High-strength steel wire material exhibiting excellent cold-drawing properties, and high-strength steel wire

摘要

A technique with which air blast cooling can be used to produce a high-strength steel wire material that achieves uniform high strength and high ductility, even when cold drawn; a high-strength steel wire produced from this high-strength steel wire material; and a zinc-plated high-strength steel wire. This high-strength steel wire material includes 0.80-1.3% of C, 0.1-1.5% of Si, 0.1-1.5% of Mn, more than 0% but not more than 0.03% of P, more than 0% but not more than 0.03% of S, 0.0005-0.01% of B, 0.01-0.10% of Al, and 0.001-0.006% of N, the remainder being iron and unavoidable impurities. The area ratio of pearlite in the structure of the high-strength steel wire material is at least 90%. The average grain size number (P_ave) of pearlite nodules and the standard deviation (Pσ) thereof respectively satisfy formula (1), namely 7.0≦P_ave≦10.0, and formula (2), namely Pσ≦0.6.