Characterization of X80 Grade Linepipe Steel Coil With 24 mm Thickness

High strength and high toughness at low temperatures on heavy wall thickness skelp is required to build high pressure gas transportation pipelines. Detailed mechanical and microstructural characterization was carried on 24mm thick ArcelorMittal X80 coils in order to identify the microstructure control required to reach high toughness as determined by the shear fracture appearance after DWTT testing. Detailed microstructural characterization through thickness reveals that the microstructure gradient described by a systematic increase of the average grain size between surface and middle thickness of the strip and the increment of the volume fraction of M/A (martensite/ retained austenite) are the key microstructural parameters to control in order to ensure the adequate toughness of the material. The obtained high toughness of the coils indicates that the microstructure, controlled by an optimized rolling and cooling practice, is homogeneous through thickness of heavy wall linepipe grades.