c. v.

White Kettering University

G. Krauss and D.K. Matlock Colorado School of Mines

INTRODUCTION The traditional steel production consisted process of the

reduction. Properties representative of wrought steel eventually are attained with increasing hot reduction. The amount of hot reduction required to achieve the transition from cast to wrought structure and properties is of great interest, especially in small continuously cast billets that may receive little hot reduction to finished bar sizes. The causesof reduced performance as a function of limited hot work have been difficult to unravel. Performance depends on a multitude of factors: the homogenizing effectsof hot work; steeland technology have been described in detail by IMng.2 A concern exists that smaller as-cast sectionsof continuously caststeelproducts may not receive sufficient hot work to produce microstructures and properties characteristic of more highly deformed steelproducts. This is especially a concern in bar steelsthat are forged to complex shapes.This article will review the literature related to the effectsof hot reduction on the properties and performance of continuously cast bar steels. Diminished mechanical properties and fatigueperformance havebeenreported in strand-caststeelssubjectedto limited making, which establishes the cleanliness and inclusion content of the product; caster design,which establishesthe sizeand geometryof the as-castproduct; the nature ofhotwork or roll passdesign of the hot rolling standsused to produce bars of various sizes;and, ultimately, the microstructure of the heat-treatedbar or forgings, such as ferrite-pearlite or high strength tempered martensite. Thus, the amount of hot work required to produce wrought properties is caster- and mill-specific. A universal criterion for acceptability, such as a single value of the commonly used hot reduction ratio, based on reduction of SEPTEMBER 1998 g 73

refining and teeming of liquid steel into large ingots. Theseingots required extensive high temperature soaking and hot rolling to produce slabs, blooms and billets that were subsequentlyhot rolled to finished product shapes. Although some ingot casting capacity still exists, continuous casting directly to slabs, blooms and billets has largely displaced ingot casting. Continuous casting has grown to more than 80 percent of steel production in North America, and to more than 85 percent in the United Kingdom.1, 2 The popularity of continuous casting has been driven by improvements in surface quality, greater uniformity in composition (due to the elimination of top-to-bottom ingot segregation), energy savings,high yields and increased production efficiency. The history and evolution of continuous caster design

and recrystallization of the austenite grain structure is achieved by the same method. Despite this, microsegregation persists even after extensive hot deformation. Figure 6 presents evidence for alinterdendritic microsegregation,

though with increasingly finer spacing, in bars of 10V45 steel for reduction ratios between 7:1 and 49:1.10 The acid and sodium grain microchemical segregation was revealed by etching with picric tridecylbenzene.

The austenite

structure and the ferrite-pearlite were superimposed

structure formed on cooling of this steel on the chemical variations. When tested in torsional fatigue, all specimens showed wrought
Figure 3 The histogram shows the frequency of inclusions with various shapefactors as a function of the hot reduction ratio.9 JO The shape factor is defined in the text.

behavior and fatigue crack initiation inclusions within the ferritic nent of the microstructure.

at

compo-

and a central zone with equiaxed dendrites with random orientations. As discussed here, extensive porosity may exist in the central equiaxed zone. The relative areas of the columnar and equiaxed zones depend on caster speed, which determines thermal gradients and solidification velocity. Electromagnetic stirring is used to promote the size of the equiaxed zone, minimize centerline porosity and reduce the size of the columnar zone. The scale of the dendritic structure determines dendrite the distribution chemical of interand segregation

distribution of porosity often is characterized by secondarydendrite arm spacing, which is directly related to heat transfer during solidification. Figure 5 shows secondary dendrite arm spacing as a function of the distance from the chill surface for a number of casters.14 The larger the section size and further the distance from the surface, the coarser the dendrite spacing and associated micro segregation and porosity.
M.CROSEGREGA microporosity T.ON

Thus, in this experiment, microstructure and inclusions performance. lidification, controlled fatigue The coarser effects of soand porosity, were

such as columnar dendrite

crystal orientation

dissipated by a reduction ratio of 7: 1. Residual effects of dendritic segregation may contribute to ferritelpearlite banding beyond association with as-cast structures! Also, residual chemical segregation effects from the corners of square billets eventually may contribute to

porosity due to solidification or gas evolution. be detrimental

shrinkage

Center macroporosity and interdendrite are healed by hot work,

These factors may The fine-scale

to mechanical proper3.~ 2. 2 ...A 1.8 .Low carbon steels steels (type 304) .

ties and performance.

.Stainless

.-14

~
..

..

..

I !=
1Chill zone I =

1.0 .6

2 -.2 -.6 -1.0 -2.4 -1.6 Log x -0.8 (mm) -0.0 0.8 1.6 2.4

Columnarzone
Equiaxed zone

o ..I

Figure

The diagram

shows various

solidification cast billet.12

zones in a continuously

Figure 5 The secondary dendrite arm spacingfor a number of dijJerent casters is shown as a function of distance from the chill surface. !4

Figure 6 A picric acid-sodium tridecylbenzene etchJO depicts effects associated with residual interdendritic microsegregation in bars of 10V45 steel subjected to hot reduction ratios of (a) 7:1, (b) 10:1, (c) 27:1 and (d) 49:1.

SEPTEMBER 1998 a

75

nonsyrnmetrical distortion during final heat treatment of bars and forgings.15. 16

with discontinuities caused by specimen machining.17 Solidification porosity increaseswith greater distance from the surface of ascast billets. As the dendritic structure coarsens, the interior cooling rate decreases, the last liquid steelsolidifies and final shrinkage develops. Density measurements,asa function of distancefrom the surfacesof 140-mm-squarecast billets, show porosity is low in columnar dendrite solidification zones and increases to high levelscloseto and at billet centerlines.18 Brada has shown that corners of square billets, where columnar dendrite zonesfrom orthogonal surface impinge, also are locations of high porosity in continuous cast billets.19 Figure 9 shows macroetched transverse sections of electromagnetically stirred and unstirred continuously castbillets of 4140 steel,171n theunstirred billet, the columnar dendrite zone occupies most of the cross section, and macroscopic porosity is present at the centerline of the billet. Electromagnetic

stirring produces an extensive equiaxed dendritic zone and eliminates macroshrinkage. A lightscopic centerline

SOLIDIFICATION POROSITY Porosity is a major consequenceof solidification and hasbeen shown to cause diminished fatigue performance. For example, Figures 7 and 8 show fatigue crack initiation at porosity in as-cast continuously cast 152-mm-square billets and hardened 4140 steeV 7Figure 7 illustrates fatigue fracture surfaces developed by axial fatigue testing of specimensremoved from the columnar dendritic zone. Meanwhile, Figure 8 illustrates fatigue in the equiaxed zone. The interdendritic morphology of the porosity is revealed, especially in the second example; the former revealed better fatigue life. Specimens removed from bars of the same billet subjected to hot reduction ratios of 3.3: lor greater showed marked improvement in fatigue resistance.Fatigue initiation of hardened specimens from hot worked bars largely was associated

etching band, because of solute depletion, marks the initiation of electromagnetic stirring. In addition to stirring, porosity and the extent of the equiaxed central zone of billets also are affected by superheat. High superheat in unstirred billets increases the extent of columnar solidification by retarding the nucleation of equiaxed dendrites:Q, 21 High superheats also have been found interdendrite porosity, requiring to increase reduction

segregation and internal higher of porosity.21

ratios for the elimination Electromagnetic compensate

stirring offsets the effor the in-

fect of high superheats, but does not completely

creased size of columnar solidification zones at higher superheat temperatures. Hot work eliminates porosity, but full the amount required to produce

density in bars is a function of the methods by which the hot work is applied.

~
I Figure

~10J.lrn

7 Porosity is a major conseqltence of solidification. The micrographs show the porosity at the fatigue crack initiation in a hardened 4140 steel specimen taken from the columnar dendritic zone of an as-cast sti"ed billet.ll

76 H

SEPTEMBER 1998

For example, Figure 10 shows porosity is eliminated by relatively low reduction ratios, and rolling schedules with heavy passes increase density more with

etching effects associated with chemical segregation are still apparent.

MINIMUM HOT REDUCTION

Figure 12, taken from the work of Fett and Ross, shows strength and ductility parameters as a function of the reduction ratio for normalized specimens of

readily than those with light passes.22The heavy passes were accomplished larger diameter cylindrical rolls. A study of the elimination of porosity in continuously cast slabs also emphasized that a combination of rolling reduction and

RATIOS Table I lists a number of investigations that have been designed to evaluatethe transition from cast to wrought mechanical behavior and structure in continuously cast steels. The criteria, as identified by each set of authors, differed for an effective transition. The criteria included an elimination of porosity, mechanical behavior characteristic of products produced from ingot cast steels or mechanical behavior that attained a stable high level as a function of increasing hot reduction. A number of the investigations of mechanical properties determined by tensile testing show yield and tensile strength are relatively insensitive to microstructural components introduced by solidification or hot work of the as-cast structures. 17, 18,21,24 However, the properties that measure ductility, such as reduction of area or total elongation, are sensitive to solidification structures and improve with increasing hot reduction. The ductility parameters are determined by ductile fracture mechanisms related to pore and inclusion distributions, and are adversely affected by thosedistributions in as-castspecimens.

1040 steel,24 As noted previously, ultimate strength and hardness are not degraded in as-cast structures, but elongation and reduction of area are reduced by the effects of solidification. Figure 13, from the same study, shows dependence reduction ductility of impact energy on the Both the impact ratio, similar to that of the parameters.

rolling shape factor (as related to radius of the work rolls) must be considered for the elimination of porosity.23 Another study was conducted on the effectiveness processes of various deformation central et al. on consolidating

and ductility measures of fracture resistance reach constant values at the low reduction properties, ratio of 3:1. Morris et al. show similar sets of data for tensile

looseness and voids in bars produced from strand-cast billets. Morris found that hammer forging restored full density at a nominal reduction ratio of 3:1.18 But, when continuous for hot deformation, forging, groove rolling and flat rolling were used reduction ratios of at least 5:1 were required. Figure 11, from the study by Schultz et al., shows in continuously cast 4140 bars subjected to a reduction ratio of 3:3, some residual center porosity persists in the bar produced from an unstirred billet. 17 No macroscopic evidence ofporosity is visible in the bar produced from an electromagnetically stirred billet, but

but greater variation in im-

pact properties in specimens is obtained from billets subjected to low reduction ratios of between 3:1 and 7:1.18 The studies of fatigue in as-cast and hot rolled continuously cast billets show that specimens from as-cast billets fail for one of two reasons: coarse as-cast columnar grain structure during or porosity

incorporated After relatively

solidification.17

small amounts of hot

reduction, the effects of residual solidification no longer playa significant role in the initiation of fatigue cracks. Inor stead, fatigue initiates at inclusions

surface defects, which are determined by steel cleanliness, specimen preparation and microstructure.

0
C')E () ... s 01

Heavy pass~

.02

/
.03
1 Rolling 15 Ratio 2 2.5

Figure 10 Density differences between core and surface zones of cast plates, shown as a function of reduction ratio and rolling severity, indicate that porosity is eliminated by relatively low reduction ratios!2

SEPTEMBER 1998 a

77

superheat and electromagnetic stirring. Deternlination of the success of these efforts must then be made on a case-bycase basis. The mechanical properties must be evaluated and demonstrate that the properties are adequate for the proposed application. This article has reviewed a number of technical papers on the effect of hot reduction on the properties of continuously cast steel. Two of the most comprehensive papers regarding mill processing were commissioned by the European Commission.18, 21 Producers and users of steels should perform more work to be published and evaluated. This work would enable the establishment of clear limits of the minimum amounts of hot reduction steel compositions, for specific steelmaking condi-

the Advanced Steel Processing and Products Research Center, a National Science Foundation Industry-University Cooperative Research Center at the Colorado School of Mines. ~
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tions and product applications. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS C.V. White acknowledges the support of American Iron and Steel Institute, Deere & Company, Chaparral Texas Steel Recycling, Caterpillar Inc. and Inland Steel Company. This support made possible a sabbatical leave from GMI Engineering and Management Kettering University) Institute (now at the Colorado ratio on

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