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Austenite Stability and Cryogenic Impact Toughness of a Lamellar Fe-Mn-Al-C Lightweight Structural Steel Subjected to Quenching and Tempering Process

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Abstract

Based on the Q–T process and characterized by SEM, XRD, and TEM, the microstructure evolution and impact properties of medium-manganese aluminized steel under quenching at 650, 700, 750, and 800 °C and tempering at 200 °C were studied. The results showed that the microstructure of the steel was mainly composed of ferrite, martensite, and retained austenite. The volume fraction of retained austenite in steel decreased with the increase in quenching temperature, which was 79.1, 78.3, 48.6, and 33.4%, respectively. When quenching at 800 °C and tempering at 200 °C, the room-temperature tensile strength and yield strength of the steel were 1244 and 451 MPa, respectively, and the elongation after fracture was higher than 27.6%. When quenching at 700 °C and tempering at 200 °C, the impact energy reached 25.3 J at −80 °C. The elongation of the steel at different quenching temperatures mainly depended on the volume fraction of retained austenite. The main reason for the improvement of ductility and toughness was the martensitic transformation of retained austenite during deformation, which relieves the local stress concentration and enhances the plastic deformation ability during deformation, thus delaying the propagation of microcracks.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the National Natural Science Fund (No. 51674004) and Anhui Provincial Natural Science Foundation (No. 2108085ME143). The authors would like to express their sincere thanks to Mr. Mei-zhuang Wu at Technology Center of Maanshan Iron and Steel Co. for the support in sample preparation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Metallurgical Engineering & Resources Recycling, Anhui University of Technology, Maanshan, 243002, China

    Xiao-feng Zhang

  2. School of Metallurgical Engineering, Anhui University of Technology, Maanshan, 243002, China

    Xiao-feng Zhang, Jia-xing Li, Yong Yang, Ke Zhang, Xue-jun Wu & Zhen-yi Huang

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Zhang, Xf., Li, Jx., Yang, Y. et al. Austenite Stability and Cryogenic Impact Toughness of a Lamellar Fe-Mn-Al-C Lightweight Structural Steel Subjected to Quenching and Tempering Process. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 31, 5259–5268 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-022-06649-z

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