Influence of manganese and sulphur on overheating of some low-alloy steels

Abstract

An assessment has been made of the overheating behaviour of three low-alloy steels used in the electric power generating industries. The steels, 1Cr–Mo–V, 2·25Cr–1Mo, and 3·5Ni–Cr–Mo–V have been prepared as high-purity versions with low tramp element contents, sulphur contents of 0·001%, and manganese contents of 0·02 and 0·2%. For comparison, commercial steels produced by good practice and containing 0·006–0·011%S and 0·17–0·21%Mn have also been examined (all compositions in wt-%). The upper shelf energies of the high-purity versions of the steels in the fully heat treated condition indicate that these steels do not overheat after treatment at temperatures up to 1400°C, whereas the commercial versions do overheat and, in some cases, show a severe reduction in their impact energy levels. In some cases, the high-purity steels show an unusually low tendency to austenite grain growth after reheating at temperatures up to 1400°C. The results obtained show that new specifications for low–alloy steels could be developed which would give freedom from overheating during forging and greatly improved upper shelf energies after heat treatment.

MST/362