Rate effect of cooling and overheating above the liquidus line on the formation of structural constituents

Abstract

In the paper, the comparative analysis of the process of forming a cast structure of carbon steel after termination of its crystallization in continuous cast steel billet with diameter of 450 mm and overheating of steel to 50° C and 150° C above the liquidus line, and further pouring into wedge-shaped molds, is performed. The microstructure of the skin zone after continuous casting of steel with maximum cooling rate of 106 °С/min consists of dendrites, which have branches of the first and second order, indicating their formation from the melt. When etching the surface of the specimens with solution of nitric acid, the microstructure of the skin zone was represented by ferrite, perlite with separate areas of martensite. The formation of ferrite, perlite and bainite areas was observed at a distance of 0.5 ingot radius and in the central part of the samples, and separate areas of bainite and perlite were observed in the central part of the ingot. Upon further cooling of steels below the temperature of Ar3, the formation of excess ferrite along the boundaries of austenitic grains occurs. Overheating of steels to 50° C and 150° C above the liquidus line gives rise to the formation of a more homogeneous structure. Non-metallic inclusions formed in steel do not exceed 1 point according to DSTU 4967:2015and are not the centres of crystallization – they are observed in perlite grains. There is the formation of separate inclusions of phases located in the perlite grain, which contributes to the finely dispersed hardening of steel. Increasing the overheating temperature leads to the formation of more finely divided inclusions and to the formation of a more homogeneous structure. After overheating to 50° C in the middle part of the wedge (cooling rate of 102-103 ° C/min) no ferrite formation is observed. At all overheating temperatures, perlite has a fine differentiation, but increasing in the overheating temperature above the liquidus line enhances the dispersion of both individual inclusions and perlite. Keywords: carbon steel, continuous cast steel billet, hardening, cooling rate, overheating of steels above the liquidus line.