材料期刊网

The specimens of 1Cr-0.5Mo low alloy steel, undoped, Sn-doped and Ce+Sn-doped, were austenitized at 1300oCand then cooled down to different temperatures in the range of 700–1050oC, followed by tensile tests with the aid of a Gleeble machine. The reduction of area (RA) obtained from the test was employed to evaluate the hot ductility of the steel. The testedspecimens were char-acterized using different techniques. Minor Sn could considerably reduce the RA values of the steel in the whole temperature range, and the hot ductility curve could be widened and deepened. Nevertheless, minor Ce could improve the hot ductility of the Ce+Sn-doped steel by fully suppressing the Sn-induced hot ductility deterioration. FEGSTEM microanalysis showed that the Sn or Ce and Sn atoms segregated to austenite grain boundaries in the Sn-doped or Ce+Sn doped specimens. The detrimental effect of Sn on the hot ductility could be attributed mainly to the segregation of Sn as it could decrease the grain boundary cohesion andin turn enhancedthe grain boundary sliding and cracking. However, this detrimental effect of Sn could be counteracted by the segregation of Ce which could increase the grain boundary cohesion and in turn restrainedthe grain boundary sliding and cracking. Accordingly, a minor addition of rare earth Ce could be an effective method of suppressing the detrimental effectof impurity elements on the hot ductility of a Cr-Mo low alloy steel.