Lunch-time seminar on

Material Selection and Quality y Assurance

Chiew Sing-Ping Sing Ping School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Nanyang Technological University University, Singapore
7 August 2012

Material, Design & Execution

Design
BS 5950 BS EN 1993

Material
BS ENs EN only l

Execution
S EN 1090 BS

Uniquely Singapore!

Design
BS 5950 BS EN 1993

Material

Execution

BS ENs EN & N Non-BS BS EN ENs BS S EN 1090 (ASTM/JIS/AS/NZS/GB)

Material Issues ?
Steel material production standards are

substantial documents covering mechanical, chemical, physical and other delivery conditions One piece of steel is not necessary the same as another although they may look the same We are not the only ones using steel W never buy We b steel t lb by weight i ht Testing a batch of steel from different parents is meaningless Material failure can be sudden and disastrous

Performance Requirements q for Structural Applications Strength ability to carry load Ductility ability to sustain permanent deformation without loss of strength Toughness ability to absorb damage without fracture Weldability ability to transfer load

Grand Challenge Balance Performance !

Strength

Ductility Toughness Weldability

Improving the Performance of Steel

The performance of structural steel can be g three basic mechanisms, i.e. enhanced through the introduction of interstitial and substitutional atoms (micro alloying) the generation and concentration of dislocations at the grain boundaries (work or g) strain hardening) the formation of additional grain boundaries (heat treatment). treatment)

M Many T Types of f Structural St t l Steel St l Carbon (non-alloy) steel Alloy (fine grain) steel Cold worked steel Cold-worked Heat-treated Heat treated low alloy and alloy steel

Steel Structure at Macro, , Micro and Nano Level

Physical Metallurgy Crystal Structure

A crystal is a regular, repeating arrangement of atoms or molecules
Can we see it? The scanning tunneling microscope (STM) makes it possible to image the electron cloud associated individual atoms at the surface of a material. Right is an STM image of a platinum surface showing the regular alignment of atoms.

10

Linear Defects (Dislocations) - Source of Plasticity

Dislocations are areas were the atoms are out of position in the crystal structure. The movement of dislocations when a stress is applied allows slip plastic deformation to occur occur.

Discovered by Taylor, Orowan & Polyani in 1934 with the aid of TEM

Dislocation as seen under TEM ( (transmission electron microscope) )

11

Micro alloying Pure iron is soft and weak. By dissolving carbon and other elements into molten iron, steel with much superior engineering properties over pure iron i can be b achieved. hi d

12

Interstitial and Substitutional Atoms

13

Carbon Steel & Alloy Steel

Carbon steel: carbon and manganese the main interstitial alloys, with Mn (< 1.65%), Si (< 0.6%) & Cu (< 0.4%). 0 4%) improving strength with addition of carbon and manganese. Alloy steel: essentially low carbon-manganese steel alloyed with addition of strong carbide or nitride forming elements, e.g. Nb, Ti or V. increasing strength by grain refinement and precipitation hardening.

14

Carbon Steel
A steel ma may be classified as a carbon steel if (1) the maximum content specified for alloying elements does not exceed the following: Mn Mn-0.60%, 0 60% Si Si-0.60%, 0 60% Cu Cu0.60%; (2) the specified minimum for Cu does not exceed 0 0.4%; 4%; Carbon steel differ from low-alloy and alloy steel in that C and Mn are the main strengthening elements elements. Other alloying elements are not specified. Increasing I i th the percentage t of f carbon b raises i th the yield i ld strength and hardness but reduces ductility and adversely affects weldability. weldability

15

High g Strength g Low-Alloy y Steel

HSLA steel have moderate amount of alloying y g elements other than carbon. The term low-alloy is used to describe steel for which the total of all the alloying elements does not exceed 5% of the total composition. These steel have been developed p as a compromise p between the convenient fabrication characteristics of the low cost mild carbon steel and the high cost of heat-treated alloy steel. HSLA steel have y yield stresses ranging g g from 275 to 460 MPa, and well-defined yield points like mild carbon steel. They y are used in the as-rolled or heat-treated in the normalized conditions.

16

Work Hardening Work hardening also known as strain hardening or g is a way y of strengthening g g by y p plastic cold working deformation Essentially generating and concentrating the dislocations at the grain boundaries.

17

Grain Boundaries
Transition zones between crystals of different orientation hinders deformation

(b)

(a)

18

Dislocation Pile-ups at Grain Boundaries

Dislocation pile-ups pile ups at grain boundaries indicate these boundaries are very strong obstacles to further dislocation motion. 19

Theory of Work Hardening

20

Examples of Cold-Worked Cold Worked Steel

Cold forging for rebars

Cold forging for headings

C ld fl Cold flat rolling lli

21

C ld roll Cold ll b bending di

Cold-Reduced Steel Wires

Hot-rolled Wire Rod HotDia. 5.5mm to 14mm YS : 300 N/mm2

Finished Wire Coils Dia. 5mm to 13mm, YS : 500 N/mm2

Profiling Rollers - Dia. Reduction e.g. 8mm > 7mm

22

Welded Mesh (Fabric)

Computerised Machine Wires in coil / pre-cut p form

Straightening & Cutting

Cold Rolled Resistance WeldingWire

Welded Mesh

23

Heat Treatment Improving the properties through control of grain size and introducing new grains by phase transformation

24

Heat Treatment
Although the properties of steel are greatly affected by chemical composition, composition various treatments out of furnace can also affect the mechanical properties significantly. Most of these treatments involve changing the temperature of steel in solid state, state and the term heat treatment is used generally to cover all these different treatment processes. processes

25

Mechanism of Phase Transformation

Microstructure changes during d ring heat treatment

High strength, high toughness, low ductility

26

Common Heat Treatment Processes

Quenching: introducing high strength, strength fine grained structures Tempering T i : refining fi i the th microstructures i t t and d partially ti ll relieving residual stresses Annealing: stress relieving, a treatment opposite to hardening Normalizing: refining grains which have been deformed through cold work

27

Quenching
Quenching consists of heating the metal from anywhere to 815 to 9000C for most steel and then suddenly y cooling g it in water, , brine, , oil or molten lead. The rapid cooling causes the formation of fine grained structures with certain material properties. In fabricating steel, it is most commonly used to harden steel by introducing stee t oduc g martensite, a te s te, a very e y hard a d but b brittle tt e microstructure. During quenching, quenching cooling rate also influences residual stresses and distortion. Besides, the potential formation of quench cracks is also a major problem with rapid quenching.
28

T Tempering i
To refine the microstructures and partially relieve residual stresses, quenching is normally followed by t tempering. i Tempering consists of normally reheating the steel to 370-6500C and cooling it in air. As a result, the internal stresses are partially relieved and the ductility as well as toughness are improved remarkably, without great reduction in the strength.

29

Annealing
Annealing, also called stress relieving, is a treatment opposite to hardening (quenching). It is achieved by heating the steel to a temperature above the transformation range g (higher ( g than tempering), and after maintains the specific temperature for a sufficient time, cooling the steel very slowly in the furnace. This p process improves p the ductility y of the steel and decreases residual stresses but on the other hand, reduces the yield strength, tensile strength and hardness accordingly.

30

Annealing

31

N Normalizing li i
Normalizing includes heating a ferrous alloy to a suitable temperature above the transformation temperature range and cooling in air. It is used to refine g grains which have been deformed through cold work. During normalizing, small grains are formed which lead to a tough metal with normal strength, but it is not so ductile as steel achieved by annealing. Strictly speaking, normalizing is an annealing process.

32

Difference between Tempering, Normalizing and d Annealing A li

Tempering To toughen previously hardened steel. The steel is heated uniformly y below lower critical temperature p and then cooled in air. Annealing To relieve stresses and increase ductility. The steel is heated to about 23 23.9 90C above the upper critical temperature, and then cooled in the furnace. N Normalizing li i To remove coarse grained structures in forgings or castings. The steel is heated to 37.8-93.30C above upper critical temperature, and then cooled in air.
33

H tT Heat Treated t d Low-Alloy L All and d Alloy All Steel St l

Heat-treated steel, mainly quenched and tempered (QT) steel differ from alloy-steel in that they have a higher percentage t of f alloying ll i elements l t and d th they rely l on h heat t treatment to develop high strength and improve mechanical h i l properties. ti They have very high strength (620~690 MPa) and poor d ili compared ductility d to carbon b or alloy ll steel l and d are only l available in plates. QT steels do not exhibit well-defined yield points. They are generally weldable but special welding techniques are usually required.

34

Examples of Heat-Treated Heat Treated Steel

35

Thermo-Mechanical Controlled Process (TMCP)

TMCP combines controlled rolling with accelerated cooling for grain refinement. The decrease in strength due to less alloy elements are compensated p by y accelerated cooling gp process Improved weldability thanks to lower CEV Absence of post heat treatment TMCP steel cannot be normalized (or annealed)
After hot rolling the deformed structure recrystallizes into fine grains which are prevented from growing by precipitation of extremely small carbides and nitrides. Controlled Rolling
36

Manufacturing of TMCP Steel Plates

37

TMCP Steel Plate by OLAC

Facility Layout
Accelerated Water-cooling Rougher Finisher Hot Leveler Cooling Bed

Furnace (1) TMCP St Steel l Hot Rolling On-Line Accelerated Cooling Fine grain

50m

High strength Excellent toughness (2) Conventional Steel Coarse grain

50m

(1) Advanced TMCP

(2) Conventional process

Low strength 38 Poor toughness

Comparison p of DQT, Q , RQT Q and TMCP Steel Plates

DQT: rolling=> cooling => rolling twice => quenching => tempering => cooling in air RQT: rolling => quenching => reheating => quenching => tempering => cooling in air g => cooling g => rolling g twice => accelerated cooling g( (without tempering) p g) TMCP: rolling
39

Comparison of Production Process

Temperature Slab reheating Rolling Normalizing Rolling Transformation (Ar3) Rolling Rolling Rolling As-Rolled Controlled Rolling (Normalized) TMCP Water-cooled Type Direct Quenched & Tempered Off-line Rolling heat treatment Quenching

+
Water Cooling Tempering

Strength: TS Thickness: t Toughness Weldability Product Cost

400-500(MPa) max. 50mm

400-500(MPa) max. 50mm

500-590(MPa) max. 100mm

550-800(MPa) max. over 100mm

On-line heat treated and low-alloy steel

Off-line heat treated and alloy steel
40

Remarks

t>50mm: Decrease Strength Countermeasure: Increase Carbon Increase Strength Decrease Toughness & Weldability

So many different Steel Products!

Hot-rolled coils

Cold-rolled coils

Coated coils

Slitted coils

Plates

Sheet piles

Hot-rolled sections

Rail sections

Reinforcing bars

Wire rods

UOE pipes

Spiral-welded pipes

41

Some Current Material Issues Boron-treated Steel Hot-Finished Hollow Sections TMCP, DQT & RQT Steel Plates

42

B Boron Hardenability H d bilit Enhancement E h t

Boron is a potent alloy for hardenability enhancement, a small amount (3-15 (3 15 ppm) gives the same effect as the other more expensive alloying elements (e.g. Molybdenum) for hardenability. hardenability H Heat t treated t t d low l alloy ll steel t l with ith boron b extremely t l high strength, e.g. quenched and tempered boron steel b for bar f vehicles hi l with ith yield i ld strength t th of f 1300-1400MPa. 1300 1400MP

43

Influence of Welding g in Boron-treated Steel (HAZ)

44

Chemical Test Results

C B BW C FG RQTS690 0.19 0.19 0.21 0.18 0.2 Mn 0.53 0.51 1.6 0.515 1.5 1.6 Cu 0.002 0.003 0.6 0.55 0.20 P 0.035 0.033 0.04 0.03 0.025 S 0.007 0.007 0.04 0.025 0.01 Al 0.026 0.026 0.02 0.06 Ti 0.001 0.001 0.05 0.04 Si 0.23 0.22 0.40 0.50 Cr 0.012 0.009 0.30 0.25 Mo 0.006 0.004 0.10 0.20 V 0.005 0.003 0.05 0.08 Ni B

0.008 0.0014 0.008 0.0014 0.30 0.70 0.005

Welding will not change the B: Boron steel, S275 chemical composition BW: Boron steel after welding, S275 C: BS EN 10025-2, carbon steel, S275 FG: BS EN 10025-3, normalized fine grain low alloy steel, S275 quenched and tempered p steel, S690 RQT-S690: Reheated, q
45

Tensile Test Results

600

Obvious necking +0.0%

500

400

300

+12.3%
200

-9.4%
Almost no necking
Boron steel Boron steel - welding affected

100

0 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

46

Impact p Test Results

B Impact I t Value (J) Average (J) 228 228 B-W 228 hr 280 262.9 hr-w 245.8 cf 255.4 260.6 cf-w 265.7

Boron steel

Boron steel - welded

Brittle carbon steel

Cold-formed steel

Hot-rolled steel

47

Can Boron-treated Boron treated Steel be used?

900

Boron steel
800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

RQT: Extremely high strength & low ductility

hot-formed RQT-S690

Boron -> little influence t mild to ild steel t l Typical mild steel: average strength & good ductility

48

The Answer is NO!

Boron is NOT added to carbon or allo alloy steel steel, onl only in heat-treated quenched and tempered steel to enhance hardenability. hardenability There is no product standards for Boron-treated carbon or alloy ll steel, t l mills ill CANNOT create t their th i own standards t d d such as ASTM A36B or A36 Modified because it is NOT possible to be certified under BC1 BC1. We do NOT have Boron-treated welding electrodes and we do d not t understand d t d sufficiently ffi i tl the th behavior b h i of fB Borontreated carbon or alloy steel (HAZ) under the influence of welding. welding

49

Rectangular Structural Hollow Sections

2. Form-Square Weld-Square Process

1. Electric Resistance Welding Process 3. Submerged Arc Weld Process

50

Hot-Formed vs. Cold-Formed

Hot-Formed
51

Cold-Formed

Re-Forming into Square/Rectangular Section

Usually comprises 4 conventional squeeze-roller stands

52

Re-Forming Stage Hot vs. Cold Formed

Hot-Formed Hot Formed

53

Cold-Formed Cold Formed

Question - Which one is Hot ?

54

Answer Both are hot!

Hot-Formed
55

Hot-Finished

Cold-Formed Circular Hollow Section

56

Study on Square Hollow Sections

Hot-formed & Hot-finished Cold-formed Cold formed

BS EN10210: 2006 Formed hot / formed cold and heat treated subsequently (treated as the
same in BS/EN design codes)

BS EN10219: 2006 Formed cold by bending and welding

Similar in appearance, different in properties

57

Hot-formed / hot-finished: 180mm x 180mm x 12.5mm Cold-formed: Cold formed: 200mm x 200mm x 12.5mm

Geometrical Differences
The cold-formed hollow section had the largest g corner radii, followed by hot-finished and hot-formed hollow sections.
Hollow sections Cold-formed Hot-formed Hot-finished bm (mm) 200.53 180.27 180.34 tm (mm) 12.76 12.72 12.88 ro,m (mm) 30.00 25.00 26.75 ri,m (mm) 21.75 12.13 14.00 b/t 15.72 14.17 14.00 ro,m/tm 2.35 1.97 2.08 ri,m/tm 1.71 0.95 1.09

58

Welding near Cold-Formed Zones

EC3 1 8: welding may be carried out within a length 5t either side of a EC3-1-8: cold-formed zone, provided: g but before - the cold-formed zones are normalized after cold-forming welding; - the r/t ratio satisfy the relevant values below.
BS EN1993-1-8 Table 4.2

r/t /t

Strain due to cold- Maximum thickness (mm) forming (%)

>3.0 >2.0

<14 <20

24 12

Cold-formed section used in this study: r/t = 1.71, t = 12.76 - strictly speaking, no welding near the corners is permitted !!!

59

St Stress - Strain St i Curves C

Stress (MP Pa) 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 0 5 10 15 20 25

Cold-Formed Hot-Formed Hot finished Hot-finished

30 35 Strain (%)

60

Residual Stress in the Hollow Sections

Cold-formed 200mm 210mm

Hot-formed 180mm 180mm

Hot-finished 180mm 186mm

61

Residual stress in the Longitudinal Direction

Hot-finished and cold-formed: Similar !!!

fr r/fy

1 0.8 06 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 0 -0.2 -0.4

Cold-formed SHS Hot-formed SHS Hot-finished SHS

45

90

135

180

225

270

315

360

Weld seam
62

Angle ()

C Comparison i of fR Results lt
Residual stress distributions in cold-formed section are highly inhomogeneous inhomogeneous. The amount of residual stress: cold-formed ld f d>h hot-finished t fi i h d > h hot-formed tf d The hot-finished section also has very high residual stress t The hot-finished section is not fully-annealed as a hot-formed section

63

C Concluding l di Remarks R k
The cold-formed section contains the highest residual stress with the biggest variance while the hot-formed contains the least. The residual stress distribution of the hot-finished section is similar to the cold-formed section. Treating g hot-finished as the same as hot-formed hollow sections in current BS5950 / EC3 steel design codes needs to be revisited urgently. g y The restrictive Table 4.2 of EC3 Part 1.8 needs to be revised urgently.

64

How best to achieve High Strength Steel?

Cost of alloys High CEV
More alloys Low alloy mild steel Heat treatment High strength low alloy steel (HSLA)

Alloy elements Carbon steel Fe + C

High strength Good ductility

Cost of heat treatment Low CEV

Heat-treated steel (TMCP, QT)

Extremely high strength Poor ductility Plates only Vulnerable to heat

65

RQT-S690 at Elevated Temperatures

Stress (Mpa) 900 0 900.0 800.0 700 0 700.0 600.0 500.0 400.0 300.0 200.0 100.0 0.0 00 0.0 10 0 10.0 20 0 20.0 30 0 30.0 40 0 40.0 50 0 50.0 60 0 60.0 70 0 70.0 Elongation (%) 25C 300C 400C

Strength drops rapidly from 300 to 700C

450C 500C 600C 700C 800C

Ductility is improved dramatically

66

Welding of High Strength QT and TMCP Steel

Loss of strength and ductility in the HAZ region

Strength

Ductility

67

Certified ASTM Steel Product Standards

Carbon Steel A36 (Most common) Hi h Strength High St th Low L Alloy All A242, A572 (Co-V HSLA steel), A588 (Thicker weathering steel), A945 (Low carbon and restricted sulphur), A992 (Rolled wide flange shape steel) Heat Treated Carbon and Low Alloy Steel A913 ( (QT low alloy y shape p steel), ), A1066 (TMCP ( plate) p )

68

Certified BS EN Steel Product Standards

BS EN 10025-1 General technical delivery conditions BS EN 10025-2 Non-alloy y structural steel BS EN 10025-3 Normalized / normalized rolled weldable fine grain structural steel BS EN 10025-4 Thermo-mechanical rolled weldable fine grain structural steel BS EN 10025-5 Structural steel with improved atmospheric corrosion resistance BS EN 10025-6 Flat products of quenched and tempered high strength structural steel

69

Material Selection & Quality Assurance BC1: 2008 - Design BC1 D i Guide G id on use of Alternative Steel Materials to BS5950

http://www.bca.gov.sg/Publications/others/Design_Guide_on_use_of_Structural_Steel.pdf http://www bca gov sg/Publications/others/Design Guide on use of Structural Steel pdf http://www.bca.gov.sg/Publications/others/Explanatory_Notes_for_BC1-2008.pdf
70

Material Selection & Quality Assurance BC1: 2012 - Design Guide on use of Alternative Structural Steel to BS5950 and Eurocode 3

71

Conclusions
A huge variety of steel microstructures, hence different g g behavior and p properties p can be obtained by y engineering using and combining various strengthening and heat treatment processes. Boron-treated carbon and alloy steel should not be used because it is not possible to be certified. Be more careful with hot-finished rectangular hollow sections. Select your steel from the list of certified steel materials in BC1: 2012. TMCP, TMCP DQT & RQT steel t l plates l t are certified tifi d (for (f e.g. ASTM A1066, BS EN10025-4). For F quality lit assurance, ensure your certified tifi d steel t l materials can be classified as CLASS 1 under BC1: 2012.
72

Thank You for your Kind Att ti ! Attention!

73