Effects of welding and post-weld heat treatments on nanoscale precipitation and mechanical properties of an ultra-high strength steel hardened by NiAl and Cu nanoparticles

Jiao, Z. B.; Luan, J. H.; Guo, W.; Poplawsky, J. D.; Liu, C. T.

doi:10.1016/j.actamat.2016.08.066

Effects of welding and post-weld heat treatments on nanoscale precipitation and mechanical properties of an ultra-high strength steel hardened by NiAl and Cu nanoparticles

Journal Article · Thu Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Acta Materialia

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2016.08.066· OSTI ID:1324206

Jiao, Z. B. ^[1]; Luan, J. H. ^[1]; Guo, W. ^[2]; ^[2]; ^[1]

City Univ. of Hong Kong, Hong Kong (China)
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

The effects of welding and post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) on nanoscale co-precipitation, grain structure, and mechanical properties of an ultra-high strength steel were studied through a combination of atom probe tomography (APT) and mechanical tests. Our results indicate that the welding process dissolves all pre-existing nanoparticles and causes grain coarsening in the fusion zone, resulting in a soft and ductile weld without any cracks in the as-welded condition. A 550 °C PWHT induces fine-scale re-precipitation of NiAl and Cu co-precipitates with high number densities and ultra-fine sizes, leading to a large recovery of strength but a loss of ductility with intergranular failure, whereas a 600 °C PWHT gives rise to coarse-scale re-precipitation of nanoparticles together with the formation of a small amount of reverted austenite, resulting in a great recovery in both strength and ductility. Our analysis indicates that the degree of strength recovery is dependent mainly upon the re-precipitation microstructure of nanoparticles, together with grain size and reversion of austenite, while the ductility recovery is sensitive to the grain-boundary structure. In conclusion, APT reveals that the grain-boundary segregation of Mn and P may be the main reason for the 550 °C embrittlement, and the enhanced ductility at 600 °C is ascribed to a possible reduction of the segregation and reversion of austenite.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725

OSTI ID:: 1324206

Journal Information:: Acta Materialia, Journal Name: Acta Materialia Journal Issue: C Vol. 120; ISSN 1359-6454

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (50)

Mechanisms of tempered martensite embrittlement in low alloy steels Horn, R. M.; Ritchie, Robert O. Metallurgical Transactions A, Vol. 9, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02652208	journal	August 1978
An FIM-atom probe study of the precipitation of copper from lron-1.4 at. pct copper. Part I: Field-ion microscopy Goodman, S. R.; Brenner, S. S.; Low, J. R. Metallurgical Transactions, Vol. 4, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02669376	journal	October 1973
Phosphorus induced 350°C embrittlement in an ultra high strength steel Briant, C. L.; Banerji, S. K. Metallurgical Transactions A, Vol. 10, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02686416	journal	January 1979
Computer-aided design of transformation toughened blast resistant naval hull steels: Part I Saha, A.; Olson, G. B. Journal of Computer-Aided Materials Design, Vol. 14, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10820-006-9031-z	journal	January 2007
Effect of welding heat input on microstructure and mechanical properties of simulated HAZ in Cu containing microalloyed steel Amer, Amer E.; Koo, Min Y.; Lee, Kyong H. Journal of Materials Science, Vol. 45, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-009-4074-7	journal	December 2009
Precipitation behavior and its effect on strengthening of an HSLA-Nb/Ti steel Charleux, M.; Poole, W. J.; Militzer, M. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, Vol. 32, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-001-0142-6	journal	July 2001
Influence of thermomechanical treatments on the microstructure and mechanical properties of HSLA-100 steel plates Dhua, S. K.; Mukerjee, D.; Sarma, D. S. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, Vol. 34, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-003-0326-3	journal	February 2003
A New Paradigm for Designing High-Fracture-Energy Steels Fine, M. E.; Vaynman, S.; Isheim, D. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, Vol. 41, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-010-0485-y	journal	October 2010
Strength Recovery in a High-Strength Steel During Multiple Weld Thermal Simulations Yu, Xinghua; Caron, Jeremy L.; Babu, S. S. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, Vol. 42, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-011-0707-y	journal	April 2011
Weldability Evaluation of a Cu-Bearing High-Strength Blast-Resistant Steel Caron, Jeremy L.; Babu, Sudarsanam Suresh; Lippold, John C. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, Vol. 42, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-011-0951-1	journal	October 2011
An Atom-Probe Tomographic Study of Arc Welds in a Multi-Component High-Strength Low-Alloy Steel Hunter, Allen H.; Farren, Jeffrey D.; DuPont, John N. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, Vol. 44, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-012-1518-5	journal	November 2012
Investigation of Strength Recovery in Welds of NUCu-140 Steel Through Multipass Welding and Isothermal Post-Weld Heat Treatments Bono, Jason T.; DuPont, John N.; Jain, Divya Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, Vol. 46, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-015-3087-x	journal	August 2015
Kinetics of temper embrittlement Tyson, W. R. Acta Metallurgica, Vol. 26, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-6160(78)90162-1	journal	September 1978
The role of chemical bonding in grain boundary embrittlement Messmer, R. P.; Briant, C. L. Acta Metallurgica, Vol. 30, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-6160(82)90226-7	journal	February 1982
Room temperature tensile properties of Fe-19wt.%Cr alloys precipitation hardened by the intermetallic compound NiAl Taillard, R.; Pineau, A. Materials Science and Engineering, Vol. 56, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/0025-5416(82)90097-0	journal	December 1982
Equilibrium segregation in a ternary solution: A model for temper embrittlement Guttmann, M. Surface Science, Vol. 53, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/0039-6028(75)90125-9	journal	December 1975
Interfacial segregation at Cu-rich precipitates in a high-strength low-carbon steel studied on a sub-nanometer scale Isheim, Dieter; Gagliano, Michael S.; Fine, Morris E. Acta Materialia, Vol. 54, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2005.10.023	journal	February 2006
The temporal evolution of the decomposition of a concentrated multicomponent Fe–Cu-based steel Prakash Kolli, R.; Seidman, David N. Acta Materialia, Vol. 56, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2007.12.044	journal	May 2008
Characterization of microstructural strengthening in the heat-affected zone of a blast-resistant naval steel Yu, Xinghua; Caron, Jeremy L.; Babu, S. S. Acta Materialia, Vol. 58, Issue 17 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2010.06.031	journal	October 2010
Nanoscale co-precipitation and mechanical properties of a high-strength low-carbon steel Mulholland, Michael D.; Seidman, David N. Acta Materialia, Vol. 59, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2010.11.054	journal	March 2011
Interphase precipitation of nanometer-sized carbides in a titanium–molybdenum-bearing low-carbon steel Yen, Hung-Wei; Chen, Po-Yu; Huang, Ching-Yuan Acta Materialia, Vol. 59, Issue 16 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2011.06.037	journal	September 2011
Synergistic effects of Cu and Ni on nanoscale precipitation and mechanical properties of high-strength steels Jiao, Z. B.; Luan, J. H.; Zhang, Z. W. Acta Materialia, Vol. 61, Issue 16 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2013.06.040	journal	September 2013
Segregation engineering enables nanoscale martensite to austenite phase transformation at grain boundaries: A pathway to ductile martensite Raabe, D.; Sandlöbes, S.; Millán, J. Acta Materialia, Vol. 61, Issue 16 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2013.06.055	journal	September 2013
Creep properties and microstructure of a precipitation-strengthened ferritic Fe–Al–Ni–Cr alloy Vo, Nhon Q.; Liebscher, Christian H.; Rawlings, Michael J. S. Acta Materialia, Vol. 71 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2014.02.020	journal	June 2014
Aging characteristics and mechanical properties of 1600MPa body-centered cubic Cu and B2-NiAl precipitation-strengthened ferritic steel Kapoor, Monica; Isheim, Dieter; Ghosh, Gautam Acta Materialia, Vol. 73 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2014.03.051	journal	July 2014
Atomic-scale characterization of prior austenite grain boundaries in Fe–Mn-based maraging steel using site-specific atom probe tomography Moszner, F.; Gerstl, S. S. A.; Uggowitzer, P. J. Acta Materialia, Vol. 73 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2014.04.009	journal	July 2014
Designing Heusler nanoprecipitates by elastic misfit stabilization in Fe–Mn maraging steels Millán, J.; Sandlöbes, S.; Al-Zubi, A. Acta Materialia, Vol. 76 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2014.05.016	journal	September 2014
Deformation mechanisms in a precipitation-strengthened ferritic superalloy revealed by in situ neutron diffraction studies at elevated temperatures Huang, Shenyan; Gao, Yanfei; An, Ke Acta Materialia, Vol. 83 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2014.09.053	journal	January 2015
Effects of Mn partitioning on nanoscale precipitation and mechanical properties of ferritic steels strengthened by NiAl nanoparticles Jiao, Z. B.; Luan, J. H.; Miller, M. K. Acta Materialia, Vol. 84 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2014.10.065	journal	February 2015
Grain boundary segregation engineering and austenite reversion turn embrittlement into toughness: Example of a 9 wt.% medium Mn steel Kuzmina, Margarita; Ponge, Dirk; Raabe, Dierk Acta Materialia, Vol. 86 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2014.12.021	journal	March 2015
A hierarchical microstructure due to chemical ordering in the bcc lattice: Early stages of formation in a ferritic Fe–Al–Cr–Ni–Ti alloy Liebscher, C. H.; Radmilović, V. R.; Dahmen, U. Acta Materialia, Vol. 92 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2015.03.043	journal	June 2015
Precipitation mechanism and mechanical properties of an ultra-high strength steel hardened by nanoscale NiAl and Cu particles Jiao, Z. B.; Luan, J. H.; Miller, M. K. Acta Materialia, Vol. 97 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2015.06.063	journal	September 2015
Effects of increased alloying element content on NiAl-type precipitate formation, loading rate sensitivity, and ductility of Cu- and NiAl-precipitation-strengthened ferritic steels Kapoor, M.; Isheim, D.; Vaynman, S. Acta Materialia, Vol. 104 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2015.11.041	journal	February 2016
Precipitate transformation from NiAl-type to Ni2AlMn-type and its influence on the mechanical properties of high-strength steels Jiao, Z. B.; Luan, J. H.; Miller, M. K. Acta Materialia, Vol. 110 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2016.03.024	journal	May 2016
Spectral TRIP enables ductile 1.1 GPa martensite Wang, M. -M.; Tasan, C. C.; Ponge, D. Acta Materialia, Vol. 111 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2016.03.070	journal	June 2016
Accelerated precipitation in the AFA stainless steel Fe–20Cr–30Ni–2Nb–5Al via cold working Trotter, Geneva; Rayner, Garrett; Baker, Ian Intermetallics, Vol. 53 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intermet.2014.04.018	journal	October 2014
The effect of tempering temperature on the mechanical properties and fracture morphology of a NiCrMoV steel Salemi, A.; Abdollah-zadeh, A. Materials Characterization, Vol. 59, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchar.2007.02.012	journal	April 2008
Reverted austenite in PH 13-8 Mo maraging steels Schnitzer, Ronald; Radis, Rene; Nöhrer, Matthias Materials Chemistry and Physics, Vol. 122, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchemphys.2010.02.058	journal	July 2010
Quantification of phase transformation kinetics of 18 wt.% Ni C250 maraging steel Guo, Z.; Sha, W.; Li, D. Materials Science and Engineering: A, Vol. 373, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2004.01.040	journal	May 2004
Effects of austenite reversion during overageing on the mechanical properties of 18 Ni (350) maraging steel Viswanathan, U. K.; Dey, G. K.; Sethumadhavan, V. Materials Science and Engineering: A, Vol. 398, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2005.03.074	journal	May 2005
Characterization of nanoscale NiAl-type precipitates in a ferritic steel by electron microscopy and atom probe tomography Teng, Z. K.; Miller, M. K.; Ghosh, G. Scripta Materialia, Vol. 63, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2010.03.013	journal	July 2010
In situ site-specific specimen preparation for atom probe tomography Thompson, K.; Lawrence, D.; Larson, D. J. Ultramicroscopy, Vol. 107, Issue 2-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultramic.2006.06.008	journal	February 2007
The formation of reverted austenite in 18% Ni 350 grade maraging steel Farooque, M.; Ayub, H.; Ul Haq, A. Journal of Materials Science, Vol. 33, Issue 11, p. 2927-2930 https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004346412079	journal	January 1998
A nanoscale co-precipitation approach for property enhancement of Fe-base alloys Zhang, Zhongwu; Liu, Chain Tsuan; Miller, Michael K. Scientific Reports, Vol. 3, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/srep01327	journal	February 2013
Ferritic Alloys with Extreme Creep Resistance via Coherent Hierarchical Precipitates Song, Gian; Sun, Zhiqian; Li, Lin Scientific Reports, Vol. 5, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/srep16327	journal	November 2015
Group precipitation and age hardening of nanostructured Fe-based alloys with ultra-high strengths Jiao, Z. B.; Luan, J. H.; Miller, M. K. Scientific Reports, Vol. 6, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/srep21364	journal	February 2016
An atom probe perspective on phase separation and precipitation in duplex stainless steels Guo, Wei; Garfinkel, David A.; Tucker, Julie D. Nanotechnology, Vol. 27, Issue 25 https://doi.org/10.1088/0957-4484/27/25/254004	journal	May 2016
Influence of alloying additions on grain boundary cohesion of transition metals: First-principles determination and its phenomenological extension Geng, W. T.; Freeman, A. J.; Olson, G. B. Physical Review B, Vol. 63, Issue 16 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.63.165415	journal	April 2001
Temper embrittlement Olefjord, I. International Materials Reviews, Vol. 23, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1179/095066078790136661	journal	January 1978
Advances in Physical Metallurgy and Processing of Steels. Physical Metallurgy of Steel Weldability. Yurioka, Nobutaka ISIJ International, Vol. 41, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.2355/isijinternational.41.566	journal	January 2001

Cited By (5)

3D printing of Fe-based bulk metallic glasses and composites with large dimensions and enhanced toughness by thermal spraying Zhang, Cheng; Wang, Wei; Li, Yi-Cheng Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Vol. 6, Issue 16 https://doi.org/10.1039/c8ta00405f	journal	January 2018
Mn promotes the rate of nucleation and growth of precipitates by increasing Frenkel pairs in Fe–Cu based alloys Li, Tong; Xie, Yaoping; Wang, Xiaojiao RSC Advances, Vol. 9, Issue 34 https://doi.org/10.1039/c9ra03226f	journal	January 2019
Transient responses of a hollow cylinder under thermal and chemical shock based on generalized diffusion-thermoelasticity with memory-dependent derivative Li, Chenlin; Guo, Huili; Tian, Xiaogeng Journal of Thermal Stresses, Vol. 42, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1080/01495739.2018.1486689	journal	October 2018
Shock-induced thermal wave propagation and response analysis of a viscoelastic thin plate under transient heating loads Li, Chenlin; Guo, Huili; Tian, Xiaogeng Waves in Random and Complex Media, Vol. 28, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1080/17455030.2017.1341670	journal	June 2017
Atom-probe study of Cu and NiAl nanoscale precipitation and interfacial segregation in a nanoparticle-strengthened steel Jiao, Z. B.; Luan, J. H.; Guo, W. Materials Research Letters, Vol. 5, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1080/21663831.2017.1364675	journal	August 2017

Similar Records

Atom-probe study of Cu and NiAl nanoscale precipitation and interfacial segregation in a nanoparticle-strengthened steel

Journal Article · Mon Aug 14 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Materials Research Letters · OSTI ID:1474732

Precipitation mechanism and mechanical properties of an ultra-high strength steel hardened by nanoscale NiAl and Cu particles

Journal Article · Sun Jul 12 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Acta Materialia · OSTI ID:1279427

Brittle fracture and grain boundary chemistry of microalloyed NiAl

Journal Article · Sat Mar 31 23:00:00 EST 1990 · Journal of Materials Research; (USA) · OSTI ID:7061661

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
mechanical property
precipitation
structure-property relationship
ultra-high strength steel
welding

Effects of welding and post-weld heat treatments on nanoscale precipitation and mechanical properties of an ultra-high strength steel hardened by NiAl and Cu nanoparticles

Citation Formats

References (50)

Cited By (5)

Similar Records

Related Subjects