Effect of annealing time on solute carbon in ultralow-carbon Ti-V and Ti-Nb steels

The influence of annealing temperature and time on solute carbon levels was investigated in four ultralow-carbon (ULC) bake-hardenable steels; two Ti-V ULC steels with different V/C levels and two Ti-Nb ULC steels with different Nb/C levels. Internal-friction and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) techniques were used to understand the precipitation/dissolution behavior in the various steels. An effect of annealing time on the carbon Snoek-peak height was observed in both Ti-V steels and in the Ti-Nb steel having a lower Nb/C ratio. Despite differences between these steels resulting from their composition (and, thus, carbide Solubility) differences, after cold rolling and annealing at different temperatures, the maximum Snoek-peak height was achieved after annealing for shorter times in each instance, on the order of I minute. The highly stabilized Ti-Nb ULC steel with a higher Nb/C ratio did not show the effect because of the absence of solute carbon. For the Ti-V steels, most of the precipitates examined using STEM contained both Ti and V. The energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis indicated that both the Ti-V steels annealed at 845 degrees C for 1 minute have greater Ti/V ratios compared to their corresponding Ti-V steels in the as-received (hot-rolled) condition. This behavior is consistent with dissolution of carbides causing the carbon in solution to increase, as indicated by a greater carbon Snoek-peak height for both Ti-V steels in the annealed condition. The reduction in Snoek-peak height at longer annealing times is believed to be associated with segregation to lower-energy defect sites.