Duk-Lak Lee

Mechanisms of tensile improvement in caliber-rolled high-carbon steel

The microstructural evolution and tensile characteristics of caliber-rolled plain carbon steels were quantitatively investigated and compared with those of the as-received plain carbon steels. The caliber-rolled steels exhibited a similar microstructure consisting of an ultrafine-grained ferritic matrix and dispersed fine cementite particles. In contrast to the general trend of caliber-rolling processes showing significant reductions in elongation while retaining a high strength, the present caliber-rolled high-carbon steel exhibited simultaneously improved strength and elongation. This distinctive tensile enhancement of the caliber-rolled high-carbon steel was attributed to the increased strain hardening rate caused by the high fraction of submicron cementite particles and to the transition of the fracture mode from a brittle state to a ductile state.

Prediction of Flow Curves and Micro-Structural Evolution in Strain Induced Dynamic Transformation of Low Carbon Steel

The relationships between flow stress curve and microstructure evolution in strain induced dynamic phase transformation (SIDT) of low carbon steel (0.22wt.%) were quantitatively investigated. The deformation was carried out at just above Ar3 temperature (710°C) as a function of strain rate (0.01-5/sec). The softening process of SIDT was well agreed with calculated result derived from Avrami’s and constitutive equation at higher strain rate than 0.5/sec. However, the calculated results differed from the experimental curve at strain rate of less than 0.2/sec. This is due to fact that the dynamic transformation from austenite to ferrite can not be completed owing to less stored energy during hot deformation.