Effect of Nb Content on Strength and Toughness of 25MnB Crawler Steel and Its Microstructural Characterization
To address the failure of 25MnB crawler track steel due to insufficient strength and toughness, this study designed a new type of 25MnB crawler track steel and investigated the effects of the Nb content on its mechanical properties, microstructure, dislocation evolution, and precipitation behavior....
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MDPI AG
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Metals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/15/5/490 |
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| author | Zixun He Jianjing Wang Houxin Wang Yajie Cui Zhengbing Meng Jiangbo Deng Meiqiao Wu Chaoyang Zhou Xinbin Liu |
| author_facet | Zixun He Jianjing Wang Houxin Wang Yajie Cui Zhengbing Meng Jiangbo Deng Meiqiao Wu Chaoyang Zhou Xinbin Liu |
| author_sort | Zixun He |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | To address the failure of 25MnB crawler track steel due to insufficient strength and toughness, this study designed a new type of 25MnB crawler track steel and investigated the effects of the Nb content on its mechanical properties, microstructure, dislocation evolution, and precipitation behavior. The experimental results show that, compared to 25MnB steel without Nb, the addition of 0.03% Nb significantly increased the yield strength of the experimental steel to 1450 MPa, with an elongation rate of 15.9%. The room-temperature impact energy showed a slight improvement, while the low-temperature impact absorption energy improved notably, reaching 36 J at −40 °C. The microstructural characterization and analysis revealed that increasing the Nb content refined the effective grain size of prior austenite and martensite. The (Nb, Ti)C precipitates provided a higher precipitation driving force, promoting the formation of precipitates and increasing the average dislocation density. Additionally, the increased proportion of high-angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) enabled grain boundaries and precipitates to jointly hinder crack propagation. This study demonstrates that Nb-Ti microalloying can effectively enhance the strength, toughness, and plasticity of track steel, demonstrating promising application prospects. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-591333ac9ca14abe96f6ed9bc278b03f |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2075-4701 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Metals |
| spelling | doaj-art-591333ac9ca14abe96f6ed9bc278b03f2025-08-20T01:56:20ZengMDPI AGMetals2075-47012025-04-0115549010.3390/met15050490Effect of Nb Content on Strength and Toughness of 25MnB Crawler Steel and Its Microstructural CharacterizationZixun He0Jianjing Wang1Houxin Wang2Yajie Cui3Zhengbing Meng4Jiangbo Deng5Meiqiao Wu6Chaoyang Zhou7Xinbin Liu8Key Lab of New Processing Technology for Nonferrous Metals and Materials, Ministry of Education, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, ChinaResearch Institute of Shandong Iron and Steel Co., Ltd., Jinan 271104, ChinaCITIC Metals Co., Ltd., Beijing 100004, ChinaKey Lab of New Processing Technology for Nonferrous Metals and Materials, Ministry of Education, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, ChinaKey Lab of New Processing Technology for Nonferrous Metals and Materials, Ministry of Education, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, ChinaKey Lab of New Processing Technology for Nonferrous Metals and Materials, Ministry of Education, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, ChinaKey Lab of New Processing Technology for Nonferrous Metals and Materials, Ministry of Education, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, ChinaSchool of Metallurgical Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhangjiagang 215600, ChinaSchool of Intelligent Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering, Hunan Institute of Technology, Hengyang 421002, ChinaTo address the failure of 25MnB crawler track steel due to insufficient strength and toughness, this study designed a new type of 25MnB crawler track steel and investigated the effects of the Nb content on its mechanical properties, microstructure, dislocation evolution, and precipitation behavior. The experimental results show that, compared to 25MnB steel without Nb, the addition of 0.03% Nb significantly increased the yield strength of the experimental steel to 1450 MPa, with an elongation rate of 15.9%. The room-temperature impact energy showed a slight improvement, while the low-temperature impact absorption energy improved notably, reaching 36 J at −40 °C. The microstructural characterization and analysis revealed that increasing the Nb content refined the effective grain size of prior austenite and martensite. The (Nb, Ti)C precipitates provided a higher precipitation driving force, promoting the formation of precipitates and increasing the average dislocation density. Additionally, the increased proportion of high-angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) enabled grain boundaries and precipitates to jointly hinder crack propagation. This study demonstrates that Nb-Ti microalloying can effectively enhance the strength, toughness, and plasticity of track steel, demonstrating promising application prospects.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/15/5/490microalloying25MnB crawler track steelmechanical propertiesNb contentprecipitation kineticsdislocation movement |
| spellingShingle | Zixun He Jianjing Wang Houxin Wang Yajie Cui Zhengbing Meng Jiangbo Deng Meiqiao Wu Chaoyang Zhou Xinbin Liu Effect of Nb Content on Strength and Toughness of 25MnB Crawler Steel and Its Microstructural Characterization Metals microalloying 25MnB crawler track steel mechanical properties Nb content precipitation kinetics dislocation movement |
| title | Effect of Nb Content on Strength and Toughness of 25MnB Crawler Steel and Its Microstructural Characterization |
| title_full | Effect of Nb Content on Strength and Toughness of 25MnB Crawler Steel and Its Microstructural Characterization |
| title_fullStr | Effect of Nb Content on Strength and Toughness of 25MnB Crawler Steel and Its Microstructural Characterization |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of Nb Content on Strength and Toughness of 25MnB Crawler Steel and Its Microstructural Characterization |
| title_short | Effect of Nb Content on Strength and Toughness of 25MnB Crawler Steel and Its Microstructural Characterization |
| title_sort | effect of nb content on strength and toughness of 25mnb crawler steel and its microstructural characterization |
| topic | microalloying 25MnB crawler track steel mechanical properties Nb content precipitation kinetics dislocation movement |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/15/5/490 |
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