In this study, the effects of Co content on the microstructure and Charpy impact properties of Fe-Cr-W ferritic/martensitic oxide dispersion strengthened (F/M ODS) steels are investigated. F/M ODS steels with 0–5 wt% Co are fabricated by mechanical alloying, followed by hot isostatic pressing, hot-rolling, and normalizing/tempering heat treatment. All the steels commonly exhibit two-phase microstructures consisting of ferrite and tempered martensite. The volume fraction of ferrite increases with the increase in the Co content, since the Co element considerably lowers the hardenability of the F/M ODS steel. Despite the lowest volume fraction of tempered martensite, the F/M ODS steel with 5 wt% Co shows the highest micro-Vickers hardness, owing to the solid solution-hardening effect of the alloyed Co. The high hardness of the steel improves the resistance to fracture initiation, thereby resulting in the enhanced fracture initiation energy in a Charpy impact test at – 40oC. Furthermore, the addition of Co suppresses the formation of coarse oxide inclusions in the F/M ODS steel, while simultaneously providing a high resistance to fracture propagation. Owing to these combined effects of Co, the Charpy impact energy of the F/M ODS steel increases gradually with the increase in the Co content.

In this study, effects of carbon and nickel on microstructure and low temperature Charpy impact properties of HSLA (high strength low alloy) steels are investigated. To understand the complex phase transformation behavior of HSLA steels with high strength and toughness before and after welding processes, three kinds of HSLA steels are fabricated by varying the carbon and nickel content. Microstructure analysis, low temperature Charpy impact test, and Vickers hardness test are performed for the base metals and CGHAZ (coarse-grain heat affected zone) specimens. The specimens with the lowest carbon and nickel content have the highest volume fraction of AF, the lowest volume fraction of GB, and the smallest GB packet size. So, the low temperature Charpy absorbed energy of the CGHAZ specimen is the highest. The specimens with increased carbon and nickel content have the lowest volume fraction of AF, the highest volume fraction of GB, and the largest GB packet size. So, the low temperature Charpy absorbed energy of the CGHAZ specimen is the lowest.

In this study, the correlation between microstructure and Charpy impact properties of FCAW(Flux cored arc welding) HAZ(Heat affected zone) of thick steel plates for offshore platforms was investigated. The 1/4 thickness(1/4t) location HAZ specimen had a higher volume fraction of bainite and finer grain size of acicular ferrite than those of the 1/2 thickness (1/2t) location HAZ specimen because of the post heat effect during the continuous FCAW process. The Charpy impact energy at -20 oC of the 1/4t location HAZ specimen was lower than that of the 1/2t location HAZ specimen because of the high volume fraction of coarse bainite. The Charpy impact energy at -40 and -60 oC of the 1/2t location HAZ specimen were higher than those of the 1/2t location HAZ specimen because the ductile fracture occurred in the fine acicular ferrite and martensite regions. In the ductile fracture mode, the deformed regions were observed in fine acicular ferrite and martensite regions. In the brittle fracture mode, long crack propagation path was observed in bainite regions.

The effect of C, Mn, and Al additions on the tensile and Charpy impact properties of austenitic high-manganese steels for cryogenic applications is investigated in terms of the deformation mechanism dependent on stacking fault energy and austenite stability. The addition of the alloying elements usually increases the stacking fault energy, which is calculated using a modified thermodynamic model. Although the yield strength of austenitic high-manganese steels is increased by the addition of the alloying elements, the tensile strength is significantly affected by the deformation mechanism associated with stacking fault energy because of grain size refinement caused by deformation twinning and mobile dislocations generated during deformation-induced martensite transformation. None of the austenitic high-manganese steels exhibit clear ductile-brittle transition behavior, but their absorbed energy gradually decreases with lowering test temperature, regardless of the alloying elements. However, the combined addition of Mn and Al to the austenitic high-manganese steels suppresses the decrease in absorbed energy with a decreasing temperature by enhancing austenite stability.

샤피 V-노치 충격 하중-변위 곡선으로부터 얻은 균열정지하중을 이용하여 원자로압력용기강의 균열정지파괴인성(KIa)을 예측할 수 있는 방법을 모색하고 그 타당성을 고찰하였다. 샤피충격 하중-변위 곡선으로부터 얻은 균열정지하중값의 변화는 특성온도로 보정된 지수함수의 형태로 잘 표현될 수 있었다. 특성온도 TPa=2kN은 실험적인 무연성천이온도(TNDT) 및 T41 J과 높은 상관성을 나타냈으며, 원자로압력용기강의 균열정지파괴인성을 표현하는 새로운 특성온도로 사용할 수 있을 것으로 판단되었다. 또한 균열정지하중값의 변화는 파면으로부터 측정된 안정균열길이의 변화와 매우 높은 상관성을 나타내었다. 따라서 무딘 노치를 갖는 시편에 대한 계장화샤피충격시험을 통하여 균열정지하중 및 안정균열길이를 측정하믈써 비교적 정확하게 원자로압력용기강에 대한 하한값의 파괴인성치(KIa)를 평가하는 것이 가능한 것으로 판단되었다.