Effect of Cooling Rate and Deformation on Microstructures and Critical Phase-Transformation Temperature of Boron-Nickel Added HSLA H-Beams

Microstructures and critical phase-transformation temperature of boron-nickel added Nb-treated high strength low alloy (HSLA) H-beams cooled at different cooling rate, with different deformation were investigated. Continuous cooling transformation (CCT) diagram of this new type of steel was obtained by using Gleeble 1500 ther-momechanical simulator. Microstructures and hardness, especially micro-hardness of the experimental steel were investigated by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Rockwell and Vickers hardness tests. Phase analysis was also studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results indicated that with increase of cooling rate, microstructures of continuous cooled specimens gradually transformed from polygonal ferrite and pearlite, grain boundary ferrite and bainite, bainite and martensite to single martensite. The CCT diagram revealed that slow cooling was needed to avoid austenite-bainite transformation to ensure toughness of this steel. By plastic deformation of 40%, austenite-ferrite transformation temperature increased by 46 °C, due to deformation induced ferrite transformation during continuous cooling, but Rockwell hardness has little change.