Section 3: Optimization of a 550/690-MPa high-performance bridge steel
- and others
This project to develop a high-performance bridge steel was intended to avoid susceptibility of the steel to weld heat-affected-zone cracking and therefore minimize the requirement for preheat, and to increase its fracture toughness at service temperatures. Previous studies by the Lehigh University Center for Advanced Technology for Large Structural Systems have suggested that a Cu-Ni steels with the following composition was an excellent candidate for such a bridge steel: C/0.070; Mn/1.50; P/0.009; S/0.005; Si/0.25; Cu/1.00; Ni/0.75; Cr/0.50; Mo/0.50; V/0.06; Cb/0.010. To confirm that observation, 227-kg heats of the candidate steel were melted and processed to 25- and 50-mm-thick plate by various thermomechanical practices, and the weldability and mechanical properties determined. To evaluate the feasibility of reduced alloy content, two 227-kg heats of a lower hardenability steel were melted with C reduced to 0.06, Mn to 1.25, and Mo to 0.25 and similarly processed and tested. The results indicate that the steels were not susceptible to hydrogen-induced weld-heat-affected-zone cracking when welded without preheat. Jominy end-quench tests of the higher-hardenability steel indicate that a minimum yield-strength of 690 MPa should be readily attainable in thicknesses through 50 mm and marginally at 100 mm. The toughness of the steel readily met AASHTO specifications for Zone 3 in all conditions and thicknesses, and may be sufficiently tough so that the critical crack size will minimize fatigue-crack-extension problems.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 494126
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/TM--13399; ON: DE97005392
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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