Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1578110 | Materials Science and Engineering: A | 2011 | 9 Pages |
We describe here the precipitation behavior of copper and fine-scale carbides during thermo-mechanical processing and isothermal aging of copper-bearing niobium-microalloyed high strength steels. During thermo-mechanical processing, precipitation of ɛ-copper occurs in polygonal ferrite and at the austenite–ferrite interface. In contrast, during isothermal aging, nucleation of ɛ-copper precipitation occurs at dislocations. In the three different chemistries investigated, the increase in strength associated with copper during aging results only in a small decrease in impact toughness, implying that copper precipitates do not seriously impair toughness, and can be considered as a viable strengthening element in microalloyed steels. Precipitation of fine-scale niobium carbides occurs extensively at dislocations and within ferrite matrix together with vanadium carbides. In the presence of titanium, titanium carbides act as a nucleus for niobium carbide formation. Irrespective of the nature of carbides, copper precipitates and carbides are mutually exclusive.
► Copper does not significantly influence toughness. ► Copper precipitation during aging occurs at dislocations. ► Precipitation of copper and carbides is mutually exclusive.