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Microstructure Evolution and Origin of Surface Cracks Induced

during Processing of Microalloyed Steels

Conference Paper · February 2016

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 Microstructure Evolution and Origin of Surface Cracks
Induced During Processing of Microalloyed Steels
S.N. Ojha
Department of Metallurgical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU),
Varanasi-221005, India
E-mail: snojha.met@iitbhu.ac.in

ABSTRACT

Past two decades have witnessed a number of innovations in processing of steels. This
has arisen due to stringent requirements of quality of finished products in automotive and
gas pipeline applications. Amongst various processing methodologies available, the CSP
process has attracted attention in recent years. The process involves continuous casting of
thin slabs followed by their direct rolling in a four to six strand rolling mill. The salient
features of this process is discussed and compared with that of conventional routes of
strips production. Possible examples are cited from the controlled rolling of microalloyed
steels. It is shown that the production time is considerably reduced in this process with
an effective control of the microstructural features beginning with the casting stage to
the strip rolling. The process parameters that control the transition from polygonal ferrite
morphology to fine acicular ferrite during controlled rolling are highlighted. In addition,
formation of hairline cracks on surface of strip is viewed in terms of temperature and
deformation during hot working of the steel stock and differential cooling at the surface
and centre of the strip during accelerated cooling.

KEYWORDS: Microalloyed Steel, CSP Process, Solidification, Austenite, Microstructure

INTRODUCTION the slab during continuous casting leads to

formation of fine grained microstructure of
A large number of processing steps and austenite phase with considerable chemical
high energy consumption associated with and microstructural homogeneity of the
conventional Ingot Metallurgy route have slab. The slab is subsequently homogenized
given way to the development of new energy in a roller-hearth furnace during continuous
efficient production processes. Amongst movement prior to direct rolling into strips
several such processes, the Compact Strip in a six strand rolling mill. The cooling
Production (CSP) process has created rate of the hot rolled strip can be controlled
considerable interest in processing of hot following:
rolled strips[1-4] of microcrystalline steels.
Basically, the process involves continuous Laminar or accelerated cooling process [5,6].
casting of thin slabs and their direct hot An effective control of the microstructure of
rolling into strips. High cooling rate of the strips in this way leads to improvement
in their mechanical properties. Other than
Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Thermo-mechanical Simulation
and Processing of Steels (SimPro ’16), 10-12 February 2016 : Ranchi, India
 Microstructure Evolution and Origin of Surface Cracks Induced During Processing of Microalloyed Steels 415
process benefits several metallurgical
benefits of thin slab casting process has been
reported. These include less production
time, considerable saving in energy besides
effective control of the microstructure
during continuous casting of slabs and
hot rolling of strips. The process, earlier
developed for processing of thin strips of a
plain carbon steel with low carbon content,
is being used now for production of hot
trips of a variety of steels. These steels find
application in automotives.
The thermal cycles and deformation
schedule of slabs during hot rolling used
in CSP process have been compared with
conventional continuous casting process[4].
The phase transformation involving
austenite to ferrite phase during cooling
of the slab and ferrite to austenite during
reheating of the slab in a conventional
continuous casting route of steel production
have been found to result in considerable
refinement in grain size of the austenite
prior to hot rolling. These changes are not
facilitated in the slabs of CSP process due
to lack of phase changes prior to hot rolling.
The resultant evolution of the microstructure
during hot rolling of microalloyed steels in
this process has been earlier reported[7-9].
A high degree of deformation in the initial
passes, slow speed of rolling, low finish
rolling temperature and accelerated cooling
are shown to result in improvement of
properties of the strips. An exercise of
such controls in CSP process has led to
development of several microalloyed
steels with considerable improvement in
their strength and ductility. The genesis of
the CSP process and its application in hot
rolling of strips of microalloyed steels are
discussed.
Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Thermo-mechanical Simulation
and Processing of Steels (SimPro ’16), 10-12 February 2016 : Ranchi, India
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
The production methodology following
Ingot Metallurgy route involves a large
number of processing steps, high energy
consumption and low yield of the finished
strips. There has been a quest to develop
efficient production processes to achieve
low cost of the end products. A paradigm
shift in steel technology is considered to
have taken place in sixties with introduction
of continuous casting method that reduced
the processing steps with consequent
increase in yield of strip production. The
microalloyed steels were also introduced in
process line during the same period. Several
institutions and R&D organization directed
their researches in establishing the process
conditions employed to achieve fine grain
microstructure of polygonal ferries. These
efforts continued for several years in the
bulk production of microalloyed steels.
However, another paradigm change in steel
technology occurred during nineties with
development of Compact Strip Production
(CSP) technology. In this process, a this
slab is produced by continuous casting
route followed by homogenization of the
slab in a tunnel furnace and its direct rolling
into strip. The process led to considerable
decrease in production time, savings in
energy and increased in overall yield of
production.
The early development of CSP process is
based on the designs of SchlömannSiemag
Ag (SMS) in Germany, where it was
tested on a pilot plant basis starting in
1985. However, the first commercial unit
was ordered by NUCOR late in 1986, and
construction was started at Crawfordsville,
Indiana, in 1987. In July 1989, the first
416 Thermo-mechanical Simulation and Processing of Steels
compact strip production (CSP) plant started
up and a year later, in June 1990, profitable
operations were first attained. Almost at the
same time development of CSP process,
the In-line Strip Production(ISP) was under
intensive development by then Mannesmann
Demag AG and Arvedi Group. Now, both
the technologies have since long achieved
worldwide recognition.
Though there are slight differences in
the layouts of the two strip production
technologies, both of them cast the steel
into a thin gage, reheat it, and roll it into
finish gage in a limited number of passes,
thus greatly reducing the production
stages and lower the energy consumption.
Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of the
CSP process.
Fig. 1: Schematic diagram of an integrated
production line of the CSP process showing
sequence of processing and temperature
equilibration of the slabs followed by its hot
rolling.
The CSP plants have usually 4–6 strands,
with a few of them use 5-strand or 7-strand
layouts. CSP plants come with profile and
flatness control systems adopting the well-
known CVC technology for adjustment.
These developments are considered to be
a paradigm shift in steel processing and
revolutionized the steel processing at the
end of the last century. Some thin gauges
that conventionally have to be produced by
Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Thermo-mechanical Simulation
and Processing of Steels (SimPro ’16), 10-12 February 2016 : Ranchi, India
cold rolling, can be obtained now from hot
rolling with the new CSP process, which can
roll strips up to 0.7–0.8 mm thick gauges.
A great feature of the CSP is the short
production circle compared with the
conventional ingot or continuous casting
processes. The cast-rolling capability
compares with that of other new processes.
The overall CSP plant is only 600 meter
long from liquid steel to finished coil, with
a production cycle of only less than 3.0
hours. Production capacity is in the range
of 0.8–1.0 million tons for one casting line,
and up to 2 million tons for two casting
lines. The CSP plants have usually 6 stands,
with a few them use 5-stand or 7-stand
layouts. CSP plants come with profile and
flatness control systems adopting the CVC
technology for adjustment.
PROCESSING CONDITIONS
The steel containing microalloying elements
such as Nb and V require special care for
their processing both during continuous
casting as well as during homogenization
and hot rolling. The composition of the
steel used in the present investigation
consisted of 0.07C-1.5Mn-0.2Si-0.04V-
0.03Nb. A rapid freezing of the melt was
ensured during continuous casting to form
a stable skin. This was facilitated by using
high pressure water circulation through the
copper mold. In addition, rapid formation
of a slag layer between the inner surface of
the mold and solid skin rapidly takes place
during melting of the mold flux. This effect
facilitates smooth withdrawal of the slab
at rate varying from 4.0 to 6.0 ms–1 in this
process. A typical comparison in process
 Microstructure Evolution and Origin of Surface Cracks Induced During Processing of Microalloyed Steels 417
conditions of slabs in CSP process with
that of conventional continuous casting
is presented in Table 1. As it is evident,
the CSP process employs a much higher
withdrawal rate of the slab compare to that
of the conventional continuous casting
process. This condition facilitates high
production rate in CSP process.
Table 1: A comparison in process conditions
and product characteristics in conventional
continuous casting and CSP processes.
Process CCC
Slab Thickness (mm) 210–250
Slab Withdrawal Rate 0.90–1.2
(m/min)
Austenite grain size Fine
Inclusion size Large
Macrosegregation High
Reduction Ratio High
Nitrogen Content Low
Total processing time 3–4 days
The higher cooling rate resulting from large
specific surface area of this slabs results
in formation of thin solid cell holding
the liquid in the core of the slab before it
emerges from the mold. Nevertheless, the
problems of break-out and surface cracks
are not ruled out and form specific features
of this process. It is important to note that
the austenite grain size in finer due to high
cooling rate. However, in a conventional
continuous casting process, the slab is
cooled down to room temperature and
further homogenized prior to hot rolling.
As a consequence, the phase transformation
due to the above thermal cycling from
austenite to ferrite-pearlite and further to
austenite results in grain refinement of
Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Thermo-mechanical Simulation
and Processing of Steels (SimPro ’16), 10-12 February 2016 : Ranchi, India
austenite phase prior to hot rolling of the
slabs. In order to achieve grain refinement
in austenite phase during hot rolling, a
high degree of deformation is required in
this process at the early passes to achieve
complete dynamic recrystallization of the
steel during hot rolling of microalloyed
steels. The total degree of deformation
was varied from 30 to 60% at two different
temperatures of 1060 and 1100ºC. These
process variables were finally selected based
of several initial runs with an objective to
CSP achieve uniform grain size.
30–60
4.0–6.0
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Coarse Origin of Surface Cracks
Reduced
Low The success of producing a defect free slab
Low depends on the steel composition, degree
High of melt superheat, inclusion content and
3–4 hrs optimum withdrawal rate of the slabs.
Sometimes, the trace elements like Sn and
Sb present from scrap charge and Mn V or
S causes destabilization of the skin leading
to surface cracks or ultimately breakout of
the liquid during slab casting process. The
example of surface cracks and their pattern
on slab surface is shown in Figs. 2(a) and
(b). The formation of massive carbides
rising from microsegregation of alloying
elements may also hinder the growth of
solid skin during freezing of the melt in
the mould. A typical microstructure of the
slab surface revealing the prior austenite
boundary is shown in Fig. 2(c).The resulting
austenite grain size is estimated to vary from
500–1200 μm, the finer grain size being on
the surface and courser towards the center.
The hair line defects are the network of thin
418 Thermo-mechanical Simulation and Processing of Steels
cracks formed probably at the austenite
grain boundaries during casting and tunnel
treatment. Austenite grain boundaries
coming out at the surface are the preferential
site for oxidation and form delta-like on the
cross section. The EPMA results revealed
that these areas are enriched with Si, Cu
and Ca. This result indicate that the grain
boundaries at the surface, with higher
concentration of impurity elements, may
react with Si and Ca from casting powder
and form low melting eutectics which may
then penetrate along grain boundaries.
Fig. 2: Surface cracks on CSP cast slab showing
(a) deep routed cracks (b) stringer cracks.
Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Thermo-mechanical Simulation
and Processing of Steels (SimPro ’16), 10-12 February 2016 : Ranchi, India
Fig. 3: Microstructure showing prior austenite
boundary in cast slab and centreline segregation.
The second possibility is that this enrichment
is formed during oxidation when these
elements continuously accumulate at the
steel surface. At high Si concentration a
fayalite Fe2SiO4 layer may form[10,11]. At
temperatures higher than 1178ºC a molten
phase may be generated from fayalite and
FeO with rapid localised oxidation causing
a delta-like surface defects. Fayalite
has a strong bonding to steel substrate.
Therefore, the primary scale with fayalite
is not easy to remove during descaling.
The slab subsequent to casting is passed
through a scale breaker wherein a high
speed water spray facilitates scale removal.
The slab is subsequently passed through a
180 m long roller hearth furnace or tunnel
furnace wherein the temperature of the oil
fired furnace is maintained at 1100ºC. The
speed of the rollers during movement of
the slab is controlled in such a way that it
takes 20–25 minutes for the slab to reach
at the other end of the furnace before this
enters into a six stand rolling mill. The
temperature equilibration of slabs and its
composition homogenization takes place
 Microstructure Evolution and Origin of Surface Cracks Induced During Processing of Microalloyed Steels 419
within 25 minutes. The slab surface during
this process of homogenization results in
decarburization of steel around the cracked
surfaces leading to multiple cracks as shown
in Fig. 2(b).
A combined effect of thermal and
transformation stresses also contribute to
surface cracks during hot rolling processes.
This behaviour is further pronounced
during rolling thick strips and accelerated
cooling. As a consequence of high cooling
rate at the surface of the strip, the austenite
phase undergoes phase transformation to
ferrite-pearlite aggregate leading to volume
changes. The center of the strip still remains
in austenite phase with its progressive
cooling. During this stage, the surface is
subjected to compressive stress conditions
whereas the center in tensile stress
conditions. At a later stage, the austenite
phase at the center undergoes phase change
leading to a compressive stress condition.
The stress reversal generates a tensile
stress condition of the surface. The effect
facilitates opening of the flaws into deep
cracks on the surface of the strip. A careful
examination of microstructural features
with or without a carburization zone can be
used to identify the cracks that are formed
either during slab casting stage or during
rolling of the strips.
Microstructure Evolution
The results of the investigation conducted in
the CSP plant as well as that in a laboratory
scale rolling provide a better insight into
understanding of the microstructural
evolution during controlled rolling of
microalloyed steel.
Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Thermo-mechanical Simulation
and Processing of Steels (SimPro ’16), 10-12 February 2016 : Ranchi, India
The deformation of the slabs is carried
out directly in a six strand hot strip mill
against the intermediate roughing mills
in conventional casting route. Since the
austenite grains in this process are not
subjected to phase changes, the only option
to reduce the austenite grains is through
large deformation of the slab in the initial
passes in the first and second strands of the
hot strip mill. More than 40% deformation
and slow rolling of microalloyed steel
slabs have been found beneficial due to
dynamic recrystallization of austenite and
consequent grain refinement as shown in
Figs. 4(a) and (b). The deformation in the
third and fourthstrandsis avoided to reduce
the chances of partial recrystallization of
austenite and formation of mixed grain
microstructure. The deformation in partial
recrystallization zone has been observed to
induce a mixed ferrite grain microstructure
resulting in reduced toughness of
steels. Subsequent deformation at lower
temperature in the subsequent strand below
the recrystallization temperature of the steel
causes elongation of the austenite grains.
The finish rolling temperature of the strip is
carried out at 800 to 850ºC[12,13].
420 Thermo-mechanical Simulation and Processing of Steels
Fig 4: Microstructure of steel hot rolled at
1100ºC with (a) 30% reduction and (b) 50%
reduction showing equiaxed grain.
A typical equiaxed fine grain microstructure
of ferrite is shown in Fig. 4(a) in the
steels rolled at 1100ºC. In contrast, the
steel rolled at lower temperature with
relatively more degree of deformation
exhibited ferrite morphology with more
aspect ratio as evident in Fig. 4b. In some
of the experiments the strip is subjected to
accelerated cooling after the finish rolling
pass. In this schedule of processing the
steel resulted in bainitic microstructure
of the strip as shown in Fig. 5(a) and
(b). This effect provided considerable
improvement in strength and toughness
of the steels. However, a higher finish
rolling temperature resulted in tendency
of the carbides to undergo spherodization.
Such features are clearly delineated in the
microstructure shown in Fig. 5(b). A highly
deformed austenite leads to considerable
increase in nucleation frequency of ferrite
grains during cooling of the strip. The
highly corrugated grain boundary of ferrite
together with deformation bands give rise
to increased nucleation rate of ferrite.
Consequently, due to spatial constraint
Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Thermo-mechanical Simulation
and Processing of Steels (SimPro ’16), 10-12 February 2016 : Ranchi, India
grains growing from different sites converse
at common interfaces restricting grain
growth. A large number of earlier researches
provide evidences for the high energy
grain boundary, deformation bands giving
rise to fine grain microstructure of ferrite
grains[14-16]. Niobium as microalloying
element has been considered to be more
effective in raising the recrystallization
temperature of the steel compared to other
elements like V and Ti. This characteristic
of Nb has been utilized in warm rolling
of steel in a non-recrystallization zone. In
addition, Nb also controls the austenite
grain size by pinning the grain boundaries
during homogenization of the slab in the
tunnel furnace. Furthermore, ultrafine NbC
arising from strain induced precipitation
contribute to restrict the austenite grain
growth during hot rolling of steel. A
proper control of these features facilitates
controlled rolling schedule specifically
associated with Nb containing microalloyed
steels. Other microalloying elements
e.g V and Ti facilitate solid solution and
precipitation strengthening in steels. In
summary, the CSP route of steel processing
provides several beneficial effects related to
properties of products other than processing
benefits.
 Microstructure Evolution and Origin of Surface Cracks Induced During Processing of Microalloyed Steels 421
Fig. 5: Effect of accelerated cooling on
(a) bainitic microstructure (a) coarse bainite
and (b) spherodization of carbide.
CONCLUSIONS
1. CSP process is an emerging technology
of production of hot rolled strips. The
process initially developed based on
scrap based EAF steel making process
coupled with continuous casting of
thin slab and its direct hot rolling are
being applied for production of a wide
variety of steel strips.
2. A lower processing time between
steel making to finished strips, less
energy consumption and high yield of
the product makes CSP an attractive
viable alternative to conventional
continuous process.
3. A lower slab thickness and high
withdrawal rate of slab in CSP process
compared to that of conventional
continuous casting process
necessitates an altogether a different
strategies in processing of strips from
surface defects.
Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Thermo-mechanical Simulation
and Processing of Steels (SimPro ’16), 10-12 February 2016 : Ranchi, India
4. Accelerated cooling of the strip after
the finish rolling provides bainitic
microstructure. The carbides of
bainite exhibit a tendency to acquire
globular morphology in strip arising
from higher finish rolling temperature.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The work carried out in the present work
is part of the institute-industry interaction
between IIT(BHU), Varanasi and Ispat
Industries Ltd. Dolvi during sabbatical leave
of the investigator. The provision to use the
laboratory facility of the Department of
Metallurgical Engineering at the IIT(BHU)
is acknowledged.
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