A small-angle neutron scattering study of fine-scale NbC precipitation kinetics in the α-Fe–Nb–C system

Furnace for in situ and simultaneous studies of nano-precipitates and phase transformations in steels by SANS and neutron diffraction

Interphase precipitation occurring during solid-state phase transformations in micro-alloyed steels is generally studied through transmission electron microscopy, atom probe tomography, and ex situ measurements of Small-Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS). The advantage of SANS over the other two characterization techniques is that SANS allows for the quantitative determination of size distribution, volume fraction, and number density of a statistically significant number of precipitates within the resulting matrix at room temperature. However, the performance of ex situ SANS measurements alone does not provide information regarding the probable correlation between interphase precipitation and phase transformations. This limitation makes it necessary to perform in situ and simultaneous studies on precipitation and phase transformations in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the nucleation and growth of precipitates in relation to the evolution of austenite decomposition at high temperatures. A furnace is, thus, designed and developed for such in situ studies in which SANS measurements can be simultaneously performed with neutron diffraction measurements during the application of high-temperature thermal treatments. The furnace is capable of carrying out thermal treatments involving fast heating and cooling as well as high operation temperatures (up to 1200 °C) for a long period of time with accurate temperature control in a protective atmosphere and in a magnetic field of up to 1.5 T. The characteristics of this furnace give the possibility of developing new research studies for better insight of the relationship between phase transformations and precipitation kinetics in steels and also in other types of materials containing nano-scale microstructural features.

Metallurgical Effects of Niobium in Dual Phase Steel

Dual phase (DP) steels are widely applied in today’s automotive body design. The favorable combination of strength and ductility in such steels is in first place related to the share of ferrite and martensite. The pronounced work hardening behavior prevents localized thinning and allows excellent stretch forming. Niobium microalloying was originally introduced to dual phase steel for improving bendability by refining the microstructure. More recently developed “high ductility” (HD) DP steel variants provide increased drawability aided by a small share of austenite retained in the microstructure. In this variant niobium microalloying produces grain refinement and produces a dispersion of nanometer-sized carbide precipitates in the steel matrix which additionally contributes to strength. This study investigates the microstructural evolution and progress of niobium precipitation during industrial processing of high-ductility DP 980. The observations are interpreted considering the solubility and precipitation kinetics of niobium. The influences of niobium on microstructural characteristics and its contributions to strength and formability are discussed.

Tracing Microalloy Precipitation in Nb-Ti HSLA Steel during Austenite Conditioning

The microalloying with niobium (Nb) and titanium (Ti) is standardly applied in low carbon steel high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steels and enables austenite conditioning during thermo-mechanical controlled processing (TMCP), which results in pronounced grain refinement in the finished steel. In that respect, it is important to better understand the precipitation kinetics as well as the precipitation sequence in a typical Nb-Ti-microalloyed steel. Various characterization methods were utilized in this study for tracing microalloy precipitation after simulating different austenite TMCP conditions in a Gleeble thermo-mechanical simulator. Atom probe tomography (APT), scanning transmission electron microscopy in a focused ion beam equipped scanning electron microscope (STEM-on-FIB), and electrical resistivity measurements provided complementary information on the precipitation status and were correlated with each other. It was demonstrated that accurate electrical resistivity measurements of the bulk steel could monitor the general consumption of solute microalloys (Nb) during hot working and were further complemented by APT measurements of the steel matrix. Precipitates that had formed during cooling or isothermal holding could be distinguished from strain-induced precipitates by corroborating STEM measurements with APT results, because APT specifically allowed obtaining detailed information about the chemical composition of precipitates as well as the elemental distribution. The current paper highlights the complementarity of these methods and shows first results within the framework of a larger study on strain-induced precipitation.

Effect of Normalizing Annealing Temperature on Precipitates and Texture of Nb-Cr-Bearing Decarburized Grain-Oriented Silicon Steels

The evolution of precipitates and texture was investigated in Nb-Cr-bearing decarburized specimens after normalizing at different temperatures. Enough inhibitors, including Nb(C,N), were obtained, of 20~40 nm in size. Increasing normalizing annealing temperature leads to the number density of the precipitates decreasing and that of mean size increasing. The Goss texture content in the decarburized specimens decreases in different degrees compared with the normalized ones. The minimum Goss texture and maximum ∑9 grain boundaries were obtained in the decarburized specimen normalizing at 950 °C and in this specimen, enough fine dispersed inhibitors, weak but relative stable Goss texture and uniform grain size will be beneficial for Goss grains growth in secondary recrystallization, according to the coincidence site lattice theory.

Controlled porosity and pore size of nano-porous gold by thermally assisted chemical dealloying – a SAXS study

Nano-porous metals offer great potential for applications such as bio-sensors, chemical reactors, platforms for cell growth, and media for separation because of their high surface area and reactivity at the nanoscale.

Formation of (Fe,Cr) carbides and dislocation structures in low-chromium steel studiedin situusing synchrotron radiation

The evolution of the size distribution of (Fe,Cr) carbides and the dislocation structure in low-chromium steel is studied during quenching and rapid heating byin situsmall-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The two-dimensional SAXS patterns consist of streaks on top of an isotropic SAXS signal. The evolution of the size distribution of the (Fe,Cr) carbides during heat treatment is determined from the isotropic component of the SAXS patterns. The isotropic part of the SAXS patterns shows that, after austenitization and quenching to room temperature, the average precipitate radius is 4.74 nm and the dispersion parameter for the lognormal size distribution is 0.33. Subsequent rapid heating to 823 K results in an average precipitate size of 5.25 nm and a dispersion parameter of 0.26. Bright-field transmission electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy reveal the nearly spherical morphology of the precipitates. The microstructural evolution underlying the increase in the average precipitate size and the decrease in the dispersion parameter after heating to and annealing at 823 K is probably that at room temperature two types of precipitates are present,i.e.(Fe,Cr)23C6and (Fe,Cr)7C3precipitates according to thermodynamic calculations, and at 823 K only (Fe,Cr)7C3precipitates are present. Additional measurements have been carried out on a single crystal of ferrite containing (Fe,Cr) carbides by combining three-dimensional X-ray diffraction (3DXRD) and SAXS during rotation of the specimen at room temperature, in order to investigate the origin of the streaks at low angles in the SAXS pattern. From simulations based on the theory of SAXS from dislocations, it is shown that the measured streaks, including the spottiness, in the two-dimensional SAXS patterns correspond to a dislocation structure of symmetric low-angle tilt boundaries, which in turn corresponds to the crystallographic orientation gradient in the single crystal of ferrite as measured by 3DXRD microscopy.

On the validity of simple precipitate size measurements by small-angle scattering in metallic systems

This paper assesses how simple small-angle scattering particle size evaluation models, such as Porod or Guinier radii, which have a normally limited validity range, may see this range extended to largerqvalues. This is shown to be particularly true for metallic systems, where the dispersion in particle size is always large. Because of the size dispersion, the relationship between the average particle size and the Guinier radius is shown to change. For systems with relatively large size dispersion, the paper shows that the Porod and Guinier radii, and simple extensions thereof, give valuable information on particle size and particle size distribution. This is demonstrated to be valid for particles with moderate aspect ratios. These simple evaluations are quick and very well adapted to large data sets, such as those originating from time-resolved or scanning small-angle experiments.