A recently developed reduced activation ferritic/martensitic steel MNHS was irradiated with 200keV He ions to a fluence of 1E21ions/m^2 at 450 celsius degree and 1E20ions/m^2 at 300 celsius degree and 450 celsius degree, respectively. The irradiation hardening of the steel was investigated by nanoindentation measurements combined with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. Dispersed barrier-hardening (DBH) model was applied to predict the hardness increments based on TEM analysis. The predicted hardness increments are consistent with the values obtained by nanoindentation tests. It is found that dislocation loops and He bubbles are hard barriers against dislocation motion and they are the main contributions to He irradiation-induced hardening of MNHS steel. The obstacle strength of He bubbles is stronger than the obstacle strength of dislocation loops.
A relative contribution to irradiation hardening caused by dislocation loops and solute-rich precipitates is established for RPV steels of WWER-440 and WWER-1000 reactors, based on TEM measurements and mechanical testing at reactor operating temperature of 563 K. The pinning strength factors evaluated for loops and precipitates are shown to be much lower than those obtained for model alloys based on the room temperature testing as well as those evaluated by means of atomistic simulations in the temperature range of 300 to 600 K. This discrepancy is explained in the framework of a model of ther…
Combined effect of Carbon and Nitrogen levels and isothermal holding temperature on the microstructure, precipitation and the tensile properties of Vanadium microalloyed steels with 0.05 weight percent Vanadium were studied. Two different Vanadium steels, one having higher Carbon and lower Nitrogen content, HCLN steel, and the other having lower Carbon and higher Nitrogen content, LCHN steel, were prepared and subjected to isothermal holding treatment over a temperature range of 500 to 750 degree Celsius, after hot-deformation. Maximum precipitation strengthening from fine Vanadium carbonitrid…
The combined strengthening effects of grain refinement and high precipitated volume fraction (~6at.%) on the mechanical properties of FeSiTi alloy subjected to SPD processing prior to aging treatment were investigated by atom probe tomography and scanning transmission electron microscopy. It was shown that the refinement of the microstructure affects the precipitation kinetics and the spatial distribution of the secondary hardening intermetallic phase, which was observed to nucleate heterogeneously on dislocations and sub-grain boundaries. It was revealed that alloys successively subjected to …
The results of research pipes diffusion hardening as an effective method for increasing the durability and reliability of power equipment are presented. The experience of commercial operation of pipes manufactured from diffusion chromized and heat-hardened steel 14 MoV6-3; on the heating surfaces of the supercritical pressure boilers are generalized. The possibility and effectiveness of this method on the example of capacities of Trypil'ska CHP are shown.
The outstanding mechanical properties of high-manganese steels (HMnS) are a result of their high strain-hardenability. That is facilitated by strong suppression of dynamic recovery, predominant planar glide, and the activation of additional deformation mechanisms, such as transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) and twinning-induced plasticity (TWIP). However, depending on the final application, strongly differing requirements on the mechanical properties of HMnS are of relevance. In order to design HMnS for specific applications, multi-scale material simulation under consideration of the proc…
Transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) behavior was studied in steel with composition Fe-0.07C-2.85Si-15.3Mn-2.4Al-0.017N that exhibited two TRIP mechanisms. The initial microstructure consisted of both ε- and α-martensites with 27% retained austenite. TRIP behavior in the first 5% strain was predominately austenite transforming to ε-martensite (Stage I), but upon saturation of Stage I, the ε-martensite transformed to α-martensite (Stage II). Alloy segregation also affected the TRIP behavior with alloy rich regions producing TRIP just prior to necking. This behavior was explained by first pr…
Laser surface hardening (LSH) is an effective process to produce hard and wear resistant steel surfaces. This work produced hardened surfaces using a fiber laser in a bare (B. uncoated) and carbon-coated (C) conditions. The obtained hardness and microstructure were compatible to martensite (B) and cementite (C) major constituents. A low coefficient of friction was obtained using C-condition. The treated surface also presented little damage during a reciprocating wear against a hard metal sphere.
The induction hardening behavior of a new, hot-rolled 0.4 wt.% carbon steel with the two different starting microstructures of upper and lower bainite has been simulated using a Gleeble 3800. The effect of heating rate in the range 1 - 500 °C/s on austenite grain size distribution has been rationalized. Dilatometry together with Scanning Electron Microscopy combined with Electron Backscatter Diffraction analyses and thermodynamic simulations provide insight into the austenite formation mechanisms that operate at different heating rates. Two main mechanisms of austenite formation during re-aust…
A recently presented model is adapted to predict the effects of strain path change on the strain aging (bake hardening) behaviour of an ultra low carbon (ULC) steel. Samples pre-deformed by rolling were aged and then tested in uniaxial tension at 0, 45 and 90$^\circ$ degrees to the prior rolling direction. The results show that aging changes not only the yield strength of the material but also the work hardening rate. The increase in yield strength is interpreted to be dominated by a reduction in mobile dislocation density, this reflecting the classic ideas of Hahn and others. The change in wo…
The onset of plasticity in quenched martensitic microstructures is characterized by a low initial yield stress followed by an extremely strong initial hardening response, and then a sudden hardening saturation. Literature attributes this behavior to residual stresses and dislocations inherited from the martensitic transformation, or to microstructural heterogeneities causing strength differences among the grains. Here, we argue that orientation-dependent yielding of lath martensite due to inter-lath sliding, which induces a substructure boundary sliding mechanism, may also contribute significa…
A novel concept of varying the strain hardening rate of a medium Mn steel with 8 wt\% Mn by varying the duration of the intercritical anneal after hot rolling was explored. It was found that the stability of the austenite phase showed an inverse square root relationship with intercritical annealing duration and that the maximum strain hardening rate showed a linear relationship with austenite stability. The change in austenite stability was attributed to continuous Mn enrichment with increasing intercritical annealling duration. Twinned martensite was also found to be the most likely product o…
Slip activation, slip band interactions, and GND densities in iron-base, galling resistant alloy Nitronic 60 have been characterised at the grain length scale using small-scale mechanical testing with high resolution digital image correlation and high-angular resolution electron backscatter diffraction. By correlating the two measurement techniques, new insight into slip band interactions, the generation of lattice curvature and the corresponding accumulation of geometrically necessary dislocations (GNDs) is provided. Multiple discrete slip bands are typically active within single grains, resu…
Radiation-induced embrittlement of nuclear steels is one of the main limiting factors for safe long-term operation of nuclear power plants. In support of accurate and safe reactor pressure vessel (RPV) lifetime assessments, we developed a physics-based model that predicts RPV steel hardening and subsequent embrittlement as a consequence of the formation of nano-sized clusters of minor alloying elements. This model is shown to provide reliable assessments of embrittlement for a very wide range of materials, with higher accuracy than industrial correlations. The core of our model is a multiscale…
Understanding the mechanism of martensitic transformation is of great importance in developing advanced high strength steels, especially TRansformation-Induced Plasticity (TRIP) steels. The TRIP effect leads to enhanced work-hardening rate, postponed onset of necking and excellent formability. In-situ transmission electron microscopy has been performed to systematically investigate the dynamic interactions between dislocations and alpha martensite at microscale. Local stress concentrations, e.g. from notches or dislocation pile-ups, render free edges and grain boundaries favorable nucleation s…
Nanoindentation is a widely used method for sensitive exploration of the mechanical properties of micromechanical systems. We derived an empirical analysis technique to extract stress-strain field gradient and divergence representations from nanoindentation measurements. With this approach local gradients and heterogeneities can be discovered to obtain more detail about the sample's microstructure, thus enhancing the analytic capacity of the nanoindentation technique. We analysed nanoindentation tests of bulk solid substrates, namely bearing and tooling steel, and fused silica. Oscillations of…
A metastable austenitic Fe-Cr-Ni steel was processed by selective laser melting with low power, resulting in nearly random crystallographic texture. In-situ tensile loading and neutron diffraction experiments were undertaken and the results indicate high ductility, despite the presence of porosity, and pronounced strain-induced martensitic transformation. A secondary hardening is observed in the mechanical data due to the martensite carrying significant load, upon its formation. The pronounced martensitic transformation is discussed with respect to the initial and the evolving deformation text…
Metals are important structural materials for transport and the built environment. Low carbon steels can fail through strain localisation due to the role of interstitial solute atoms (such as carbon and nitrogen) interacting with mobile dislocations, and this gives rise to the Portevin-Le Chatelier effect and the formation of Luders bands. In this work, we use in-situ tensile testing and observation with High Angular Resolution Electron Back Scatter Diffraction (HR-EBSD) to explore deformation patterning in two Interstitial Free (IF) steel samples. One of these steels was heat treated to trigg…
Mn-Ni-Si precipitates (MNSPs) are known to be responsible for irradiation-induced hardening and embrittlement in structural alloys used in nuclear reactors. Studies have shown that precipitation of the MNSPs in 9-Cr ferritic-martensitic (F-M) alloys, such as T91, is strongly associated with heterogeneous nucleation on dislocations, coupled with radiation-induced solute segregation to these sinks. Therefore it is important to develop advanced predictive models for Mn-Ni-Si precipitation in F-M alloys under irradiation based on an understanding of the underlying mechanisms. Here we use a cluster…
Understanding the mechanisms of plasticity in structural steels is essential for the operation of next-generation fusion reactors. Elemental composition, particularly the amount of Cr present, and irradiation can have separate and synergistic effects on the mechanical properties of ferritic/martensitic steels. The study of ion-irradiated FeCr alloys is useful for gaining a mechanistic understanding of irradiation damage in steels. Previous studies of ion-irradiated FeCr did not clearly distinguish between the nucleation of dislocations to initiate plasticity, and their propagation through the …
Defects formed under irradiation in the bulk act as additional pinning centers resulting in the well-known effect of radiation-induced hardening. On the other hand, there is a poorly understood but well-established effect of instant and reversible softening of metals subjected to various types of irradiation. This radiation-induced softening (RIS) effect should be taken into account both in the theory of radiation effects and in the engineering approach for technological applications. In the present paper, the RIS is investigated experimentally in polycrystalline technically pure iron (0.048%C…
