Through Process Modelling from Casting to Mechanical Properties for Line Pipe Steels

The final properties of hot rolled steel strip strongly depend on the full process history, due to complicated interactions of processes like segregation during solidification, grain growth during reheating (which depends on segregation) and recrystallization during rolling (which depends on segregation and grain size); the true worth of all currently available sub models for individual processes can only be assessed after integration into a through process model. For modern (high strength) steel grades requiring a complex mix of mechanical properties, like toughness and formability as well as strength, models based on average quantities (such as average grain size) are no longer sufficient. Instead 3D microstructure evolution and mechanical response models are required. Some of these 3D models have been developed in recent years but have not been combined into a through process model. Therefore most of the required building blocks of a sophisticated integrated model are available. This project will set up a physical 3D integrated through process model linking process variables to final product microstructure, specifically grain size distributions and hence toughness properties, in hot rolled line pipe grades.

The project links to the EPSRC research area:
Materials engineering - metals and alloys