Gui-ying Qiao

Effect of Nb Solute and NbC Precipitates on Dynamic or Static Recrystallization in Nb Steels

Nb is often considered to be a powerful alloying element for controlling the recrystallization process in microalloyed high strength steels. However, Nb can be presented either as solute in solution, where it is thought to exhibit a strong solute drag effect, or as NbC precipitates, which are thought to be effective at pinning grain boundaries. Therefore, it is very important to quantitatively measure Nb in solution or in NbC precipitates. A quantitative analysis method of Nb in solution and in precipitates was proposed. The test procedure involved chemical dissolution, filtration and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopic (ICP-AES) analysis. The amount of Nb in solution in Nb-microallyed steels under different treatment conditions was evaluated. The results show that the niobium and carbon contents in steels have a great effect on niobium dissolution kinetics. The solute Nb is more effective to retard dynamic recrystallization, while the NbC precipitates are more effective to inhibit static recrystallization. The results may help to comprehend effect of Nb in steels, and provide some guides in the design of new high strength Nb-bearing steels.

Effects of contents of Nb and C on hot deformation behaviors of high Nb X80 pipeline steels

The behavior of the flow deformation and the effects of contents of Nb and C on deformation behaviors of high Nb X80 pipeline steels during hot compression deformation were studied by thermal simulation test. The content of solid solution Nb was quantificationally studied during the reheating and hot deformation process, and the effects of change of solid solution Nb in steels on hot deformation behaviors were discussed. The results show that the contents of Nb and C have great effects on the flow stress behaviors of high Nb X80 pipeline steels. When the C content in steels is constant, the recrystallization activation energy increases from 387 to 481 kJ/mol with increasing the Nb from 0.082% to 0.13% (mass fraction). However, the effect of Nb is correlative to the C content, i.e. w(Nb)/w(C). When w(Nb)/w(C) decreases from 3.61 to 2.18, the recrystallization activation energy decreases from 481 to 434 kJ/mol.

Effects of nano-AlN on Phase Transformation of Low Temperature Vitrified Bond during Sintering Process

The effects of nano-AlN and sintering temperature on bending strength and wear resistance of low temperature vitrified bond for diamond grinding tools were studied. Furthermore, the phase transformation during sintering process was investigated by means of thermo-gravimetric analysis (TG), differential thermal analysis (DTA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results show that the higher bending strength and wear resistance of low temperature vitrified bond are obtained by adding nano-AlN in bonds and sintering at optimum temperature. Nano-AlN added in bonds promotes the crystallization during sintering process and refines the grain sizes of crystalline phase.

Effect of Nb on Mechanical Properties of HAZ for High-Nb X80 Pipeline Steels

The mechanical properties of heat affected zone (HAZ) of two commercial high-Nb X80 grade pipeline steels with different alloy elements were investigated using thermal simulation performed on a Gleeble-3500 thermal simulator. The results showed that the high-Nb steels have excellent weldability. Embrittlement regions appear in coarse grain heat affected zone (CGHAZ) and intercritically heat affected zone (ICHAZ); Softening region appears in fine-grain heat affected zone (FGHAZ), and the strength here was even lower than 555 MPa as required in the standard. Meanwhile, with the increase of heat input, the strength and the toughness of HAZ of steel with high Nb, C and lower aloy decrease notably. Therefore, take into account the welding procedure during manufacture of weld pipe, suitable amount of alloy elements, such as Cr, Ni, Cu, Mo and so on, is necessary for high Nb X80 heavy-thick steel plate.

Quantitative Research on Dissolving of Nb in High Nb Microalloyed Steels during Reheating

The accurate prediction of soluble Nb content during reheating is helpful for the design of chemical composition and reheating parameters for Nb-containing steels. The dissolution behavior of Nb in high Nb microalloyed steels was investigated. The results show that Nb does not entirely dissolve for high Nb microalloyed steels containing Ti after holding at 1300 °C for 3 h. The soluble Nb content increases with the decrease of C content and/or the increase of Nb content in steels. Moreover, an expression has been established to describe the amount evolution of soluble Nb in high Nb microalloyed steels during reheating and the validity of this expression has also been verified by experiment.

Effects of Chemical Composition and Hot Deformation on Continuous Cooling Transformation Behavior of Acicular Ferrite Pipeline Steels

As an optimal microstructure of pipeline steels, acicular ferrite is widely found in steels used in oil and gas pipeline transportation because it possesses both high strength and good toughness. In this paper, the microstructure of acicular ferrite and its continuous cooling transformation (CCT) diagrams of six steels with different carbon and alloy additions have been studied by using dilatometry, optical metallography. And the effects of different hot deformation processes on the CCT diagrams and microstructures have also been studied. Furthermore, the effects of microalloyed elements and hot deformation on continuous cooling transformation have been discussed. The results show that lower carbon content and alloy additions such as Mn, Nb, Ti, Mo, Ni and/or Cu in steels will promote the formation of acicular ferrite. The hot deformation promotes the acicular ferrite transformation and refines the microstructures of final products.

Effect of Dissolution and Precipitation of Nb on Phase Transformation, Microstructure, and Microhardness of Two High-Nb Pipeline Steels

Niobium (Nb) as an important microalloying element is widely applied in high strength pipeline steels. In this work, the continuous cooling transformation diagrams of two high-Nb steels with and without hot deformation were studied using a Gleeble 3500 thermal simulator. The amounts of dissolved Nb, undissolved Nb, and precipitated Nb were determined by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry. Results show that the increasing of Nb content in the high-Nb steels can restrain the prior austenite grain growth, dynamic, and/or static recrystallization; moreover, it can suppress polygonal ferrite transformation and promote acicular ferrite and bainite transformation, refining the microstructure and increasing the microhardness as a consequence. Nevertheless, the amplified Nb content in steels escalates trends of strain-induced Nb(C,N) precipitation. The increase in the amount of Nb(C,N) precipitates promote the polygonal ferrite and acicular ferrite transformation, while also decrease the microhardness. The results from this work show that the higher Nb content of 0.13% in the tested steel is unnecessary.

Study of fatigue crack propagation behaviour for dual-phase X80 pipeline steel

ABSTRACT Load-controlled fatigue tests were conducted on dual-phase X80 pipeline steel to investigate the effects of stress ratio (R-ratio) on the fatigue crack growth behaviour. Dual-phase X80 pipeline steel showed a non-linear relationship between fatigue crack growth rate (da/dN) and the stress intensity factor range (ΔK) at each R-ratio. Fatigue crack propagation curves of X80 pipeline steel were evaluated using the conventional Paris equation and a new exponential equation named αβ model. In addition, the electron back-scattered diffraction technique was used to study the effects of stress ratio on the fatigue crack growth behaviour. The results indicated that the corresponding ΔK of the transition point decreased with the increase of R-ratio. That was attributed to the variation of the crack path and the fracture mode because of the changes in the size of monotonic plastic zone and cyclic plastic zone at crack tip. Compared to the overall fitting, piecewise fitting by Paris equation and αβ model, piecewise fitting was the most accurate method, and αβ model is more convenient and efficient than the conventional Paris-based equations.

Effect of hot deformation and Nb precipitation on continuous cooling transformation of a high-Nb steel

In this work, the effects of hot deformation on continuous cooling transformation of a high-Nb steel were investigated on a Gleeble 3500 thermal simulator. The amounts of dissolved Nb were determined by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry. Furthermore, the effects of hot deformation and Nb precipitation on phase transformation were discussed. Results showed that high-Nb steel is suitable for acicular ferrite pipeline steels because the acicular ferrite microstructure can be obtained in a wide cooling rate range. Hot deformation strongly accelerates the polygonal ferrite transformation and increases the critical cooling rate to obtain a full acicular ferrite microstructure. Moreover, hot deformation markedly refines the final microstructure and improves the mechanical properties of acicular ferrite obtained at a high cooling rate. However, hot deformation can also promote Nb precipitation during holding and even cooling at low rates after hot deformation. Nb precipitation dramatically promotes the polygonal ferrite, weakens the effect of Nb in solution on phase transformation and strengthening, and decreases the microhardness.

Mechanical Properties of High-Nb X80 Steel Weld Pipes for the Second West-to-East Gas Transmission Pipeline Project

The mechanical properties of steel pipe have great effects on the integrality and operation safety of gas transmission pipeline. In order to reduce the cost of the steel pipe, the high-Nb X80 pipeline steels with the different alloying systems have been used in the Second West-to-East Gas Transmission Pipeline Project. Nevertheless, an investigation into the effects of chemical composition on the mechanical properties of steel pipes is lacking. In this work, the chemical composition and mechanical properties of high-Nb X80 grade steel pipes with a diameter of ϕ1,219 mm and a wall thickness of 22 mm, which are coiled by steels manufactured by three mills, have been analyzed. Furthermore, the effects of chemical composition of the steels on the mechanical properties of the pipe body and weld joint were discussed.