Controlled cooling of steel wire rod: microstructural evolution and mechanical property correlations

摘要

Microstructural engineering is an interdisciplinary approach to the quantitative prediction of the thermal, microstructural and mechanical properties evolution of a metal subjected to a given thermomechanical process. Recent demands on the metals industry to improve product quality and performance, while at the same time reducing cost, have spurred the development of this methodology. The root of the microstructural engineering approach is imbedded in the mathematical model, which links the basic principles of the heat and mass transfer and microstructural phenomena to the operating process. In addition, both laboratory experiments and industrial trials are necessary to obtain empirical and semi-empirical relationships characterizing microstructural phenomena by which the model can be related to operating variables. By definition, microstructural engineering demands a quantitative characterization of the evolution of phases during the processing of any material and valid relationships among the material composition, microstructure and mechanical properties.