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Influence of Aging and Thermomechanical Treatments on the Mechanical Properties of a Nanocluster-Strengthened Ferritic Steel

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Abstract

This study investigated the effect of aging and thermomechanical treatments on the mechanical properties of a nanocluster-strengthened ferritic steel, Fe-1.5Mn-2.5Cu-4.0Ni-1.0Al (wt pct). The effect of thermomechanical treatments on the microhardness and tensile properties were measured at room temperature and correlated with microstructural features. Cu-rich precipitates were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and were found to coarsen slowly during long-time aging. The microhardness measurements indicate a typical precipitation hardening behavior during aging at 773 K (500 °C). Tensile tests showed that thermomechanical treatments can improve the mechanical strength and ductility of the nanocluster-strengthened ferritic steel significantly compared with those without the treatments. Fractography results indicated that the high yield strength resulted from precipitation hardening makes the steel more susceptible to grain-boundary decohesion, which can be suppressed by grain refinement. Atmosphere adsorption and diffusion along grain boundaries were found to intensify brittle intergranular fracture, and this embrittlement can be avoided by vacuum heat treatment.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported mainly by internal funding from Auburn University, Hong Kong City University, and together with the NJUST Research Funding (No. 2010GIPY031) and the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (No. 50871054). Z.W.Z. benefitted from the Visiting Postdoctoral Research Program at the Neutron Scattering Science Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Materials Research & Education Center, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA

    Z. W. Zhang (Research Fellow and Lecturer), C. T. Liu (Distinguished Professor) & Bryan A. Chin (Professor)

  2. Engineering Research Center of Materials Behavior and Design, Ministry of Education, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210094, P. R. China

    Z. W. Zhang (Research Fellow and Lecturer) & G. Chen (Professor)

  3. MEEM Department, College of Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong

    C. T. Liu (Distinguished Professor) & S. Guo (Research Fellow)

  4. WPI Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai, 980-8577, Japan

    Y. R. Wen (Doctoral Student), A. Hirata (Assistant Professor) & M. W. Chen (Professor)

  5. Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong

    S. Guo (Research Fellow)

Authors
  1. Z. W. Zhang
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  2. C. T. Liu
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  3. Y. R. Wen
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  4. A. Hirata
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  6. G. Chen
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  7. M. W. Chen
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  8. Bryan A. Chin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to C. T. Liu.

Additional information

Manuscript submitted February 21, 2011.

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Zhang, Z.W., Liu, C.T., Wen, Y.R. et al. Influence of Aging and Thermomechanical Treatments on the Mechanical Properties of a Nanocluster-Strengthened Ferritic Steel. Metall Mater Trans A 43, 351–359 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-011-0835-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-011-0835-4

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