Influence of Vanadium Content on Bainitic Transformation of a Low-Carbon Boron Steel During Continuous Cooling

The phase transformation behaviors during continuous cooling of low-carbon boron steels with different vanadium contents were studied by means of dilatometric measurement and microstructure observation. The bainite transformation behavior is not noticeably altered when the vanadium content is 0.042 and 0.086 wt%, and these steels exhibit full bainitic microstructure even at a cooling rate of 5 °C/s. When vanadium content is increased to 0.18 wt%, ferrite is still present in the microstructure even at a cooling rate of 40 °C/s. Vickers hardness of the steels with 0.042 and 0.086 wt% V is remarkably higher than that of the steel with 0.18 wt% V at a cooling rate higher than 10 °C/s, and the difference is increased with the increase in cooling rate. Moreover, the amount of coarse vanadium precipitates formed in austenite is increased with the increase in vanadium content. The optimum content of vanadium to obtain bainitic microstructure is 0.086 wt% in this experimental low-carbon boron steels.