Effect of Different Heterogeneous Microstructures on Tensile Properties of a High Strength Wind Power Steel Q500MD

doi:10.11901/1005.3093.2024.496

Chinese Journal of Materials Research

2025, Vol. 39

Issue (11): 801-812 DOI: 10.11901/1005.3093.2024.496

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Effect of Different Heterogeneous Microstructures on Tensile Properties of a High Strength Wind Power Steel Q500MD

CHEN Zihao¹^,², GAO Chong², PANG Jianchao²(

), MA Heng³^,⁴, HE Kang³^,⁵, LI Xiaowu¹, LI Shouxin², ZHANG Zhefeng²

^1.School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China
^2.Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
^3.Laiwu Branch Technology Center, Shandong Iron and Steel Co. , Ltd. , Jinan 271104, China
^4.School of Metallurgical and Ecological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
^5.Collaborative Innovation Center of Steel Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China

Cite this article:

CHEN Zihao, GAO Chong, PANG Jianchao, MA Heng, HE Kang, LI Xiaowu, LI Shouxin, ZHANG Zhefeng. Effect of Different Heterogeneous Microstructures on Tensile Properties of a High Strength Wind Power Steel Q500MD. Chinese Journal of Materials Research, 2025, 39(11): 801-812.

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Abstract

The effect of different heterogeneous microstructures on the tensile properties of high-strength wind power steel Q500MD, a 500 MPa grade wind power steel was assessed. Hence, the as received steel is subjected to an intercritical annealing combined with quenching or tempering one, namely the following three heterogeneous heat treatments: intercritical annealing, quenching + intercritical annealing and quenching + intercritical annealing + tempering. Then the microstructure and tensile property of the acquired three type steels with different heterogeneous microstructures were examined viauniversal testing machine, scanning electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction. The results indicate that the as received steel presents typical thermo-mechanical control process (TMCP) heat treatment microstructure composed of a large amount of acicular ferrite and a small amount of martensite. After heterogeneous heat treatment, their microstructures transform into a heterogeneous microstructure of soft phase intercritical ferrite and hard phase martensite, and the martensite varies with different post heat treatment processes. Specifically, the steel microstructure turns into intercritical ferrite, granular martensite, and fibrous martensite after quenching and intercritical annealing. Due to the existence of heterogeneous nucleation in the intercritical annealing process, new microstructure can be generated and grain refinement can be achieved. The heterogeneous microstructure leads to a low yield ratio and high plasticity of high-strength wind power steels. Compared with the as received steel, the presence of the soft-phase intercritical ferrite alters the initial yield threshold and subsequent work hardening behavior of the steel during tensile deformation, resulting in low yield ratio. Based on the analysis of microstructure evolution and tensile properties of the steels prepared by different heterogeneous heat treatment, it can be concluded that the presence of intercritical ferrite and martensite in the microstructure after intercritical annealing can enhance the strength and plasticity of high-strength wind power steels. Furthermore, incorporating quenching prior to intercritical annealing yields a finer grain structure, thereby further reducing the yield ratio of high-strength wind power steels.

Key words: metallic materials high strength wind power steel intercritical annealing heterogeneous microstructure tensile property

Received: 15 December 2024

ZTFLH:

TG142.1

Fund: National Key Research and Development Program of China(2022YFB3708200)

Corresponding Authors: PANG Jianchao, Tel: (024)83978879, E-mail: jcpang@imr.ac.cn

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	CHEN Zihao
	GAO Chong
	PANG Jianchao
	MA Heng
	HE Kang
	LI Xiaowu
	LI Shouxin
	ZHANG Zhefeng

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https://www.cjmr.org/EN/10.11901/1005.3093.2024.496 OR https://www.cjmr.org/EN/Y2025/V39/I11/801

Fig.1 Schematic diagram of heat treatment process of Q500MD steel

Fig.2 Dimensions of the tensile specimen

Fig.3 SEM images showing the microstructures in 500 MPa grade wind power steels with different heat treatment technologies (a) OS, (b) IA, (c) QIA, (d) QIAT

Fig.4 Contrast diagram of the microstructure morphology and boundary distribution in 500 MPa grade wind power steels under different heat treatment technologies (a) OS, (b) IA, (c) QIA, (d) QIAT

Fig.5 KAM diagram of 500 MPa grade wind power steels with different heat treatment technologies (a) OS, (b) IA, (c) QIA, (d) QIAT

Table 1 Tensile data of 500 MPa grade wind power steels under different heat treatment technologies

Fig.6 Tensile engineering stress-strain curves of 500 MPa grade wind power steels under different heat treatment technologies

Fig.7 SEM images showing the tensile fracture surface morphologies of 500 MPa grade wind power steels with different heat treatment technologies (a, e) OS, (b, f) IA, (c, g) QIA, (d, h) QIAT

Fig.8 Inverse pole figure of 500 MPa grade wind power steels with different heat treatment technologies based on EBSD results (a) OS, (b) IA, (c) QIA, (d) QIAT

Fig.9 Changing process of the microstructures of the steels during heterogeneous heat treatment

Fig.10 Grain size distribution of 500 MPa grade wind power steels with different heat treatment technologies (a) OS, (b) IA, (c) QIA, (d) QIAT

Fig.11 Relationship between average grain size and tensile properties of 500 MPa grade wind power steels under different heat treatment technologies (a) the relationship between average grain size and yield/tensile strengths, (b) the relationship between average grain size and uniform elongation

Fig.12 K-M curves of 500 MPa grade wind power steels with different heat treatment technologies

Fig.13 Changes of tensile properties of 500 MPa grade wind power steels under different heat treatment technologies (a) the relationship between yield strength and tensile strength, (b) the relationship between elongation and tensile strength

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