• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.194-200
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• 2000

In order to evaluate the effect of Nb on wear properties of high speed steel(HSS) by powder metallurgy, niobium-alloyed HSS have been prepared by adding 0%, 1%, 3% and 5%Nb to HSS of 6%W-5%Mo-4 %Cr-5%V-5%Co. Sliding wear tests were conducted at various sliding speed conditions under the constant pressure using a pin-on-disc type machine. The results of this study show that the wear resistance of HSS by powder metallurgy was increased by the addition of Nb within the range of sliding speed used in this experimental study. However, the amount of Nb did not improve the wear resistance. It may be due to the thermal stability of carbide and high temperature properties of the matrix containing Nb comparing to that without Nb.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.79-84
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• 2009

Ferritic stainless steel, which has been used as material for decoration parts in automobile, is recently used as material for the exhaust system due to its good performance at high temperature. To improve the fuel efficiency and purify automotive exhaust gas, it is needed to increase the temperature of exhaust gas. However, it is frequently reported that the rising of the temperature of exhaust gas increases thermal stress at exhaust manifold, which results in thermal fatigue failure in welded joints. Therefore, in this study, effects of chemical composition of steel and welding parameters on thermal fatigue properties of synthetic heat affected zone in ferritic stainless steel have been investigated. It has been found that thermal fatigue life in heat affected zone is affected by bead shape of welded joint and amount of soluble Nb in steel. Especially, Nb-Ti added steel has higher thermal fatigue life in comparison to Nb added steel, which is attributed to difference of precipitation behavior in both steels.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.151-158
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• 2003

In metal cutting at the tool-chip interface, friction generates considerable amount of heat. Thus, the knowledge of wear properties of cutting tool material in high temperature has been as one of important factors in need of clarification. The authors presented the wear properties of 5%Co-5%V-1%Nb high speed steel, fabricated by powder metallurgy, in room temperature in previous articles. The objective of this paper is to clarify the effects of temperature on its wear properties. Wear tests in sliding conditions under various temperatures have been conducted using the pin-on-disc type wear test machine. The results indicate that the wear properties of 5%Co-5%V-1%Nb high speed steel in high temperature as well as in room temperature are excellent. It may be deduced that the oxide layer formed on worn surface at high temperature is stable enough to prevent wear due to the high temperature strength of its matrix.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.317-327
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• 2017

The change in the oxidation behavior of three types of B-added ultrahigh strength martensitic steels containing Ti and Nb induced by applying constant cathodic current was investigated. In a 3% NaCl+0.3% $NH_4SCN$ solution, the overall polarization behavior of the three alloys was similar, and degradation of the oxide film was observed in the three alloys after applying constant cathodic current. A significant increase in the anodic current density was observed in the Nb-added alloy, while it was diminished in the Ti-added alloy. Both Ti and Nb alloying decreased the hydrogen overpotential by forming NbC and TiC particles. In addition, the thickest oxide film was formed on the Ti-added alloy, but the addition of Nb decreased the film thickness. Therefore, it was concluded that the remarkable increase in the anodic current density of Nb-added alloy induced by applying constant cathodic current density was attributed to the formation of the thinnest oxide film less protective to hydrogen absorption, and the addition of Ti effectively blocked the hydrogen absorption by forming TiC particles and a relatively thick oxide film.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.346-354
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• 2000

Effect of Nb addition on the phase transformation behavior was studied through continuous cooling transformation tests after reheating(reheating CCT) and deforming(deforming CCT) the 0.07%C-1.3%Mn-0.015%Ti-(0~0.08)% Nb steels. Transformation temperatures for deforming CCT were lower than those for reheating CCT, and the critical cooling rate for bainite transformation during deforming CCT was lower than that during reheating CCT. These enhanced hardenability for deforming CCT was considered to come from the sufficient solid solution of Nb in austenite during high temperature reheating before deformation. With Nb addition, the phase transformation temperature decreased, the bainite formation was enhanced, and the hardness of steel increased. Furthermore, these phenomena were more remarkable for deforming CCT than for reheating CCT. From the results, Nb-Ti bearing low carbon steel was considered to be a very favorable alloy system with good strength/toughness balance by recrystallization control rolling process.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.3-9
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• 2006

The phase changes, nitride precipitation and hardness variations of 14%Cr-6.7Ni-0.65Mo-0.26Nb-0.05V-0.03C super martensitic stainless steel were investigated after nitrogen permeation heat treatment at a temperature range between $1050^{\circ}C$ and $1150^{\circ}C$. The nitrogen-permeated surface layer was transformed into austenite. The rectangular type NbN, NbCrN precipitates and fine round type precipitate were coexisted in the surface austenite layer, while the interior region that was free from nitrogen permeation kept the martensitic phase. The hardness of surface austenite showed 280 Hv, while the interior region of martensite phase represented 340 Hv. When tempering the nitrogen-permeated steel at $450^{\circ}C$, a maximum hardness of 433 Hv was appeared, probably this is attributed to the secondary hardening effect of the precipitates. The nitrogen concentration decreased gradually with increasing depth below the surface after showing a maximum of 0.3% at the outmost surface. The strong affinity between nitrogen and Cr enabled the substitutional element Cr to move from interiors to the surface when nitrogen diffuse form surface to the interior. Corrosion resistance of nitrogen permeated steel was superior to that of solution-anneaed steel in the solution of 1N $H_2SO_4$.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.81-89
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• 2018

In this study, the effect of Nb alloying element on the corrosion fatigue properties of high strength steel is investigated by conducting fatigue experiments under corrosive condition and hydrogen induced condition, potentiodynamic polarization test, tensile test and surface analyses. Nb element is added to enhance the mechanical property of medium carbon steel. This element forms MX-type phases such as carbides and nitrides which are playing an important role in the grain refinement. The grain refinement is one of the effective way to improve mechanical property because both tensile strength and toughness can be improved at the same time. However, MX-type phase precipitates can be a susceptible site to localized corrosion in corrosive environment due to the potential difference between matrix and precipitate. The obtained results showed that Nb-added steel improved corrosion fatigue property by grain refinement. However, it is degraded for hydrogen-induced fatigue property due to Nb, Ti-inclusions acting as a stronger trap.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.25 no.11
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• pp.577-582
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• 2015

The present study is concerned with the influence of niobium(Nb) addition and austenitizing temperature on the hardenability of low-carbon boron steels. The steel specimens were austenitized at different temperatures and cooled with different cooling rates using dilatometry; their microstructures and hardness were analyzed to estimate the hardenability. The addition of Nb hardly affected the transformation start and finish temperatures at lower austenitizing temperatures, whereas it significantly decreased the transformation finish temperature at higher austenitizing temperatures. This could be explained by the non-equilibrium segregation mechanism of boron atoms. When the Nb-added boron steel specimens were austenitized at higher temperatures, it is possible that Nb and carbon atoms present in the austenite phase retarded the diffusion of carbon towards the austenite grain boundaries during cooling due to the formation of NbC precipitate and Nb-C clusters, thus preventing the precipitation of $M_{23}(C,B)_6$ along the austenite grain boundaries and thereby improving the hardenability of the boron steels. As a result, because it considerably decreases the transformation finish temperature and prohibits the nucleation of proeutectoid ferrite even at the slow cooling rate of $3^{\circ}C/s$, irrespective of the austenitizing temperature, the addition of 0.05 wt.% Nb had nearly the same hardenability-enhancing effect as did the addition of 0.2 wt.% Mo.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.301-305
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• 2021

The role of Nb addition in the tension and corrosion responses of ferrite-based stainless-steel sheets processed by cold-rolling and annealing treatment at 1173 °K was studied to evaluate the possibility for commercialization. For this purpose, the grain sizes in the samples with and without Nb content were controlled to be reasonably identical by utilizing different heat treatments within the specific range for 60 seconds. The corrosion properties of both samples were evaluated based on the analysis of polarization curves. Room-temperature tension testing showed that the strength of the sample with Nb was much higher than that without Nb whereas the elongation of the sample with Nb was slightly lower than that without Nb. The polarization curves revealed that the addition of Nb contributed to the significant improvement in protective capabilities. We thought that such combinational behavior was mainly due to the formation of niobium carbides found in the ferritic matrix.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.48-54
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• 2017

The dissolution and precipitation of Nb, which has been known as strong carbide-forming element, play a key role in controlling phase transformation kinetics of microalloyed steels. In this study, we analyzed both numerically and experimentally the precipitation behavior of Nb-microalloyed steel and its effect on the austenite decomposition during cooling. Nb precipitation in austenite matrix could be predicted by the thermo-kinetic software MatCalc, in which interfacial energy between precipitate and matrix is calculated. The simulated precipitation kinetics fairly well agrees with the experimental observations by TEM. Austenite decomposition, which is strongly affected by Nb precipitation during cooling, was measured by dilatometry and was modeled on the basis of a Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmorgorov(JMAK) equation. It was confirmed that the dissolved Nb delays the austenite decomposition, whereas, the precipitated Nb accelerates phase transformation during the austenite decomposition.