Metals Advances ›› 2026, Vol. 47: 39-51.DOI: 10.1016/j.metadv.2026.02.015
• Research Article • Previous Articles Next Articles
Li-Xi Xionga,b, Chong Gaob, Zi-Hao Chena,b, Zhi-Zhi Lianga,b, Jian-Chao Pangb,*(
), Jin-Shan Hec, Hui-Bin Wuc, Xiao-Wu Lia,*(
), Zhe-Feng Zhangb,*(
)
Received:2025-10-21
Accepted:2026-01-10
Online:2026-09-10
Published:2026-02-12
Contact:
*E-mail addresses: jcpang@imr.ac.cn (J.-C. Pang), xwli@mail.neu.edu.cn (X.-W. Li), zhfzhang@imr.ac.cn (Z.-F. Zhang).
Li-Xi Xiong, Chong Gao, Zi-Hao Chen, Zhi-Zhi Liang, Jian-Chao Pang, Jin-Shan He, Hui-Bin Wu, Xiao-Wu Li, Zhe-Feng Zhang. Reducing yield ratio while enhancing strength in 500 MPa grade wind power steel via intercritical annealing[J]. Metals Advances, 2026, 47: 39-51.
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| C | Si | Mn | P | S | Ni | Cr | Al | Nb | Ti |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.09 | 0.22 | 1.67 | 0.009 | 0.005 | 0.20 | 0.24 | 0.039 | 0.014 | 0.017 |
Table 1. Chemical composition of the experimental steel (wt%).
| C | Si | Mn | P | S | Ni | Cr | Al | Nb | Ti |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.09 | 0.22 | 1.67 | 0.009 | 0.005 | 0.20 | 0.24 | 0.039 | 0.014 | 0.017 |
Fig. 3. SEM images showing the microstructures in the specimens of AR (a), IA-720 (b), IA-750 (c), and IA-800 (d). Note that (a2)-(d2) are the high-magnification images of selected areas of (a1)-(d1), respectively.
Fig. 5. EBSD inverse pole figures maps (a1)-(d1), grain boundary misorientation distribution maps (a2)-(d2) and Kernel average misorientation maps (a3)-(d3) of different specimens: (a1)-(a3) AR; (b1)-(b3) IA-720; (c1)-(c3) IA-750; (d1)-(d3) IA-800.
Fig. 6. Phase volume fraction (a), average grain size of different phases (b), number fraction of different kinds of grain boundaries (c), and average KAM values (d) in different samples.
Fig. 8. Tensile properties and microhardness of AR, IA-720, IA-750 and IA-800. (a) Engineering stress-strain curves; (b) tensile strength and yield strength; (c) total elongation and uniform elongation; (d) microhardness.
| Samples | YS (MPa) | UTS (MPa) | YR | TE (%) | UE (%) | HV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AR | 622 ± 11 | 734 ± 2 | 0.85 ± 0.02 | 21.3 ± 0.5 | 6.2 ± 0.2 | 234 ± 6 |
| IA-720 | 537 ± 3 | 638 ± 5 | 0.84 ± 0.01 | 28.3 ± 0.3 | 9.3 ± 0.1 | 211 ± 6 |
| IA-750 | 524 ± 10 | 813 ± 13 | 0.64 ± 0.002 | 20.1 ± 0.2 | 8.5 ± 0.2 | 242 ± 16 |
| IA-800 | 459 ± 11 | 877 ± 7 | 0.52 ± 0.01 | 23.3 ± 1.0 | 8.6 ± 0.4 | 277 ± 9 |
Table 2. Experimental data of the mechanical properties of AR, IA-720, IA-750 and IA-800. Note that YS, UTS, YR, TE, UE and HV represent yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, yield ratio, total elongation, uniform elongation and Vickers hardness, respectively.
| Samples | YS (MPa) | UTS (MPa) | YR | TE (%) | UE (%) | HV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AR | 622 ± 11 | 734 ± 2 | 0.85 ± 0.02 | 21.3 ± 0.5 | 6.2 ± 0.2 | 234 ± 6 |
| IA-720 | 537 ± 3 | 638 ± 5 | 0.84 ± 0.01 | 28.3 ± 0.3 | 9.3 ± 0.1 | 211 ± 6 |
| IA-750 | 524 ± 10 | 813 ± 13 | 0.64 ± 0.002 | 20.1 ± 0.2 | 8.5 ± 0.2 | 242 ± 16 |
| IA-800 | 459 ± 11 | 877 ± 7 | 0.52 ± 0.01 | 23.3 ± 1.0 | 8.6 ± 0.4 | 277 ± 9 |
Fig. 10. Comparison of the tensile strength and yield ratio in this work with those of other steels processed by TMCP followed by various heat treatments.
Fig. 11. (a) Material constants b and N of different samples; (b) the experimental yield ratio and the calculated values of ln(b/N2) of different samples.
Fig. 12. The lnσ versus lnε plots (the Hollomon analysis) of the samples AR (a), IA-720 (b), IA-750 (c), and IA-800 (d), where the slope of line segment is equivalent to the value of strain hardening exponent n, and εtr is the transition strain between different deformation stages. The detailed data of n (e) and transition strain εtr (f) are also given here for comparisons.
Fig. 13. The ln(dσ/dε) versus lnσ plots (the modified C-J analysis) for the samples AR (a), IA-720 (b), IA-750 (c), and IA-800 (d), where the slope of line segment is equivalent to the value of 1−m, and εtr is the transition strain between different deformation stages. The variations of strain hardening exponent 1/m (e) and transition strain εtr (f) between the deformation stages above are also given here for comparisons.
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