Effect of Tempering Temperature on Microstructure and Properties of E690 Offshore Plate Steel Original Research Article

A new kind of Mn-Mo-Nb-Cu-B bainite steel which satisfied mechanical demands of E690 offshore plate steel was designed. The effect of two processes—thermomechanical control process (TMCP) + tempering (T) and thermomechanical control process (TMCP) + reheating and quenching (RQ) + tempering (T)—on microstructure and mechanical properties were studied by means of scan electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and electron back scatter diffraction (EBSD). The results showed that optimal mechanical properties were available when tempering at 550 °C for both processes. The microstructure of the TMCP + T treated sample tempering in the range of 450 to 550 °C for 1 h did not change dramatically yet the lath in the TMCP+RQ+T treated sample merged together and transformed into polygonal ferrite. At the same time, the sub-structure of grain bainite transformed from lath to cell-shape to refine grains with tempering temperature mounting. Lots of sub-grain boundaries were located within bainite and adjacent bainite grain boundaries were high angle.