Effect of tantalum content on microstructure and tensile properties of CLAM steel

Four ingots of China Low Activation Martensitic (CLAM) steel with different Tantalum (Ta) contents of 0.027 wt%, 0.078 wt%, 0.15 wt% and 0.18 wt%, respectively, were produced by vacuum induction furnace. Microstructure observation and tensile tests were performed to make clear the effect of Ta content on the microstructure and properties of CLAM steel. Experimental results showed that the content of Ta-riched MX particles increased with Ta content increasing from 0.027 wt% to 0.18 wt%, and the Cr-riched M23C6 carbides reversed. Meanwhile, the grain size became finer with the increase of Ta content. However, the effect of Ta content on grain size refinement weakened when Ta content was higher than 0.15 wt% in this study. Both the grain size and precipitates could affect the tensile properties of the four ingots. The precipitation strengthening of Cr-riched M23C6 carbides was considered to be the main possible reason that CLAM steel with Ta content of 0.027 wt% had the highest strength. In general, there was little difference in strength of the four ingots with the change of Ta content.