Microstructure–Property Relationship in 22mm Thick X80 Coil Skelp

The progress in the development of heavy gauge X80 linepipe steel on coil at ArcelorMittal was recently rewarded with a 6000 ton commercial order for the production of 21.6mm wall thickness spiral welded pipe. The further product development is concentrating on the improvement of the impact toughness at low temperatures. Research is currently focussing on the relationship between the mechanical properties and the microstructure of the steels. In the present study, two industrially hot rolled X80 steels with thickness 21.6mm were investigated. The steels had the same chemical composition but were processed with different parameter sets in the hot strip mill. The two resulting low-carbon bainitic microstructures were composed predominantly of quasi-polygonal ferrite and globular bainitic ferrite / bainitic ferrite, respectively. Emphasis of the microstructure and property characterisation was laid on through-thickness gradients of grain size, hardness, texture, impact toughness and tensile properties. Accordingly, the materials were characterised at different positions in the thickness. Grain size and texture were determined by means of Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD). Sub-size Charpy as well as sub-thickness tensile test specimens were taken at different positions in the cross section. The results show that the link between microstructure and properties is not at all obvious. The influence of mean grain size, grain size distribution and texture is discussed in detail.