HEAT TREATMENT

OF L O W - C A R B O N A N D L O W - A L L O Y E D S T E E L S

(UIX: 669.15-194 : 621.~85.~4)

A . E. X a k h a r o v ,
N
a n d E. V.. V o l ' t e r

F. L e g e i d a ,

V. S.

No$ov,

Tramlared from Metallovedenie i Termicheskaya Obrabotk a Metallov. No. 11,

pp. 20-21. November, 1965

The Ukrainian Scientific Re~earch Institute of Metals and the Central Scientific Institute of Ferrous Metals
together with the Kommunar Metal Plant have developed a heat treatment (quenching and tempering) for thick
sheets of steel St. 3, This treatment consists of quenching from 890-910"(= in waier after the sheets are kept at
this temperature for 1,5-2 rain per m m of thickness. The sheets with the maximum concentration of carbon
(0.20-0.22~) have a low relative elongation (6 < 10~) after quenching; the relative elongation can be increased
by tempering at 500"(=. This tempering ensures the best combination o f mechanical properties.
At the Kommtmar Metal Plant the sheets wer~ heat treated in a roller furnace; The quenching process makes
it possible to cool sheets 4-50 m m thick and up to 12 m long. Tim pressure of the sprayer system is 2-3 arm. The
sheet is clamped in sprayers placed perpendicular to the press, which exerts 130 t on the sheeL
%
*0
30

. 2o
70

'(

,o

I~

o r . k g / m m ~ ab, k g / m m t

&9

,aH'kgm/cm=

2I 3~ CZ ,r 5Z ,'0 Z8
OT, kg/mmZ Ob,kg/mm~t 6 , 9

2 t It
a H.
tcgm/em t

r eJ .'r 62 70f4. ZE Z $fO

o T. k g / m m t o b . k g / m m ~ 6 . 9 OH.
kgm/cm t

Frequency distribution of mechanical properties after accelerated cooling in water and cooling
in air for the following steels: a) 14KhGS; b) 09G2; c) steel of the st. 3 type; d) 10KhSND
(SKhL-4); - - - )
accelerated cooling;
) cooling in air.

721

The mictostructure of the sheets in the initial state (after rolling) consists of ferrlte with a small amount of
pearhte. After heat treatment the structure is pearlitic-fertitic (the amount of pearlite increases).
The study' of the mechanical properties of St. 3ps steel before and after heat treatment using samples cut in
the directions parallel and perpendicular to the rolling directions shows that the impact strength of the heat-treated
steel is higher than that of untreated steel up to -40"C (3.9-7.4 and 1-1.5 k g m / c m 2. respectively). The cold brit o
tleness threshold determined by the relative reduction in section of fiat samples with holes in the center was the
same for the treated and untreated steel between-2,5 and-30"C. Heat treatment increases the fatigue limit from
6 to 3~0; the sensitivity to stress concentrations (ratio between the ultimate strength of samples with and without
holes) in heat treated steel is lower than that immediately after roUing (0.92 and 0.89, respectively}.
We investigated not only the effect of heat treatment on thick sheets quenched aRer heating in the furnace
but also the possibility of heating during rolling for the purpose of improving the mechanical characteristics of
steels 14KhGS, SKhL-4 (10KhS,'qD), 09G2, 45, SK, M16C, 3M, 20K (sheets 10-24 mm thick). For this purpose an
apparatus for accelerated cooling of thick sheets was constructed behind the 2800 mill in the Kommunar Metal
Plant. This apparatus made it possible to utilize the rolling heat to improve the mechanical properties. TO d e t e ~
mine the influence of accelerated cooling on the mechanical properties and structure of these steels some of the
sheets were cooled wi',h water in the apparatus and some in air.
The sheets weie tested according to the GOST specifications (rupture. bending, and fracture). The impact
strength was measured a t - 4 0 " c . Figure 1 shows the frequency distribution of the mechanical properties of the steels
investigated.
It can be .~.en that on the average o b and o T i n c r e a s e by 2-4 k g / m m z as the result of beat treatment, the
relative elongation docreases by about '2%, and the impact strength increases by 0 . 5 - L 5 k g m / c m z, i.e., the improvemerit of the mechanical properties is not very great. With increasing thickne~ of the sheet the effect of water coolo
ing decreases and is nonexistent when the thickness is 20 m m or mote.