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Advanced Characterization of Precipitation and Microstructure Heterogeneity in X70 Steel

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Abstract

The spatial distribution of precipitates and microstructure heterogeneity in a vacuum induction melted X70 steel rolled at a pilot-scale facility were investigated using advanced characterization techniques. Electron Backscatter Diffraction was used to identify areas with low and high Kernel Average Misorientation (KAM). A newly developed procedure utilizing a Plasma Focused Ion Beam microscope was used to lift-out plane view sections of small and large grains within the areas of low and high KAM values. Quantitative analysis by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed a uniformly dispersed set of core-cap structure precipitates varying between 30 and 70 nm in diameter. The core was enriched in Ti and N, while the shell typically contained Nb and C. Strain-induced precipitation of fine (5 to 20 nm) NbC particles on dislocations was not observed by TEM and 3D atom probe tomography (APT). The absence of strain-induced precipitation is believed to be due to the depletion of Nb from solid solution as the result of the core-cap structure of NbC on pre-existing TiN particles. The similarity of precipitates in each location suggests that the local features (strain, grain size) in the final microstructure arise from phase transformations during cooling.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the sponsorships from EVRAZ North America steel corporations through an NSERC CRD Grant. The authors are grateful to Dr. Fateh Fazeli and CanmetMATERIALS (Hamilton, Canada) for casting and hot-rolling the material. The characterization work was carried out at the Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy, a national facility supported by the Canada Foundation for Innovation under the Major Science Initiative program, NSERC and McMaster University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4L8, Canada

    Chen Gu, Nabil Bassim & Hatem Zurob

  2. EVRAZ North America, RM of Sherwood, Regina, SK, S4K0A8, Canada

    Michael J. Gaudet & Jing Su

  3. Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4M1, Canada

    Brian Langelier, Hui Yuan & Nabil Bassim

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  1. Chen Gu
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Correspondence to Hatem Zurob.

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Gu, C., Gaudet, M.J., Su, J. et al. Advanced Characterization of Precipitation and Microstructure Heterogeneity in X70 Steel. Metall Mater Trans A 54, 768–775 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-022-06930-9

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