Thursday, August 4, 2022

What is cold drawn steel?

 Cold drawn steel is fundamentally the hot rolled steel drawn passing through dies to achieve the final shape. The dies apply pressure with the help of some press machines, and after passing this steel through these dies several times, the steel will have the desired dimensions. This process is known as cold drawn, due to the fact that it occurs at room temperature (below the re-crystallization temperature), enhancing with this the accuracy of the dimensions (tolerances) and shapes, the tensile strength and the external appearance of the material, by giving to the surface a smooth and polished finish.

The cold drawn steel typically comes in round, hexagonal, rectangular or square shapes.

Advantages:

  • The cold drawn steel has better accuracy in dimensions and roundness.
  • Cold drawn steel has better mechanical properties than the hot rolled steel.
  • The cold drawn steel surface finish is smooth and perfect for projects that demand polished surface in the material.

Disadvantages:

  • More expensive to produce, as it requires multiple processes for achieving the final dimensions and shapes.
  • Less manageable than hot rolled.


How is cold drawn steel made?

In a nutshell, cold drawing is the pulling of a hot rolled steel bar through a die that is slightly smaller in size. So how is cold drawn steel made? The process path consists of first shot blasting the hot rolled bar, then cold drawing it through the die, then rotary (roll) straightening, and finally cutting to length.

Shot blasting:

This initial operation will clean the surface of the hot rolled bar, essentially removing all scale and rust. This operation also creates a bar surface which will help carry the drawing lubricant into the die.

Cold drawing:

The main operation, which actually produces the cold drawn bars. We use a heavy frame drawn bench which can draw out over 40′ long finished cold drawn bars. The die itself is mounted securely so as not to move during operation. A pusher mechanism will grab the bar and advance the first 12″ of the bar through the die. Next a buggy carriage will grab the portion of the bar that’s sticking out through the die. The buggy is attached to a large endless chain that is power driven and able to pull the buggy and bar all the way through the die.

Cold drawing draft, size reduction:

The standard “draft” is a 0.063″ reduction in diameter. A “heavy draft” is considered anything over 0.125″ in size reduction, and is used in 100K min yield strength products like ASTM A311-B (ASTM A311 / A311M-04(2015), Standard Specification for Cold-Drawn, Stress-Relieved Carbon Steel Bars Subject to Mechanical Property Requirements, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2015, www.astm.org). There are also certain grades of product which will undergo two or more passes, and depending on the grade would require an annealing process in between draws.

Rotary (roll) straightening:

After the drawing operation itself is completed, the bars will undergo a straightening operation. Straightness tolerances will vary depending on grade and size, and tolerances are called out in the ASTM A108 specification (see link and citation above). We can also hold tighter than standard straightness depending on the material upon request. The rotary straightening operation also improves surface finish and will help control size slightly.

Saw cutting:

The final operation before packaging is saw cutting the bars to length. The end gripper marks left from the drawing operation are cut off. The bars are then cut to the required length. Standard cold drawn lengths are 12′, 20′, and 24′ long. We can provide up to 40′ cut lengths upon request.

Packaging:

Cold drawn bars are packaged in bundles of 2,000# and 4,000# quantities. The bars also receive a coating of rust preventative and all bars are traceable and identifiable with tagging showing heat number, size, length, grade, product, weight, and Northlake lot number.

Wednesday, August 3, 2022

Classification of ERW Straight Seam Welded Steel Pipe

 ERW straight seam welded steel pipe (ERW Pipe), also known as "resistance welded straight seam welded pipe", ERW straight seam welded pipe is mainly pided into ERW AC welded steel pipe and ERW DC welded steel pipe two forms. ERW straight seam welded pipe is pided into low frequency welding, intermediate frequency welding, super intermediate frequency welding and high frequency welding according to the frequency. High frequency welding is mainly used for the production of thin-walled steel pipes or ordinary thick-walled steel pipes. High-frequency welding is pided into contact welding and induction welding.


 

ASTM A53 Gr.B is the grade in ERW high frequency welded pipe, pided into A and B grades. ASTM is only a set of specifications. ASTM steel pipe A53 A corresponds to the Chinese standard GB8163 raw material is 10# steel, and A53 B corresponds to the Chinese standard GB8163 raw material 20#.
For example: ASTM (standard) A53 (grade) gr is grade (abbreviation of grade) b (grade B)

Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Comparison of corrosion properties of 316L and 2205 stainless steel

 

Test plan

Working condition and chemical composition

See Table 1 for the working conditions selected in the comparative corrosion test and table 2 for the chemical composition of the two stainless steels.

Table 1 Working conditions selected for comparative corrosion test

20200127092303 92723 - Comparison of corrosion properties of 316L and 2205 stainless steel

Table 2 Chemical composition of two kinds of stainless steel

20200127092545 93225 - Comparison of corrosion properties of 316L and 2205 stainless steel

Test items

(1) According to GB / T 17897-2016 test method for corrosion of stainless steel by ferric chloride (6% FeCl3 + 0.05 mol / L HCl), the comparative test was carried out for 5 h, 14.5 h and 24 h respectively. A dial depth indicator or focus microscope is used to measure the depth of pitting or crack corrosion.
(2) According to JB / T 7901-2001 “metal materials laboratory uniform corrosion full immersion test method”, carry out comparative test under the environment of deaeration system (see Table 1 for specific conditions). 600 × 800 × 1200 × sandpaper is used to grind the sample step by step to eliminate machining knife marks. After cleaning, degreasing and air drying, the size is measured and weighed. Then the sample is insulated and installed on a special test stand, and put into the medium in the autoclave. After the test, the surface of the sample is removed with distilled water (if necessary, membrane removal solution) to remove corrosion products and anhydrous alcohol After dehydration and drying, weigh with bs124s electronic balance, and calculate the corrosion rate according to formula (1).
92f9e00d4b14104cd155087e707d0abb - Comparison of corrosion properties of 316L and 2205 stainless steel
Formula:

  • R — corrosion rate, mm / A;
  • M — sample mass before test, G;
  • M1 — mass of sample after test, G;
  • S — total area of sample, cm2;
  • T — test time, h;
  • D — material density, kg / m3.

(3) According to GB / T 15970.7 corrosion stress corrosion test of metals and alloys Part 7: slow strain rate test, the slow strain rate test shall be carried out under the environment of deaeration system (see Table 1 for specific conditions).

Test methods and results

Pitting test

2205 and 316L stainless steel were used to process corresponding samples respectively, meeting the total surface area of more than 10 cm2. The test was conducted according to method B (6% FeCl3 + 0.05 mol / L HCl) of GB / T 17897-2016 corrosion test method for stainless steel of metals and alloys. The test time was 5 h, 14.5 h and 24 h respectively, and the temperature and actual working conditions were correspondingly increased to 60 ℃. The test results are shown in table 3-5, and the pitting morphology is shown in Figure 1-3.
Table 3 Pitting test results of 316L and 2205 stainless steel immersed for 5 h

20200127095222 84569 - Comparison of corrosion properties of 316L and 2205 stainless steel
Table 4 Pitting test results of 316L and 2205 stainless steel soaked for 14.5h

20200127100336 64768 - Comparison of corrosion properties of 316L and 2205 stainless steel
Table 5 Pitting test results of 316L and 2205 stainless steel soaked for 24 h

20200127100715 16971 - Comparison of corrosion properties of 316L and 2205 stainless steel

749e3c46ba2cbc6b1e168b1628a367ce - Comparison of corrosion properties of 316L and 2205 stainless steel
Figure 1 Pitting morphology of 316L and 2205 stainless steel after 5 h immersion

696f534b2fe1f586d299bffdbbff8611 - Comparison of corrosion properties of 316L and 2205 stainless steel
Fig. 2 Pitting morphology of 316L and 2205 stainless steel after 14.5h immersion

4d128718159a0e272111a56f729916af - Comparison of corrosion properties of 316L and 2205 stainless steel
Figure 3 Pitting morphology of 316L and 2205 stainless steel after 24 h immersion

The average corrosion rate is used to express the pitting degree of different soaking time, as shown in Figure 4. In 5-24 hours, with the extension of time, the pitting degree first increases, then decreases. In terms of pitting degree, the pitting resistance of 316L is worse than that of 2205 stainless steel, and the average pitting rate is about 5 times of 2205 stainless steel, while it is about 6 times after 24 hours, which shows that 316L is not rusty Although the average corrosion rate of steel decreased in the follow-up, the degree of decrease was less than that of 2205 stainless steel, which was mainly due to the addition of anti pitting elements Mo and N in 2205 stainless steel.

20200127093012 62328 - Comparison of corrosion properties of 316L and 2205 stainless steel
Fig. 4 Relationship between pitting rate and time of two kinds of stainless steels

Soaking uniformity test

The specimens of the same size as the pitting test are used to conduct the uniform immersion test in the deoxidizing system environment (see Table 1 for specific conditions) in accordance with the standard of JB / T 7901-2001 metallic materials laboratory uniform corrosion full immersion test method, and the test results are shown in Table 6. The macro morphology of 316L and 2205 stainless steel after 168 h immersion is shown in Fig. 5, and the micro morphology is shown in Fig. 6. It can be seen from table 6 and figure 5 that pitting occurs in both 2205 and 316L. Although pitting is relatively small, the pitting degree of 316L is slightly heavier than that of 2205 stainless steel.

Table 6 Test results of 316L and 2205 stainless steel immersed for 168 H

20200127104815 36880 - Comparison of corrosion properties of 316L and 2205 stainless steel

Stress corrosion test

ac2606dd7a8b18c15b12d4d67c5cd37b - Comparison of corrosion properties of 316L and 2205 stainless steel

Fig. 5 Macromorphology of 316L and 2205 stainless steel after 168 h immersion
Two kinds of stainless steel are cut and machined to make 115 mm × 15 mm × 3 mm sample. According to GB / T 15970.7 corrosion stress corrosion test of metals and alloys Part 7: slow strain rate test, the slow strain rate test is carried out under the environment of deaeration system (see Table 1 for specific conditions). The slow stretch rate in air is 3.5 × 10-4 mm / s, and the slow stretch rate in solution is 1×10-4 mm/s。 The test steps are as follows: firstly, deaeration with N2 for 1.5 h, heating up to 60 ℃, adding 0.01 MPa of H2S gas, 1.0 MPa of CO2 gas, stabilizing, and then introducing N2 to achieve a total pressure of 20 MPa. The test results are shown in Table 7, and the stress-strain curve is shown in Figure 7. The results show that the stress corrosion sensitivity of 316L and 2205 stainless steel in this environment is very low, or the effect of time accumulation has not been fully reflected. It can be seen from table 7 that the elongation in air environment is lower than that in solution environment, which is mainly caused by different strain rate, but has little effect on tensile strength.
Table 7 Stress corrosion test results of 316L and 2205 stainless steel

20200127094208 97419 - Comparison of corrosion properties of 316L and 2205 stainless steel

20200127093312 56273 - Comparison of corrosion properties of 316L and 2205 stainless steel
Fig. 6 Microstructure of 2205 and 316L after 168 h immersion

20200127093653 50047 - Comparison of corrosion properties of 316L and 2205 stainless steel
Fig. 7 Stress strain curve of 316L and 2205 stainless steel stress corrosion test

Conclusion

  • (1) In the 5-24 h pitting test, the average corrosion rate of 316L is about 5 times that of 2205 stainless steel, and it reaches 6 times after 24 h. The pitting rate of 316L stainless steel and 2205 stainless steel is accelerated.
  • (2) The results of 168 h uniform corrosion test show that 2205 stainless steel has better corrosion resistance than 316L stainless steel, and there is slight pitting in both types of stainless steel, and 316L is relatively serious.
  • (3) The stress corrosion tests in service show that the two kinds of stainless steels have excellent stress corrosion cracking resistance, but the environmental elements are weakened because of the fast evaluation method slow strain rate test.
  • (4) The comprehensive test results show that both 316L and 2205 stainless steel have pitting risk in the selected environment. Therefore, from the perspective of risk control, 2205 stainless steel has better pitting resistance than 316L stainless steel, so it has better corrosion resistance than 316L in three tests. Although both of them show excellent stress corrosion resistance in the rapid stress corrosion evaluation, if the time increases again, once pitting is formed, the sensitivity of stress corrosion will increase.

Source: Network Arrangement – China Pipe Fitting Manufacturer – Wilson Pipeline Pipe Industry Co., Limited www.wilsonpipeline.com

(Wilson Pipeline Pipe Industry is a leading manufacturer and supplier of nickel alloy and stainless steel products, including Super Duplex Stainless Steel Flanges, Stainless Steel Flanges, Stainless Steel Pipe Fittings, Stainless Steel Pipe. Wilson Pipeline products are widely used in Shipbuilding, Nuclear power, Marine engineering, Petroleum, Chemical, Mining, Sewage treatment, Natural gas and Pressure vessels and other industries.)

If you want to have more information about the article or you want to share your opinion with us, contact us at sales@wilsonpipeline.com

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Reference:

  • [1] GB / T 17897-2016, corrosion of metals and alloys – Test Method for ferric chloride pitting corrosion of stainless steel [S]
  • [2] JB / T 7901-2001, uniform corrosion full immersion test method for metallic materials in laboratory [S]
  • [3] GB / T 15970.7, corrosion of metals and alloys – stress corrosion test – Part 7: slow strain rate test [S]
  • [4] Guo Zhijun, Zhou Jianjun, Wang Kedong. Study on corrosion resistance of duplex stainless steel in h2s-co2-cl-environment of oil field [J]. Petrochemical equipment technology, 2011, 32 (1): 16-21, 5
  • [5] Lin Hongxian, fan Yuguang, Zhou Xiaoping. Study on the uniform corrosion resistance of 2205 duplex stainless steel [J]. Inner Mongolia Chemical Industry and corrosion, 2008, 25 (6): 10-13
  • [6] Liu zuoja. Corrosion behavior of 316L and 2205 stainless steel [J]. Corrosion and protection, 2010, 31 (2): 149-153160
  • [7] Zhang Zhonghe. Study on spot corrosion test of 2205 stainless steel [J]. Mechanical manufacturing and automation, 2004, 33 (4): 57-58
  • [8] Yang Shizhou, Li Chunfu, Li Hui, et al. Stress corrosion behavior and cracking mechanism of 2205 duplex stainless steel in acid H2S environment [J]. Rare metal materials and engineering, 2018, 47 (3): 904-909
  • [9] Wu Jiu. Material selection requirements and application of duplex stainless steel [J]. Corrosion and protection in petrochemical industry, 1999, 16 (1): 23-27, 4
  • [10] WANG Bin, FU Hai, SUN Yanqing, GUO Jiangtao, WEI Fan, ZHU Ye Comparison of Corrosion Properties Between 316L and 2205 Stainless Steel DOI: 10.19291/j.cnki.1001-3938.2019.2.010

Titanium alloy materials for aerospace fasteners

 According to the types, fasteners can be pided into 13 categories: bolt, screw, stud, nut, wood screw, self tapping screw, washer, rivet, pin, retaining ring, link pair and fastener assembly; according to the application field, fasteners can be pided into general purpose fasteners and aerospace fasteners. In the field of aviation, the connection mode of aircraft is still mainly mechanical connection, and the connection and assembly of aircraft rely on a large number of various fasteners; in the field of aerospace, the connection between aircraft parts also depends on fasteners. With the development of lightweight equipment, more and more aerospace fasteners prefer titanium alloy materials. In foreign countries, the application history of titanium alloy fasteners can be traced back to the 1950s. The United States took the lead in applying Ti-6Al-4V alloy bolts to B-52 bombers, and achieved remarkable weight reduction effect. Therefore, the application of titanium alloy fasteners in the field of aerospace started. At present, the United States, France and other developed countries in Europe and the United States, more than 95% of titanium alloy fasteners are made of internationally recognized Ti-6Al-4V materials, and some advanced models of titanium alloy fasteners have completely replaced 30CrMnSiA steel. After the C-5A military transport aircraft adopted titanium alloy fasteners, the mass was reduced by about 4500kg; after the Boeing 747 fasteners of civil aircraft replaced steel with titanium, the mass was reduced by 1814kg [2]. Russian titanium alloy fasteners and alloy systems have been used in Il-76, il-86, il-96, Tu-204, an-72 and An-124 aircraft models, significantly reducing the weight of the aircraft. For example, in figure-204, 940 kg BT16 titanium alloy fasteners are used in the aircraft, with a weight reduction of 688 kg; in figure-76, 142000 titanium alloy fasteners are used in the aircraft, with a weight reduction of 600 kg [2-3]. The development history of titanium alloy fasteners in China can be traced back to 1965. In the 1970s, relevant units carried out research on titanium alloy rivets and their application; in the 1980s, a small amount of titanium alloy fasteners, such as rivets and bolts, began to be used in some second-generation military aircraft in China; in the late 1990s, with the introduction of the third generation heavy fighter production line abroad and the third generation war in China In recent years, with the development of China’s aerospace industry, various units have carried out the research and development of titanium alloy materials for fasteners and fastener manufacturing technology. Titanium alloy fasteners are the first to be widely used in the field of aerospace [4], and the consumption in civil aircraft is also very considerable. According to the data, each domestic C919 aircraft needs about 200000 titanium alloy fasteners, and if the annual production of 150 large aircraft is planned in 2018, 30 million titanium alloy fasteners are needed every year [2].

Advantages

Table 1 shows the performance comparison between titanium alloy and steel materials for fasteners. Titanium alloy materials have the following advantages in the application of fasteners.
Tab. 1 Comparison in properties of different materials used for fastener[5]

Material nameDensity/
(g·cm-3)
Melting point/℃Modulus of elasticity/GPaRelative impact strength/MPaPermeability/
(H·m-1)
Coefficient of thermal expansion/℃-1Specific strength/cmYield ratio
Ti-51114.431102.31.09.417.5×1050.88
Ti-6Al-4V4.431 6491142.61.09.219.8×1050.83
Ti-6Al-4VEIL4.431 6491102.51.09.619.0×1050.86
4167.801 5002001.4700~1 00011.010.9×1050.75
SAE Grade 57.801 1402121.0500~2 50013.08.4×1050.77
SAE Grade 87.801 1402121.51 500~2 50013.011.7×1050.86

(1) The density is small. The density of titanium alloy is significantly lower than that of steel, so the weight of titanium alloy fastener is lighter than that of steel fastener.
(2) High specific strength. Titanium alloy is one of the common metal materials with high specific strength. Using the advantages of high specific strength, titanium alloy can also be used to replace the light aluminum alloy material. When the external load is the same, the geometric size of titanium alloy parts is smaller, which can effectively save space. This material utilization concept is of great significance to the aerospace field.
(3) High melting point. The melting point of titanium alloy is significantly higher than that of steel, so the heat resistance of titanium alloy fastener is better than that of steel fastener.
(4) The coefficient of thermal expansion and modulus of elasticity are small. According to the calculation formula of thermal stress:
20200122141205 13381 - Titanium alloy materials for aerospace fasteners (1)
Where: E is the modulus of elasticity; α is the coefficient of thermal expansion; ΔT is the temperature change.
It can be seen from formula (1) that the coefficient of thermal expansion and modulus of elasticity of titanium alloy are smaller than those of nickel alloy and steel. In the same temperature range, the thermal stress produced by titanium alloy is very small, so titanium alloy has higher thermal fatigue performance.
(5) No magnetism. The permeability of titanium alloy is very small, almost negligible, so titanium alloy fasteners are non-magnetic, which can effectively prevent the interference of magnetic field. Austenitic stainless steel is also non-magnetic, but subsequent cold working will increase its magnetism, and the hot or cold working of titanium alloy will not change its magnetism, which makes titanium alloy can be used in avionics equipment.
(6) The ratio of yield to strength is higher. Yield strength is the critical strength standard of fastener design under tensile load, and then tensile strength, because once the fastener produces yield deformation, it will lose the fastening effect. Compared with steel, the yield strength of titanium alloy is close to the tensile strength, and the yield strength is higher, so the safety of titanium alloy fastener is higher.
(7) The electrode potential matches the carbon fiber composite. In fasteners, the important reason for the huge amount of titanium alloy is that the electrode potential of titanium alloy matches the electrode potential of carbon fiber composite, which effectively prevents the occurrence of galvanic corrosion.
(8) In addition, titanium alloy has the advantages of excellent corrosion resistance and high creep resistance.

General situation

Titanium alloy materials for fasteners and performance overview

Titanium alloy materials for fasteners are closely related to the manufacturing process and application of fasteners. On the one hand, the manufacturing process of titanium alloy fastener mainly includes three parts: first, plastic deformation, such as upsetting, reducing and rolling thread; second, surface strengthening, such as the strengthening of bolt bearing surface and straight bar transition area; finally, machining, such as turning, milling and grinding. On the other hand, due to the different purposes of fasteners, the performance requirements of the required materials are also different, which requires the use of different titanium alloy materials. Taking rivets and bolts as examples, rivets need to be upset at one or both ends in the installation process, so the riveting process requires high plasticity of materials. Bolts are generally required to have high strength, and their strength level is close to that of 30CrMnSiA high strength alloy steel, so high strength titanium alloy material is usually used. Based on the above two factors, titanium alloy materials for fasteners are mainly pided into three types: industrial pure titanium, (α + β) type and β type titanium alloy. See Table 2 for details. It can be seen from table 2 that industrial pure titanium is mainly TA1 and TA2. (α + β) titanium alloy mainly includes TC4, TC6 and ti-662. The main type of β – titanium alloy is metastable β – titanium alloy, because the molybdenum equivalent of metastable β – titanium alloy is about 10%. The heat treatment strengthening effect of near β titanium alloy with Mo equivalent less than 10% is insufficient; the stable β titanium alloy with Mo equivalent more than 10% has high β phase stability and is difficult to decompose during aging heat treatment, so the strengthening effect of sub stable β titanium alloy is the most obvious. In addition, metastable β – titanium alloy has excellent cold formability, can be cold upset, avoid using professional heating equipment and gas protection medium, high production efficiency and material utilization, high dimensional accuracy and surface quality of formed fasteners. The (α + β) titanium alloy fastener can only be formed by hot upsetting, which requires special heating equipment and gas medium. The production efficiency and material utilization rate are low, and the heating temperature is easy to be uneven.

Tab. 2 Titanium alloys used for fastener

Alloy gradeNominal chemical compositionAlloy type
TA1Commercially pure titaniumα type
TA2Commercially pure titaniumα type
TC4Ti-6Al-4V(α+β) type
TC6(BT3-1)Ti-6Al-1.5Cr-2.5Mo-0.5Fe-0.3Si(α+β) type
Ti-662Ti-6Al-6V-2Sn(α+β) type
Ti-62222Ti-6Al-2Cr-2Mo-2Fe-2Sn(α+β) type
Ti-5111Ti-5Al-1Sn-1Zr-1V-0.8Mo(α+β) type
TC16(BT16)Ti-2.5Al-5.0Mo-5.0V(α+β) type
SP-700Ti-4.5Al-3V-2Fe-2MoNear β type
Ti-555Ti-5Al-5V-5Mo-3CrNear β type
VT16-1Ti-3Al-5V-3Cr-5MoNear β type
TB6(Ti-10-2-3)Ti-10Fe-2V-3AlNear β type
Ti-3253Ti-3Al-2V-5Mo-3FeMetastable β
β-ⅢTi-11.5Mo-6Zr-4SnMetastable β
TB2Ti-5Mo-5V-8Cr-3AlMetastable β
TB3Ti-10Mo-8V-1Fe-3.5AlMetastable β
B120VCATi-13V-11Cr-3AlMetastable β
TB4(Ti-47121)Ti-4Al-7Mo-10V-2Fe-1ZrMetastable β
TB5(Ti-15-3)Ti-15V-3Cr-3Al-3SnMetastable β
TB8(β21S)Ti-15Mo-3Al-2.7Nb-0.2SiMetastable β
TB9(βC)Ti-3Al-8V-6Cr-4Mo-4ZrMetastable β
Ti45NbTi45NbStable β type

The mechanical properties of titanium alloy materials for rivets and bolts are listed in Table 3 and table 4 respectively. It can be seen from table 3 that the tensile strength of pure titanium used for rivets is more than 350 MPa, and the shear strength is 240-350 MPa; (α + β) type titanium alloy rivets are used in annealed state, and β type titanium alloy is used in solution state, and the tensile strength of the two alloys is basically the same, 800-950 MPa, and the shear strength is more than 600 MPa. Except for TC4 titanium alloy, the titanium alloy materials for bolts are all metastable β titanium alloy, and they are all used in solution + aging state. Except for TB8, tb9 and ti-555 alloy materials, the tensile strength can reach more than 1200 MPa. Most β titanium alloy materials generally have tensile strength of about 1100 MPa and shear strength of 650-700 MPa.

Alloy gradeStateRm/MPaA/%Ψ/%τ/MPa
TA1(CP40)Annealing3452550240
TA1(CP55)Annealing4402540350
BT16Annealing830~9501660640
TB2Solid solution880~9802062640
TB3Solid solution840~9402065650
βⅢSolid solution800~9001865620
Ti-45NbAnnealing4502560
Note: RM is the tensile strength; a is the elongation; ψ is the reduction of area; τ is the shear strength.

Tab. 4 Mechanical properties of titanium alloys used for bolts[2, 4, 6-7]

Alloy gradeRm/MPaRP0.2/MPaA/%Ψ/%τ/MPa
TC41 1001 0001020665
BT161 030~1 1801230705
TB21 1001230700
TB31 1001 0001030690
TB8≥1 280≥8≥755
TB91 3251 1581128≥650
Ti-555≥1 309>10≥779
Note: RM is the tensile strength; Rp0.2 is the yield strength; a is the elongation; ψ is the reduction of area; τ is the shear strength.

Several important titanium alloy materials for fasteners

TC4 titanium alloy

TC4 titanium alloy is a kind of two-phase titanium alloy with medium strength, which is also the most researched and applied titanium alloy material. Most of the titanium alloy materials for fasteners are TC4 titanium alloy. When TC4 titanium alloy is used to make fasteners, only hot upsetting can be used, and special hot upsetting equipment and heating equipment must be used, which not only affects the production efficiency, but also has low material utilization. For high-strength fasteners, the strength of TC4 titanium alloy fasteners can not meet the requirements. The maximum tensile strength of the alloy after solution aging is 1100 MPa, and the shear strength is about 650 MPa. Due to the poor hardenability of TC4 titanium alloy, the section size of TC4 titanium alloy fasteners during solution aging is generally below 19 mm. TC4 titanium alloy fasteners include bolts, high lock bolts, pop rivets, screws and ring groove rivets, most of which have been widely used in domestic aircraft, engines, airborne equipment, aerospace vehicles and satellites.

TC6 titanium alloy

TC6 titanium alloy is a kind of martensitic (α + β) biphasic titanium alloy with excellent comprehensive properties. Its nominal composition is ti-6al-2.5mo-1.5cr-0.5fe-0.3si. The alloy is generally used in annealing state, can also be strengthened by heat treatment, and has good oxidation resistance.

TC16 Titanium Alloy

TC16 Titanium alloy is a typical solution aged two-phase titanium alloy with the nominal composition of Ti-3Al-5Mo-4.5V. After solution treatment, the alloy has high room temperature plasticity, so it has good cold heading performance, and the ratio of upsetting to forging reaches 1:4. In fastener manufacturing, TC16 Titanium alloy can be either directly cold upset or hot upset. At present, TC16 Titanium alloy fasteners include bolts, screws and self-locking nuts.

TB2 titanium alloy

TB2 titanium alloy is a metastable β – type titanium alloy. The nominal composition of the alloy is ti-3al-8cr-5mo-5v. In the solution state, TB2 titanium alloy has excellent cold formability and weldability. At present, it is mainly used for manufacturing satellite corrugated shell, satellite arrow connecting belt, all kinds of cold heading rivets and bolts, especially TB2 titanium alloy rivets have been widely used in key products in aerospace field.

Tb3 titanium alloy

Tb3 titanium alloy [4] is a metastable β – titanium alloy which can be heat treated and strengthened. The nominal composition of the alloy is ti-10mo-8v-1fe-3.5al. The main advantage of the alloy is that it has excellent cold formability in solution treatment state, and its cold upset ratio can reach 2.8. After solution aging, the alloy can obtain higher strength, which is mainly used for manufacturing 1100 MPa High Strength aerospace fasteners.

TB5 titanium alloy

TB5 titanium alloy is a metastable β – type titanium alloy with the nominal composition of ti-15v-3cr-3sn-3al. TB5 titanium alloy has excellent cold formability, which can be compared with pure titanium. After solution, many kinds of fasteners can be cold formed, and the tensile strength at room temperature can reach 1 000 MPa after aging. Boeing company has applied TB5 titanium alloy fasteners to Boeing aircraft, and China also uses TB5 titanium alloy to manufacture cold heading rivets for matching with fighter umbrella beam and satellite corrugated plate [4].

TB8 titanium alloy

TB8 titanium alloy is a metastable β 21s titanium alloy. Its nominal composition is ti-3al-2.7nb-15mo. This titanium alloy has excellent cold and hot working properties, good hardenability, excellent creep resistance and corrosion resistance. Due to the adoption of homocrystalline β stable elements Mo and Nb with high melting point and small self diffusion coefficient, TB8 titanium alloy has high temperature oxidation resistance, which is 100 times higher than that of Ti-15-3 alloy. See Table 5 for specific data. At present, TB8 titanium alloy high-strength bolts have been widely used in key products in the aviation field in China.
Tab. 5 Comparison in oxidation data between TB8 and Ti-15-3 titanium alloys[8]

Alloy gradeTemperature/℃Increased quality/(mg·cm-2)
24 h32 h
Ti-15-36493.394.79
815102.60172.30
TB86490.140.23
8151.211.75

Ti-45Nb aloy

Ti-45nb alloy is a stable β – type titanium alloy, which is a special titanium alloy for rivets. At first, titanium alloy materials for rivets are mainly pure titanium, but the strength of pure titanium fasteners is too low. In some high bearing parts, pure titanium fasteners can not meet the requirements, so it is urgent to have a titanium alloy with plasticity close to pure titanium, and strength higher than pure titanium. The commonly used metastable β titanium alloy has large deformation resistance, and the room temperature plasticity is quite different from pure titanium. Later, ti-45nb alloy was developed, which has high plasticity at room temperature, elongation at room temperature up to 20%, reduction of area up to 60%, and excellent cold working ability. Compared with pure titanium, ti-45nb alloy has higher tensile strength and shear strength, reaching 450 MPa and 350 MPa respectively.

Future development trend

Ultra high strength titanium alloy fasteners

With the development of China’s aerospace industry, the connection technology level of new aircraft and space vehicles is constantly improving, which also puts forward new requirements for new fasteners. The future development of ultra-high strength titanium alloy fasteners with tensile strength of 1200-1500 MPa and shear strength ≥ 750 MPa is one of the trends in the future.

High temperature resistant titanium alloy fasteners

At present, the use temperature of titanium alloy materials for fasteners is not high, see Table 5 for details. In the field of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the service temperature of materials is required to increase with the continuous improvement of the flight speed of new aircraft and aircraft. Therefore, the high temperature resistant titanium alloy fastener is also the future development trend, especially in the aerospace field, the new high temperature titanium alloy material is required to be able to serve in 600 ~ 800 ℃ for a short time. In general, Ti2AlNb alloy is used to replace the heavier superalloy, and its deformation is relatively serious, while Ti2AlNb alloy is used to replace other titanium alloy materials, which can not meet the weight reduction requirements; Ti Al based intermetallic compound process plasticity is poor, and its maturity is poor. Therefore, in the future, the high temperature titanium alloy materials used for fasteners are still mainly two-phase titanium alloy of near α type and high aluminum equivalent. At high temperature, the improvement of strength and creep resistance of titanium alloy mainly depends on the solution strengthening effect of Al, Sn and Zr. However, due to the limitation of aluminum equivalent, the content of these elements can not be increased indefinitely. Therefore, under the proper control of the content of Al, Sn and Zr, titanium alloy is designed by multi-element composite alloying. The stable element Mo has solution strengthening effect on the high temperature strength and creep strength of high temperature titanium alloy, and Nb, Cr and V have similar effect. The addition of a small amount of β stable elements can also prevent the embrittlement of the alloy. In addition, the content of Si is very important to the properties of titanium alloy. After adding about 0.2% Si, the ellipsoidal silicide will precipitate on the boundary of α sheet in a non-uniform and discontinuous manner, which can effectively block the movement of dislocation, produce dispersion strengthening effect, and greatly improve the creep resistance of the alloy. However, the appearance of silicide also has a harmful effect on the thermal stability of the alloy structure, which not only reduces the plasticity of the alloy, but also enhances the ordering degree of the alloy and promotes the formation of Ti3Al phase. Therefore, the Si content should be controlled at a lower level, and the general mass fraction should not be more than 0.5%. Therefore, the multi-element composite strengthening is still the development direction of new high temperature titanium alloy design.

Tab. 6 Usage temperatures of titanium alloys for common fastener

Alloy gradeTC4TC16β-ⅢTi-45NbTB2TB3TB5TB8
Service temperature/℃400350370425300300290450

Source: China Fasteners Manufacturer – Wilson Pipeline Pipe Industry www.wilsonpipeline.com

(Wilson Pipeline Pipe Industry is a leading manufacturer and supplier of nickel alloy and stainless steel products, including Super Duplex Stainless Steel Flanges, Stainless Steel Flanges, Stainless Steel Pipe Fittings, Stainless Steel Pipe. Wilson Pipeline products are widely used in Shipbuilding, Nuclear power, Marine engineering, Petroleum, Chemical, Mining, Sewage treatment, Natural gas and Pressure vessels and other industries.)

If you want to have more information about the article or you want to share your opinion with us, contact us at sales@wilsonpipeline.com

Please notice that you might be interested in the other technical articles we’ve published:

Reference

  • [1] Aerospace Precision Industry Co., Ltd. introduction to fasteners [M]. Beijing: National University of Defense Technology Press, 2014
  • [2] Zhang Shuqi. Development of high strength titanium alloy for fasteners [J]. Progress of titanium industry, 1998 (5): 1-3
  • [3] Zhou Yun, Wang Chao. Production technology of Titanium Alloy Fastener [J]. Progress of titanium industry, 2001 (1): 12-15. Doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1009-9964.2001.01.005
  • [4] Zhang Lijun, Wang lucky, Guo Qiyi, et al. Application of titanium alloy materials in aviation fasteners in China [J]. Aviation manufacturing technology, 2013, 436 (16): 129-133. Doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1671-833x. 2013.16.030
  • [5] BEEN J, FALLER K. Using Ti-5111 for marine fastener applications[J]. JOM, 1999, 51(6): 21-24. DOI:10.1007/s11837-999-0088-5
  • [6] YU K O, CRIST E M, PESA R, et al. Single-melt beta C for spring and fastener applications[J]. Journal of Materials Engineering & Performance, 2005, 14(6): 697-702.
  • [7] Zhao Qingyun, Xu Feng. Research progress of titanium alloy for aviation fastener [C] / / Proceedings of the 14th National Symposium on titanium and titanium alloy. Shanghai: China Nonferrous Metals Society, 2010
  • [8] Gu Zhongzhu. Study on the process and performance test of β 21s Titanium Alloy Fastener [J]. Aerospace, 1998 (1): 19-20
  • [9] LI Meng, FENG Weizhong, GUAN Lei, WANG Xin, ZHANG Yongqiang, WANG Jian. Summary of Titanium Alloy for Fastener in Aerospace. Nonferrous Metal Materials And Engineering, 2018, 39(4): 49-53.

TMCP Simulation for Hot Rolling of P91 Seamless Steel Pipe

 However, the rolling process of steel tube is complex and difficult to control, which results in narrow technological window of piercing, rolling and sizing, which limits the application of TMCP technology in seamless steel pipe production. The United States and other developed countries have carried out systematic research on TMCP of steel pipes [9, 10, 11, 12, 13], but the main equipment used is expensive, and they have imposed export restrictions and technical confidentiality on China. Only a few scholars in China have conducted preliminary studies on TMCP of steel tubes such as on-line normalization, on-line quenching and on-line accelerated cooling [14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20]. Because the control mechanism of microstructure is not clear, it is difficult to get the ideal structure with good strength and toughness, and it is difficult to improve the comprehensive performance of steel tube. In view of this, based on the advanced PQF (premium quality finishing) tube rolling process and the dynamic transformation law of P91 steel, the TMCP of P91 steel pipe is realized by means of hot mechanical simulation technology, the deformation behavior, transformation behavior and the second phase precipitation law of P91 steel pipe are studied, the structure genetic law is explored, and the feasibility of TMCP of P91 steel pipe is verified.

Experimental method

The sample is taken from P91 forged tube blank of a factory, and its chemical composition is listed in Table 1. The dynamic transformation point test sample and TMCP hot rolling deformation simulation sample were cut from the forging by molybdenum wire cutting machine, and their sizes were 6 mm × 90 mm and 8 mm × 15 mm respectively.

Table 1  Chemical composition of P91 (mass fraction, %)

CSiMnPSCrMoVNbNNi
0.090.320.490.0180.0039.000.900.200.100.030.02

The experimental scheme of dynamic phase change law research: heating the test sample of dynamic phase change point on gleeble-1500d thermal simulation test machine under vacuum condition, setting the heating rate: 20 ℃ / min at 30 ~ 650 ℃, 2 ℃ / min at 650 ~ 1060 ℃. The austenitizing condition is 1060 ℃ for 30 min. Then it is reduced to 1040 ℃ and 990 ℃ at the speed of 2 ℃ / min. the true strain is equivalent to the total deformation of sizing, taking 0.2, and the cooling speed is 0.5 ℃ / s and 1.0 ℃ / s respectively.

The thermal expansion curves under different deformation conditions were measured by dilatometer, and the transformation point MS was determined. In order to improve the accuracy of testing three times under each condition, the average value of MS point is calculated. The samples with different cooling rates were cut along the cross section, and then milled, polished and corroded by ferric chloride hydrochloric acid solution. The evolution of microstructure was observed by SEM.
TMCP hot rolling deformation simulation experiment scheme: Based on the production process of PQF of seamless steel pipe in the field: two roll tapered roll piercing, three roll limit mandrel PQF continuous rolling, micro tension sizing, using the multiple hot compression experiment of gleeble-1500d hot simulation testing machine to simulate TMCP hot rolling deformation. As P91 steel belongs to high alloy steel, its high-temperature deformation resistance is large, so when TMCP process parameters are formulated, the heating temperature is 1290 ℃, and the high-temperature large deformation with true strain of 1.8 is proposed to be used for recrystallization controlled rolling in perforation and continuous rolling stage. The TMCP process parameters in sizing stage refer to the research results of dynamic transformation law of P91 steel, and hot rolling is carried out on gleeble-1500d thermal simulation test machine The process of piercing (1 pass) – continuous rolling (5 passes) – sizing (7 passes) was simulated by thermo mechanical test. The technological parameters of piercing, continuous rolling and sizing deformation are listed in Table 2. After sizing, cooling is controlled to room temperature with cooling speed of 0.5 ℃ / s and 1.0 ℃ / s respectively.

Table 2  TMCP parameters of piercing, PQF continuous rolling and sizing of P91 pipe

PassEquivalent strain

Temperature

/℃

Strain rate /s-1

Interval

time/s

Heating1290
Piercing1.3031250250
PQF10.153112530.853
PQF20.15111241.004
PQF30.104109840.678
PQF40.056108830.645
PQF50.0121080250
Sizing10.019104022
Sizing 20.015103622
Sizing 30.016102522
Sizing 40.015101822
Sizing 50.015100422
Sizing 60.00899622
Sizing 70.0089902

The simulated samples of different hot deformation stages (respectively water quenched after perforation and continuous rolling, and controlled cooling after sizing) were cut along the cross section, and observed by laser co aggregation microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM) after grinding, polishing and corrosion by ferric chloride hydrochloric acid solution. Then, it was cut into 0.4mm thick thin plates by wire cutting, mechanically thinned to 30-50 μ m, and then thinned by electrolytic double spraying. The fine substructure was observed by jeol transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with an accelerating voltage of 200kV, and the rule of tissue transmission in different deformation stages of P91 steel tube under TMCP was studied.

Results and discussion

Dynamic phase transformation law

Figure.1 Shows the thermal expansion curve of P91 Steel under the conditions of 1 ℃ / s cold speed and different sizing deformation. It can be seen from figure 1A that the average value of MS point of P91 steel is 431 ℃ without applying deformation. It can be seen from Fig. 1b that the average value of martensitic transformation point ms of P91 steel can be increased to about 442 ℃ by applying sizing deformation with equal effect changing to 0.2 at 1040 ℃. The reason is that deformation can not only refine grains, but also introduce deformation dislocation, increase martensite nucleation point, promote martensite nucleation and increase MS point. Compared with FIG. 1b and C, when the sizing temperature decreased from 1040 ℃ to 990 ℃, the average value of MS point increased from 442 ℃ to 452 ℃. The reason is that the temperature is the sensitive parameter of dislocation movement. When the deformation temperature is low, the dislocation movement can be restrained, so that the deformation band formed in the process of deformation can better segment the original austenite grains, increase the grain boundary area of martensite nucleation, and increase the MS point.

20191229035238 73360 - TMCP Simulation for Hot Rolling of P91 Seamless Steel Pipe
Fig.1 Thermal expansion curves of P91 steel under different deformation conditions (cooling rate is 1℃/s) (a) 1040℃, ε=0, (b) 1040℃, ε=0.2, (c) 990℃, ε=0.2

Fig. 2 shows the SEM microstructure under different deformation and cooling conditions. It can be seen that the deformation not only improves the MS point, but also refines the lath martensite. The comparison between Fig. 2a and Fig. B shows that when the deformation temperature is 1040 ℃, the deformation with true strain of 0.2 can refine the martensitic lath bundle from 3.0-4.0 μ m to 1.5-3.0 μ m; the smaller the deformation temperature is, the smaller the martensitic lath bundle is. Compared with FIG. 2B and C, it can be seen that the deformation temperature is further reduced from 1040 ℃ to 990 ℃ and the lath bundle is further refined to 1.0-1.5 μ m; the lath martensite can also be significantly refined by increasing the cooling rate after deformation. Compared with figure 2C and figure D, when the cooling rate after deformation increases from 0.5 ℃ / s to 1 ℃ / s, the martensitic lath bundle is further refined to 0.6-1.0 μ M. Based on the above results, in order to obtain the fine lath martensite, the TMCP process parameters of P91 steel tube were determined, the final rolling temperature was 990 ℃, the equivalent true strain was 0.2, and the cooling rate of 1 ℃ / s was used to control the cooling after the sizing deformation.

20191229035610 50160 - TMCP Simulation for Hot Rolling of P91 Seamless Steel Pipe

Fig.2 SEM microstructures of P91 under different deformation and cooling conditions (a) 1040℃, ε=0, cooling rate=0.5℃/s, (b) 1040℃, ε=0.2, cooling rate=0.5℃/s, (c) 990℃, ε=0.2, cooling rate=0.5℃/s, (d) 990℃, ε=0.2, cooling rate=1℃/s

Recrystallization behavior of TMCP

The true stress-true strain curve of TMCP of P91 steel tube with single pass piercing, 5 passes continuous rolling and 7 passes sizing deformation is shown in Figure 3. It can be seen from Fig. 3A that there is an obvious stress peak value at the perforation stage, RP is about – 81.933 MPa, and the corresponding strain ε P is – 0.349; after the stress drops, a stable platform appears, indicating that P91 steel has fully dynamic recrystallization during the perforation deformation, which greatly refines the billet grain. In theory, the critical strain ε C of dynamic recrystallization is about 0.83 ε P (ε P is the strain corresponding to the peak stress RP) [21,22,23]. It can be seen that the critical strain ε C of dynamic recrystallization in the perforation stage of P91 steel is about – 0.29, while the actual perforation strain is as high as – 1.303, so sufficient dynamic recrystallization is inevitable. The stress decreased rapidly after the perforation, which indicated that almost complete static recrystallization occurred in the gap time after the perforation. At the same time, the recrystallization of TMCP with large deformation will soften the billet structure, reduce the deformation resistance and improve the plasticity. It is very beneficial to improve the hot working performance of P91 steel with high deformation resistance in the subsequent continuous rolling and sizing process.

20191229035744 40515 - TMCP Simulation for Hot Rolling of P91 Seamless Steel Pipe

Fig.3 True stress-true strain curve of (a) piercing, continuous rolling and sizing, (b) continuous rolling and sizing (magnification) of P91 TMCP
It can be seen from the true stress-true strain curve (Fig. 3b) in the continuous rolling stage that the strain accumulated in the first two passes, and the stress in the second pass was as high as – 94.5 MPa, but then the stress decreased rapidly, indicating that from the third pass, since the strain value in each pass decreased significantly compared with the first two passes, the static recrystallization softening occurred before the strain accumulated. Because of the high deformation temperature (1250-1100 ℃) and large deformation amount (true strain up to 1.8) in the piercing continuous rolling stage of P91 steel, the recrystallization control rolling can be used to refine the austenite grains before sizing.
From the true stress-true strain curve of sizing stage (Fig. 3b), it can be seen that the first five passes of sizing deformation achieve the accumulation of stress variables, forming a certain degree of work hardening, the peak stress reaches – 54.535 MPa, the sixth and seventh passes are close to the finished rolling passes, the stress variables are small, and the accumulation effect of stress is no longer obvious. Because the total strain of TMCP of P91 steel does not reach the critical strain of dynamic recrystallization and is in the strain accumulation in the non recrystallization area, the TMCP sizing process can realize the controlled rolling of non recrystallization type, the deformation characteristics make the material in the high energy state with a lot of “defects”, increase the nucleation core of martensite, make the subsequent TMCP controlled cooling process easier to induce martensitic transformation, and greatly Refine martensitic lath.

Genetic rule of TMCP

Figure 4 shows the microstructure of P91 steel TMCP after perforation, continuous rolling and sizing. It can be seen from Fig. 4 that the grain refinement tendency is more obvious with the increase of deformation amount and the decrease of deformation temperature. It can be seen from FIG. 4A that there are obvious long fiber structures after perforation deformation, and dynamic recrystallization core can also be observed at the grain boundary of deformation grain, indicating that dynamic recrystallization has taken place; with continuous rolling deformation, static recrystallization grains gradually increase and continuously devour deformation grains, and grow up, until all the structures are transformed into recrystallization grains, gradually replacing the original coarse grains After continuous rolling, the equiaxed grain size is about 40 μ m, as shown in Fig. 4B. Because the TMCP of P91 steel is easy to move and annihilate due to the high temperature during the process of piercing and rolling, the metal is easy to form nucleus and grow up in the process of deformation, so as to refine the austenite grain. Figure 4C and figure d show the microstructure of P91 steel TMCP with cooling rate of 0.5 ℃ / s and 1 ℃ / s respectively after sizing. It can be seen that the coarse deformed grains disappear completely, and the cooling rate increases from 0.5 ℃ / s to 1 ℃ / s, and the grain size is refined from about 30 μ m to about 20 μ M. Because the TMCP of P91 steel uses the lower sizing and finishing temperature of 990 ℃, the movement speed of dislocation is lower, the deformation band formed in sizing process can better segment austenite grain, deformation-induced martensite transformation, promote martensite nucleation, combined with the controlled cooling of 1 ℃ / s, retain the original microstructure before fine phase transformation, at the same time, it can greatly refine the transformed martensite structure.
20191229035927 21894 - TMCP Simulation for Hot Rolling of P91 Seamless Steel Pipe
Fig.4 Microstructures of the P91 TMCP after piercing, continuous rolling and sizing (a) quenching after piercing, (b) quenching after continuous rolling, (c) cooling at 0.5℃/s after sizing, (d) cooling at 1℃/s after sizing

Fig. 5A and Fig. b show the SEM structure of P91 steel TMCP with controlled cooling rate of 0.5 ℃ / s and 1.0 ℃ / s respectively. Compared with FIG. 5A and Fig. B, when the cooling rate is increased from 0.5 ℃ / s to 1.0 ℃ / s after sizing, the width of martensitic lath bundle is refined from 1.0 ~ 1.5 μ m to 0.6 ~ 1.0 μ m; at the same time, a large number of fine precipitates are seen in Fig. 5B. EDS test results show that the precipitates mainly contain Cr, Fe and Mo elements, which can be determined as (Cr, Fe, Mo) 23c6. Therefore, the fine lath martensite structure strengthened by precipitates can be obtained by using 1.0 ℃ / s cooling rate after TMCP sizing of P91 steel.

20191229040044 96271 - TMCP Simulation for Hot Rolling of P91 Seamless Steel Pipe

Fig.5 SEM microstructures of the P91 steel in the TMCP controlled cooling after sizing (a) 0.5℃/s, (b) 1℃/s

Microstructure characteristics of TMCP

Figure 6 shows the substructure and precipitate observed by TEM after TMCP sizing of P91 steel with controlled cooling rate of 1 ℃ / s. It can be seen from Fig. 6A that the lath martensite of P91 steel after TMCP controlled cooling is straight and complete with lath width of 0.1-0.5 μ M. according to the national standard GB / t6394-2002, the average width of lath is 0.28 μ m by using the method of cut-off. A large number of fine dislocation networks are distributed inside the lath. In addition, micro twins with size of about 2-20 nm are also found in the martensite lath, as shown in Fig. 6B. It can be seen that in the process of TMCP controlled cooling of P91 steel tube, the twin is the first step to coordinate the strain, while the large deformation of TMCP through piercing and rolling greatly refines the original austenite structure, and the accumulated sizing deformation further strengthens the deformed austenite, and a large number of dislocations are produced in the matrix at the same time of twin growth. Therefore, in the process of transformation, martensitic lath can continue to form through dislocation slip to provide plastic coordination, thus forming a special substructure of coexistence of twin and high-density dislocation. The fine distribution of dislocation network is located at the edge of martensitic lath, and the twin structure can be seen in the middle of martensitic lath. As shown in Fig. 6C, there are a large number of fine strip precipitates between martensitic laths, with the size of about 20 nm × 100 nm. As the precipitates can only aggregate and grow between martensitic laths, their morphology is short rod. The precipitate is M23C6 with complex cubic structure, calibrated by diffraction spots (diffraction band axis [1-1-1], Ao = 1.064 nm). According to the EDS test results shown in Fig. 6D, it can be seen that the precipitate mainly contains Cr, Fe, Mo elements, so it can be determined that such carbides are (Cr, Fe, Mo) 23c6. These results show that after TMCP large deformation and controlled cooling, P91 steel can obtain ultra-fine lath martensite with high density dislocation, micro twin and nano carbide, which will greatly improve the mechanical properties of rolled P91 steel.

20191229040217 42537 - TMCP Simulation for Hot Rolling of P91 Seamless Steel Pipe

Fig.6 The substructure and precipitates of the P91 steel at the TMCP controlled cooling rate of 1℃/s after sizing (a) martensite laths and dislocations, (b) twins, (c) precipitates, (d) EDS of precipitates
In order to further clarify the carbide precipitation rule of P91 steel in TMCP cooling process, the curve of carbide quantity changing with temperature in P91 steel at high temperature was calculated by thermo Calc software, as shown in Fig. 7a, it can be seen that M6C and M23C6 carbide were mainly precipitated during sizing cooling of P91 steel. The precipitation temperature of M6C carbide is 500 ℃ ~ 370 ℃, and the precipitation amount is very small. The initial precipitation temperature of M23C6 carbide is about 860 ℃, which is mainly CR carbide, as well as Fe, Mo, V and other elements. The content of each element changes with temperature as shown in Figure 7b. It can be seen that with the decrease of precipitation temperature, the content of Cr and Mo increases, while the content of Fe decreases. The atomic fraction of each element in M23C6 at 860 ℃ and room temperature is listed in Table 3. Because the precipitation is promoted by the sizing deformation, a large number of dislocations produced by the sizing cumulative deformation provide more favorable nucleation points for carbide precipitation. At this time, due to the higher temperature, the solute atoms such as Cr, Fe, Mo and C diffuse more quickly, so the carbide precipitates directly inside the austenite grain. In addition, because P91 steel is rolled under TMCP control, it gets fine austenite grain, and there are many dislocations and grain boundaries in the grain, in order to reduce the free energy, solute atoms such as Cr, Fe and Mo tend to occupy the vacancy, dislocation and grain boundary defects So as to accelerate the diffusion and precipitation of M23C6 carbide. When the temperature is lower than 800 ℃, the diffusion of Cr, Fe, Mo and other alloy elements slows down, which slows down the growth rate of M23C6 phase and increases the growth resistance of carbides in the grains. Finally, M23C6 carbides are dispersed and fine precipitated in the deformed austenite grains. The calculation results show that the precipitation amount is basically kept at about 1.8%. In order to retain the nano scale precipitates, TMCP controlled cooling was carried out at the above cooling rate of 1 ℃ / s, and finally the nano scale carbides dispersed among the martensitic laths were obtained.
20191229040329 52088 - TMCP Simulation for Hot Rolling of P91 Seamless Steel Pipe
Fig.7 Thermo-Calc calculation of (a) carbide precipitation curve and (b) M23C6 component curve of P91 Steel

Table 3  Atom ratio of each element in carbide precipitate M23C6 of P91 (atomic fraction, %)

Temperature/℃CrFeMoVC
86049.2022.276.321.3920.69
2067.750.3010.340.9120.69

Analysis and discussion

The deformation design and cooling control of TMCP for P91 seamless steel pipe are two important factors that determine martensite transformation and morphology. Because P91 steel contains a high content of alloy elements and has a high resistance to hot rolling deformation, the TMCP parameters of P91 steel should be determined with a high heating temperature of 1290 ℃, and the high temperature deformation with a true strain of 1.8 should be selected for piercing continuous rolling. This can not only promote the recrystallization of deformed austenite and refine the grains, but also soften the structure and improve the hot working properties. The prior position of martensite nucleation is near the austenite grain boundary, so the fine recrystallization crystal nucleus will be produced near the austenite grain boundary during the large deformation of piercing continuous rolling, the grain will be significantly refined, and the area of grain boundary will be increased, so the martensite nucleation point will be increased during the cooling after sizing. At the same time, the high density dislocation entanglement produced by large deformation can also block the continuous growth of transformation martensite lath, and obtain the refined martensite lath, which makes the martensite substructure have the mixed characteristics of twin and dislocation.
The TMCP sizing of P91 steel selects the lower deformation temperature of 990 ℃, and inherits the twin and dislocation structure characteristics of the large deformation of piercing continuous rolling, which can realize the small deformation accumulation in the non recrystallization area. It is not only beneficial to obtain the accurate shape and size of the finished steel pipe, but also to form a large number of crystal “defects” such as deformation bands and movable dislocations in the deformed austenite grains [24], which not only greatly strengthens the shape The hardening effect of transformed austenite also increases the deformation nucleation point of subsequent martensitic phase. Combined with TMCP controlled cooling at 1 ℃ / s, the deformed austenite of P91 steel after sizing was restrained from softening and coarsening. The deformed austenite with a large number of high energy “defects” was inherited to the martensitic transformation point, and the martensitic lath was greatly refined to 0.1-0.5 μ m. The M23C6 carbide was controlled to be uniformly dispersed and precipitated in the grain and refined to 20 nm × 100 nm after transformation, Finally, the microstructure of ultra-fine lath martensite with high density dislocation, micro twin and nano carbide was obtained, which realized the control of fine grain strengthening, precipitation strengthening and transformation strengthening of TMCP in P91 steel tube.

In order to verify the reliability of TMCP for P91 steel pipe, the trial production of TMCP was carried out in 460pqf unit of a steel plant by using the process parameters in Table 2. Figure 8 shows the finished pipe and its microstructure after TMCP of P91 steel pipe. It can be seen from Fig. 8b that the grains have been refined to below 20 μ m; FIG. 8C shows that the martensitic lath is refined to 0.1-0.4 μ m, and high-density dislocations can be seen in the lath. In Fig. 8D, twin structure and fine precipitates can be seen. The results of mechanical properties test show that after TMCP controlled rolling and controlled cooling, the average hardness of P91 steel pipe is as high as hrc41.4, and the average yield strength at room temperature is 534 MPa. These results verify the feasibility of TMCP of P91 hot rolled seamless steel pipe in actual production.

20191229040617 36833 - TMCP Simulation for Hot Rolling of P91 Seamless Steel Pipe

Fig.8 Product and microstructures of the P91 pipe in TMCP production (a) product (b) OM, (c) martensite laths and dislocations (TEM), (d) twins and precipitates (TEM)

Conclusion

  • (1) The TMCP of P91 steel tube can be rolled by recrystallization control and refine the deformed austenite grain by adopting the high temperature and large deformation of piercing continuous rolling with true strain up to 1.8; the TMCP of P91 steel tube can be rolled by non recrystallization control and strengthen the deformed austenite and induce the martensite transformation by sizing small deformation at 990 ℃; the TMCP of P91 steel tube can be refined by combining the controlled cooling at 1.0 ℃ / s after sizing The feasibility of TMCP is verified.
  • (2) The 0.1-0.5 μ m ultra-fine lath martensite can be obtained by TMCP of P91 steel tube. There are substructures and high density dislocations in the lath which are characterized by 2-20 nm micro twin. The (Cr, Fe, Mo) 23c6 nano carbide with size of about 20 nm × 100 nm is found between the lathes. This kind of microstructure inherits the effect of TMCP fine grain strengthening, precipitation strengthening and transformation strengthening, which greatly improves the mechanical properties of P91 steel pipe.

Source: Network Arrangement – China Steel Pipe Manufacturer – Wilson Pipeline Pipe Industry Co., Limited www.wilsonpipeline.com

(Wilson Pipeline Pipe Industry is a leading manufacturer and supplier of nickel alloy and stainless steel products, including Super Duplex Stainless Steel Flanges, Stainless Steel Flanges, Stainless Steel Pipe Fittings, Stainless Steel Pipe. Wilson Pipeline products are widely used in Shipbuilding, Nuclear power, Marine engineering, Petroleum, Chemical, Mining, Sewage treatment, Natural gas and Pressure vessels and other industries.)

If you want to have more information about the article or you want to share your opinion with us, contact us at sales@wilsonpipeline.com

Please notice that you might be interested in the other technical articles we’ve published:

Reference:

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