Open AccessEffects of Rare Earth Elements (Ce, Y) on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of P20 Die Steel
Author(s) -
Dan Wu,
Qiang Hu,
Wei Chen,
Deping Lu,
Jin Zou,
Jianhua Guo,
Lijun Qi,
Lefei Sun
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of physics. conference series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.21
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1742-6596
pISSN - 1742-6588
DOI - 10.1088/1742-6596/2101/1/012085
Subject(s) - microstructure , carbide , ultimate tensile strength , materials science , martensite , metallurgy , optical microscope , rare earth , die (integrated circuit) , composite material , scanning electron microscope , nanotechnology
Electroslag remelting P20 die steels with different amount of CeO 2 or Y 2 O 3 additions have been investigated by using mechanical tests and scanning electronic microscope with energy dispersive spectrometry. The microstructure of P20 die steels is tempered martensite, in which plenty of carbides precipitate along the martensite laths. With addition of rare earth Ce or Y, the matrix microstructure is refined, the quantity of carbides is decreased, and the distribution of carbides becomes more uniform. As a result of these microstructural changes, both the impact energy and tensile strength increase with increasing rare earth content. The samples obtain optimum microstructure and mechanical properties when the amount of CeO 2 or Y 2 O 3 additions reach 4 wt.%. However, over-added CeO 2 or Y 2 O 3 (>4 wt.%) results in the increase of carbides quantity and the aggregation of carbides, which reduces the impact energy and tensile strength of the samples. Present study indicates that the optimum addition of CeO 2 and Y 2 O 3 for the P20 die steels is 4 wt.%.