio at different coiling temperatures have been limited. In the present study, base steel without the addition of Mo (Nb–Ti steel) and Nb–Ti–Mo steel with the addition of 0.191% (wt.%) Mo was prepared. Different coiling temperatures were selected on the basis of the process used in industrial production. The results indicated that Mo promoted precipitation at low coiling temperatures, while the volume fraction and size of the precipitates were increased and decreased, respectively, exerting a precipitation strengthening effect. The addition of Mo lowered the optimal coiling temperature, which would be beneficial in terms of energy saving. In addition, Mo reduced the row width of the interphase precipitation and improved the performance stability of the FB780 steel with high hole-expanding ratio.

Effect of coiling conditions on the strengthening mechanisms of Nb microalloyed steels with high Ti addition levels

Steels alloyed with high Ti addition levels present an interesting combination of high strength and formability, principally due to the high levels of precipitation hardening that can be attained. However, their mechanical properties can be highly sensitive to variations in the processing route. In this work, dilatometry tests were performed to study the effect of coiling conditions on the microstructures and hardening mechanisms of a reference Nb microalloyed steel (0.03%Nb) and two high Ti-Nb steels (0.05%Ti-0.03%Nb, 0.1%Ti-0.03%Nb). Coiling temperatures from 550 °C to 675 °C and cooling rates of 0.01 °C/s and 0.03 °C/s were considered. A significant increase in hardness was observed for the high Ti-Nb steel samples. While the grain size and dislocation hardening were similar for all steels, much higher precipitation strengthening values in the range of 69–163 MPa and 100–307 MPa were calculated for the 0.05%Ti and 0.1%Ti steels, respectively. As a consequence, high yield strength values (over 700 MPa) were estimated for coiling temperatures greater than 625 °C for the Ti10Nb3 steel. However, it was also observed that the mechanical behavior of this steel greatly depended on coiling conditions: maximum mechanical strength was achieved at 625–650 °C, while it decreased significantly for temperatures between 550 °C and 600 °C and at 675 °C. The small size and density of the precipitates detected with TEM support the large precipitation hardening effect calculated in these conditions.

Effects of Roughing on Finish Rolling Simulations in Microalloyed Strip Steels

The effects of a roughing pass in hot rolling simulations were assessed in VN and Nb-Ti steels. Continuous cooling phase transformation temperatures, flow curves, softening mechanisms (dynamic transformation DT and dynamic recrystallization DRX), and deformed microstructure morphologies were analyzed. The application of one or more roughing passes eliminates the effects of prior microstructural history and ensures that all stock material experiences equivalent hot working conditions and state of the microalloying elements. It has been shown that roughing in hot simulation has the following positive influences: (1) provide more reliable flow stress data; (2) give greater consistencies and accuracy in analysis of softening mechanisms giving three distinct regimes (DT regime at temperatures below 800 °C, DT/DRX inter-mode regime between 800 and 950 °C and DRX regime for temperatures above 950 °C for VN steel); (3) promotion of softening mechanisms as evidence by low critical strains ( $$\varepsilon_{{{\text{c}}\,{\text{DT}}}}$$ was within the range 0.08-0.12, while for finishing-only pass, the $$\varepsilon_{{{\text{c}}\,{\text{DT}}}}$$ was in the range of 0.11-0.14 at $$\dot{\varepsilon } = 0.1$$ s−1); (4) for roughing and finishing schedules, DT was verified to occur at temperatures 117 and 133 °C above $$Ae_{3}$$ for VN steel and Nb-Ti steel, respectively, compared to the F-only schedules which showed that DT can only occur at temperatures below the $$Ae_{3}$$ ; (5) RF schedules promoted uniform microstructural morphologies compared to inhomogeneous microstructures realized in F-only schedules.

Some Metallurgical Issues Concerning Austenite Conditioning in Nb-Ti and Nb-Mo Microalloyed Steels Processed by Near-Net-Shape Casting and Direct Rolling Technologies

As thin slab direct rolling technologies are moving to the production of higher quality steel grades, chemical compositions based on Nb-Ti and Nb-Mo become a good option. However, with the use of multiple microalloying additions, the as-cast austenite conditioning becomes more complex. This paper analyzes some of the microstructural features that should be taken into account during the as-cast austenite conditioning in Nb-Ti and Nb-Mo microalloyed steel grades. In the case of Nb-Ti grades, it has been observed that the process parameters during solidification and post-solidification steps affect the austenite evolution during hot rolling. This is due to the differences in the size and volume fraction of TiN particles that can be formed. Fine TiN precipitates have been shown to be able to delay recrystallization kinetics. Moreover, the solute drag effect of Ti cannot be ignored in the case of hyperstoichiometric Ti/N ratios. It is observed that Nb-Ti grades tend to have lower non-recrystallization temperatures compared to Nb grades, which means that pancaking of the austenite is more difficult for these steels. The opposite is observed for the Nb-Mo grades, although in both cases the behavior is affected by the nominal content of Nb.

Thermomechanical processing route to achieve ultrafine grains in low carbon microalloyed steels

A new thermomechanical processing route is described for a microalloyed steel, with roughing deformation below the recrystallisation-stop temperature (T5%), followed by a rapid reheat to 1200 °C for 10s, and then finish deformation at the same temperature as the rough deformation. The new route focused on optimising the kinetics of strain-induced precipitation (SIP) and the formation of deformation-induced ferrite transformation (DITF). For comparative purposes, two experimental 0.06 wt% C steels were studied: one with 0.03 wt% Nb (Nb steel), and a second with both 0.03 wt% Nb and 0.02 wt% Ti (NbTi steel). Two processing routes were studied. The first was a conventional route, which consisted of a simulated rough deformation schedule with the final roughing pass taking place at 850 °C, which produced fully unrecrystallised austenite grains during deformation with no strain-induced ferrite formation. The second, new, thermomechanical processing route used the same roughing step, after which the steels were reheated at 10 °C/s to a temperature of 1200 °C, isothermally held for 10s allowing for precipitate dissolution, prior to air cooling to a finishing deformation temperature of 850 °C. This route resulted in DIFT primarily on the prior-austenite grain boundaries. The precipitate solution during the reheat treatment increased the supersaturation of Nb and Ti in the austenite matrix on subsequent cooling, which therefore increased the undercooling due to the increased Ae3. The observation of nanoscale cementite in the DIFT supports the view that it formed through a massive transformation mechanism. The volume fraction of SIP after finish deformation was influenced by the supersaturation of microalloy elements in solution during heat treatment. The new process route led to a significant refinement of the final ferrite grain size.

Dissolution and precipitation behaviour in steels microalloyed with niobium during thermomechanical processing

The thermomechanical processing of high strength low allow (HSLA) steels during low-temperature roughing, followed by rapid reheating to higher temperatures was investigated to better understand the Nb dissolution kinetics in austenite, and the subsequent precipitation behaviour during the final finishing passes. For comparative purposes, two experimental 0.06wt% C steels were studied, one containing 0.03wt% Nb (Nb steel), and the second containing both 0.03wt% Nb and 0.02wt% Ti (Nb–Ti steel). Processing of these steels consisted of a simulated roughing schedule, with the final roughing pass taking place at 850°C. The strain-induced precipitation intensity in the steels subsequently quenched where characterised using transmission electron microscopy. Following this, the steels were rapidly reheated at a rate of 10°C/s to a temperature of 1200°C, held at temperature for various times, and water quenched to room temperature so that both the precipitate dissolution kinetics, together with the austenite grain coarsening kinetics could be established.

Study of the thermomechanical behavior of API 5L X80 steel micro-alloyed with Nb-Ti through hot torsion tests

The controlled rolling of high strength low alloy steel has been widely used in the production of large diameter pipes for the oil and gas industry. The thermo-mechanical control process (TMCP) is used to maximize grain refinement and achieve both higher strength and toughness in the steels. In this sense, API 5L X80 micro-alloyed Nb-Ti steel was submitted to hot torsion tests to evaluate its hot deformation behavior. The critical temperatures (Tnr, Ar3 and Ar1) were obtained by testing with multiple strains in continuous cooling. From the flow stress curves generated in the isothermal tests, it was possible to obtain a critical strain that starts dynamic recrystallization, the peak strain for temperatures ranging from 1150oC to 850oC, and the strain rates at 0.2; 0.4 and 0.8s-1. The results showed that peak and critical stress values increase as the temperature decreases and strain rate increases.

Effects of carbon and niobium on microstructure and properties for Ti bearing steels

The objective of the study described here is to elucidate the effect of carbon and niobium on the microstructure, precipitation behaviour, and mechanical properties of 0·09C–0·11Ti (%) steel and 0·05C–0·025Nb–0·11Ti (%) steel under ultra fast cooling condition. The strengthening mechanisms are also discussed. The ferrite grains size and the size of precipitates in Ti and Nb–Ti steels were measured respectively. The mechanical properties obtained in Ti steel were similar to Nb–Ti steel with yield stress >700 MPa, elongation >20%, and good low temperature impact toughness. The study underscores that addition of higher carbon content by 0·04% under controlled rolling and ultra fast cooling conditions, we can achieve similar strength in the absence of micro-alloying element, niobium.

Contribution of interphase precipitation on yield strength in thermomechanically simulated Ti–Nb and Ti–Nb–Mo microalloyed steels

Abstract The contribution of interphase precipitation on yield strength was studied in Ti–Nb and Ti–Nb–Mo microalloyed steels. The high yield strength is partially attributed to strengthening induced by high degree of interphase precipitation of nanoscale carbides, which are nucleated during continuous cooling. The nanoscale carbides in Ti–Nb–Mo steel were identified as (Ti,Nb,Mo)C crystal structure similar to (Ti,Nb)C in Ti–Nb steel. The interphase precipitation of these carbides with planar or curved boundary, different row spacing and different orientation of the rows in the ferrite grain is related to the mobility of grain boundaries during γ/α transformation based on ledge mechanism. The contribution of interphase precipitation to yield strength was estimated to be ~320 MPa and ~170 MPa for Ti–Nb–Mo and Ti–Nb steels. The low yield ratio that is important from the perspective of structure application is attributed to the dual phase microstructural consisting of ferrite and bainite.

Effect of microalloying elements on austenite grain growth in Nb–Ti and Nb–V steels

Development of austenite grain structures have been compared in two different microalloyed steels (Nb–Ti and Nb–V steels) and one Al killed C–Mn steel, after soaking at 950–1250°C for 1 h. Minimum austenite grain size in Nb–V steel at the lower soaking temperature (<1075°C) can be attributed to the pinning effect from AlN, Nb(C,N) and V(C,N) precipitates. At the intermediate soaking temperatures (1150–1200°C) dissolution of Nb precipitates led to an abnormal austenite grain growth and the formation of bimodal grain size distributions in microalloyed steels. Grain size bimodality was more severe in Nb–V steel as compared to Nb–Ti steel. Complete absence of precipitates allowed the austenite grains to grow freely at higher soaking temperature (>1200°C) in all the steels. Higher stability of TiN precipitate restricted the grain growth in Nb–Ti steel at higher soaking temperature. An effort has been made to predict the austenite grain size considering both solute drag and Zener drag.

The effect of processing parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of low-Si transformation-induced plasticity steels

A base low Si, high-Al transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) steel and one with 0.03Nb and 0.02Ti (wt%) additions were subjected to thermo-mechanical processing (TMP) and galvanising simulations. The microstructure and mechanical properties were analysed using a combination of optical and electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and tensile testing and the results compared with those from intercritically annealed–galvanised steels. The addition of Nb and Ti results in microstructure refinement and an increase in the amount of the retained austenite after TMP which in turn, leads to increases in the tensile strength (~750 MPa) and the total elongation (TE) (~29 %). A deterioration in the volume fraction of retained austenite and the mechanical properties was noted in both steels after the additional galvanising simulation. For the base steel, all TMP and galvanised samples presented with continuous yielding during tensile testing. The Nb–Ti steel exhibited discontinuous yielding and extended Lüders banding when TMP was followed by a longer coiling time. Both steels returned discontinuous yielding after the intercritical annealing–galvanising treatment. The discontinuous yielding behaviour was associated with the much finer ferrite grain size in the intercritically annealed steels and the ageing processes that take place during galvanising.

Microstructure characterization of nanometer carbides heterogeneous precipitation in Ti–Nb and Ti–Nb–Mo steel

The influences of micro-alloying elements and hot deformation on the precipitation morphology of Ti–Nb and Ti–Nb–Mo steels were investigated. The nanometer sized carbide particles randomly dispersed in the ferrite matrix are attributed mainly to severe deformation at high temperature and low isothermal holding temperature. Of the two steels with different combinations of the micro-alloying elements, Ti–Nb and Ti–Nb–Mo, the steel with Ti–Nb–Mo was more effective in precipitating hardening due to its slower carbide coarsening rate. Based on observations of micrographs, the nano-sized TiMoC and TiNbC precipitated in polygonal ferrite grains when the Ti–Nb–Mo and Ti–Nb steels were isothermally treated at 650°C for 3min and 180min. The smaller of the two carbides, TiMoC, precipitated in the ferrite grain, and the hardness of Ti–Nb–Mo steel was higher than that of Ti–Nb steel. Moreover, the tiny ferrite grains and high dislocation density in the Ti–Nb–Mo steel were found to provide an attractive combination of strength and toughness.

Effect of niobium and titanium addition on the hot ductility of boron containing steel

Hot ductility of boron containing steel (B steel) with adding Nb (0.03 wt.%) (B–Nb steel) and B–Nb steel with adding Ti (0.0079 wt.%) (B–Nb–Ti steel) was quantified using hot tensile tests. The specimens were solution-treated at 1350 °C and cooled at 20 °C s −1 to tensile test temperature ( T) in the range of 750 ≤ T ≤ 1050 °C. After that, they were strained to failure at a strain rate of 2.5 × 10 −3 s −1. For the B–Nb steel, severe hot ductility loss was observed at 850 ≤ T ≤ 950 °C, which covered the low temperature in which austenite (γ) single-phase exists, and the high temperature at which γ and ferrite (α) coexist. Ductility loss in the B–Nb steel was caused by the presence of a network of BN precipitates, rather than by Nb(C, N) precipitates at the γ grain boundaries. In contrast, hot ductility of the B–Nb–Ti steel was remarkably improved at 850 ≤ T ≤ 950 °C. In the B–Nb–Ti steel, BN precipitates preferentially on TiN particles, resulting in increased BN precipitation in the γ grain interior and a decrease in the network of BN precipitates at the γ grain boundaries. These changes reduce strain localization at the γ grain boundaries and therefore increase the hot ductility of the steel.

Hot Ductility of Nb- and Ti-Bearing Microalloyed Steels and the Influence of Thermal History

The hot ductility of Nb, Ti, and Nb-Ti containing steels has been studied under direct-cast conditions. A Gleeble 3500 thermomechanical simulator was used to determine hot ductility over the temperature range 1100 °C to 700 °C at a low strain rate of 7.5 × 10−4 s−1. Tensile samples were cooled at two different cooling rates, 100 °C/min and 200 °C/min, simulating, respectively, thick and thin slab casting processes. Complex thermal patterns designed to simulate the cooling conditions experienced near the surface of a slab during continuous casting were carried out for the Nb-Ti steel. The Nb-Ti steel had lower ductility than both the Nb and Ti steels. Increasing the cooling rate generally deteriorated ductility. The low recovery of ductility at higher temperatures is explained in terms of a low strain rate and fine precipitation delaying the onset of dynamic recrystallization. This can promote intergranular cracking as a result of grain boundary sliding in the austenite. At lower temperatures, ductility was further reduced due to the formation of thin ferrite films at the prior austenite grain boundaries. Simulating the thermal history experienced near the surface of thin (90 mm) cast slab improved ductility of the Nb-Ti steel by promoting coarser NbTi(C,N). This exposes a potential flaw in a simplified hot-ductility test: a failure to accurately represent the influence of the thermomechanical schedule on precipitation and, hence, hot ductility.

Precipitation of MC phase and precipitation strengthening in hot rolled Nb–Mo and Nb–Ti steels

Hot rolled Nb–Mo steel of yield strength 600 MPa and Nb–Ti steel of yield strength 525 MPa with polygonal and acicular ferrite microstructure have been developed. Using physicochemical phase analysis, XRD, TEM and EDS, the distribution, morphology, composition, crystal structure and particle size of precipitates were observed and identified in these steels. The results revealed that the steels containing both Nb and Mo exhibited fine and uniformly distributed MC-type carbides, while the carbides were coarse and sparsely distributed in the steels containing Nb and Ti. The physicochemical phase analysis showed MC-type carbides contain both Nb and Mo, and the ratio of Mo/Nb was 0.41. Meanwhile, the mass% of the fine particles (<10 nm in size) of Nb–Mo steel was 58.4%, and higher than that of Nb–Ti steel with 30.0%. Therefore, the results of strengthening mechanisms analysis showed the higher strength of Nb–Mo steel than that of Nb–Ti steel is attributed to its relatively more prominent precipitation strengthening effect. The yield strength increments from precipitation hardening of Nb–Mo steel attained 182.7 MPa and higher than that of Nb–Ti steel.

The Effect of Restoration Process on the Mechanical Behavior of Ultra-Fine Grain Size Nb-Ti Steel Processed by Warm Rolling and Sub and Intercritical Annealing

The ferrite grain size refining is the unique mechanism for increasing both mechanical strength and toughness of steels. Steel with an ultra-fine ferrite grained structure must show a good relation between mechanical strength, ductility and toughness, while the low carbon content enhances good welding characteristics. The objective of this work is to investigate the influence of restoration process on the mechanical behavior of a microalloyed low carbon-manganese (0.11%C, 1.41%Mn, 0.028%Nb and 0.012%Ti) steel with ultra-fine grains produced through out quenching, warm rolling, followed by sub and intercritical annealing. The evolution of restoration process -recovery and recrystallization - was followed by optical and scanning microscopy. The x-rays diffraction was employed to evaluate the degree of restoration after subcritical annealing. The mechanical behavior of the steel was estimated using microhardness tests. After subcritical annealing, the microstructure was formed by spheroidal iron carbides and a ferritic recovered matrix. Otherwise, after intercritical annealing, the microstructure was composed mainly by ultra-fine grain polygonal ferrite, MA constituent and carbides. The hardness after processing has shown a 20% increase compared with the steel under hot rolling condition.