Highly Enhanced Hot Ductility Performance of Advanced SA508-4N RPV Steel by Trace Impurity Phosphorus and Rare Earth Cerium

Abstract

Advanced SA508-4N RPV steel samples, unadded, P-added, and P+Ce-added, are investigated on their hot ductility behavior. Hot tensile tests are carried out in the temperature range of 750 to 1000 °C through a Gleeble 1500D machine. It is demonstrated that the deformation temperatures of all the three steels are located in the austenite single-phase region. There is no ductility trough present for the P+Ce-added steel, but the unadded one exhibits a deep ductility trough. The reduction of area (RA) of the former is always higher than 75% and increases with rising temperature until reaching ~95% at 900 °C or above, whereas the lowest RA value of the latter is only ~50% at 850 °C. Microanalysis indicates that the grain boundary segregation of P and Ce takes place in the tested P+Ce-added steel. This may restrain the boundary sliding so as to improve the hot ductility behavior of the steel. Furthermore, the addition of P and Ce is able to facilitate the occurrence of the dynamic recrystallization (DR) of the steel, lowering the initial temperature of DR from ~900 to ~850 °C and thereby enhancing the hot ductility performance. Consequently, the combined addition of P and Ce can significantly improve the hot ductility of SA508-4N RPV steel, thereby improving its continuous casting performance and hot workability.