Yuan Changbo,Zhu Lei,Wang Yufeng,et al.Composition Design and Microstructure–Property Relationships of a Novel High-Strength, High-Toughness, Low-Cost Non-Quenched and Tempered Steel[J].Special Steel,
Yuan Changbo,Zhu Lei,Wang Yufeng,et al.Composition Design and Microstructure–Property Relationships of a Novel High-Strength, High-Toughness, Low-Cost Non-Quenched and Tempered Steel[J].Special Steel,DOI:.
Composition Design and Microstructure–Property Relationships of a Novel High-Strength, High-Toughness, Low-Cost Non-Quenched and Tempered Steel
Based on currently commercial non-quenched and tempered steels, this study innovatively proposes a compositional design strategy of “reduced C, increased Si, and added Mn.” Through compositional regulation and microstructural optimization, a novel high-strength, high-toughness, and low-cost non-quenched and tempered steel with a tensile strength of approximately 1 300 MPa was successfully developed. The results indicate that the novel non-quenched and tempered steel (QGF17) has the following chemical composition (
w
/%): 0.19C, 1.92Si, 2.90Mn, 0.56Cr, 0.012P, and 0.004S. The addition of Si optimizes the bainitic microstructure, leading to an increased volume fraction of lath bainite (LB). Meanwhile, the grain size is refined from 18 μm to 11 μm, the fraction of high-angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) increases markedly from 28.5% to 59.1%, and the dislocation density also rises. As a result, localized high-dislocation-density regions form near grain boundaries and lath interfaces. Compared with FAS2225 steel, the novel non-quenched and tempered steel exhibits substantially improved, especially the hardness and mechanical properties. The HV hardness increases from 318 to 473, the yield strength and tensile strength rise from 710 MPa and 955 MPa to 973 MPa and 1 322 MPa, respectively, and the impact energy at -20 °C increases significantly from 16 J to 29 J. In addition, the novel steel demonstrates a higher strain-hardening capability and excellent impact toughness. The SEM fracture analysis reveals that although both steels exhibit quasi-cleavage fracture characteristics under impact loading, a pronounced plastic deformation zone is observed near the V-notch region in the novel non-quenched and tempered steel. Correspondingly
, the fracture morphology evolves from river-pattern quasi-cleavage facets in FAS2225 steel to finer quasi-cleavage micro-facets in the novel steel. These results confirm that, through simplified alloying and optimized compositional design, the developed non-quenched and tempered steel effectively reduces production costs while overcoming the long-standing trade-off between strength enhancement and toughness degradation in conventional high-strength non-quenched steels, thereby providing a promising technological pathway for the engineering application of high-performance non-quenched and tempered steels.
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