Influence of Ti on the hot ductility of Nb containing steels

Abstract

The influence of a low Ti addition, (~0.01%) on the hot ductility of Nb containing steels has been examined. For conventional cooling conditions in which an average cooling rate from the melting point to the test temperature was used, the ductility decreased markedly with the addition of Ti. However, when cooling conditions after melting were more in accord with the thermal heat treatment undergone by the strand during continuous casting, i.e. cooling is fast to begin with, reaches a minimum and then reheats, after which the temperature falls more slowly to the test temperature, the Ti addition was found to be beneficial.