Influence of Vanadium on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Medium-Carbon Steels for Wheels

Steels used for high-speed train wheels require a combination of high strength, toughness, and wear resistance. In 0.54% C-0.9% Si wheel steel, the addition of 0.075 or 0.12 wt % V can refine grains and increase the ferrite content and toughness, although the influence on the microstructure and toughness is complex and poorly understood. We investigated the effect of 0.03, 0.12, and 0.23 wt % V on the microstructure and mechanical properties of medium-carbon steels (0.54% C-0.9% Si) for train wheels. As the V content increased, the precipitation strengthening increased, whereas the grain refinement initially increased, and then it remained unchanged. The increase in strength and hardness was mainly due to V(C,N) precipitation strengthening. Increasing the V content to 0.12 wt % refined the austenite grain size and pearlite block size, and increased the density of high-angle ferrite boundaries and ferrite volume fraction. The grain refinement improved the impact toughness. However, the impact toughness then reduced as the V content was increased to 0.23 wt %, because grain refinement did not further increase, whereas precipitation strengthening and ferrite hardening occurred.