A Study of the Ageing Treatment on the mechanical properties and microstructure of Cu-bearing HSLA steels

Cu를 함유한 HSLA강의 기계적 성질 및 미세 조직에 미치는 시효처리의 영향

The effects of ageing treatment on the mechanical properties of two Cu-bearing HSLA(High Strength Low Alloy) steels, HSLA-A and HSLA-B ,were studied by means of SEM, TEM, tensile, charpy impact and hardness tests. These steels showed excellent combination in strength and toughness at an ageing of $650^{\circ}C$ by the precipitation of $\varepsilon$-Cu and low carbon alloying. The peak strength was achieved at an ageing of 50$0^{\circ}C$ in both steels, while the impact energy was very low in this peak strength. With ageing temperature above this temperature, strength was decreased whereas impact energy increased. A marked increase in hardness above 675$^{\circ}C$ was associated with the formation of “M-A constituents” which forms during cooling from austenite-ferrite two phase region. The impact transition temperature of HSLA-A and HSLA-B steels were -l$25^{\circ}C$ and -145$^{\circ}C$, respectively.