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Heterogeneous Microstructure of Low-Carbon Microalloyed Steel and Mechanical Properties

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Abstract

The microstructure plays a major role in the performance of metallic materials, which can be tailored through the composition and/or processing technique. In this study, a heterogeneous microstructure was developed for low-carbon microalloyed API X65 steel, the most commonly used pipeline steel for oil and gas transportation, using a heat treatment process. The heat treatment process involved intercritical heating of the steel followed by high-temperature isotheral cooling, allowing for phase transformation, as well as alloying element partitioning. The heat treatment transformed the banded ferrite–pearlite microstructure of rolled steel to a quasi-polygonal ferrite microstructure, with the sporadic presence of austenite at the grain boundaries. The quasi-polygonal ferrite was distributed in a heterogeneous form with a fine-grain shell surrounding the coarse-grained core. The heterogeneity in the microstructure, despite being single phase, led to a significant improvement in the tensile yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, ductility and toughness of the steel, with a marginal reduction in microhardness values.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the support provided by Department of Mechanical Engineering of King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals for supporting this work through Graduate Research Course MSE 610.

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  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, P.O. Box 1061, Dhahran, 31261, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    S. Fida Hassan & H. Al-Wadei

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  1. S. Fida Hassan
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  2. H. Al-Wadei
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Correspondence to S. Fida Hassan.

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Hassan, S.F., Al-Wadei, H. Heterogeneous Microstructure of Low-Carbon Microalloyed Steel and Mechanical Properties. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 29, 7045–7051 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-020-05217-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-020-05217-7

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