Ji Li

With the development of the petroleum industry, the demand for materials for oilfield equipment is becoming increasingly stringent. The strength increase brought about by time strengthening is limited in meeting the needs of equipment development. The GH3625 alloy with different strength levels can be obtained through cold deformation and heat treatment processes. A study should be carried out to further develop the potential mechanical properties of GH3625. In this study, the GH3625 alloy was cold drawn with different reductions in area (0–30%) and heat treated, and its mechanical properties were tested. The microstructure of the alloy during deformation and heat treatment was characterized by methods such as optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) based on the principles of physical metallurgy. The strength increase caused by dislocation strengthening was calculated from the dislocation density, tested by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The calculated value was compared to the measured value, elucidating the strengthening effect of cold deformation and heat treatment. The results showed that the yield strength and yield ratio of the cold-drawn alloy significantly reduced after aging at 650 °C and 760 °C. Heat treatment can make a cold-deformed material recover, ablate dislocations, and greatly reduce the dislocation density in the microstructure of the GH3625 alloy, which was the main factor in the decrease in yield strength. The work-hardening gradient of the cold-drawn material varied greatly with different reductions in area. When the reduction in area was small (10%), the hardness gradient was obvious. When it increased to 30%, the alloy was uniformly strengthened as the deformation was transmitted to the axis. This study can provide more mechanical performance options for GH3625 alloy structural components in the petrochemical industry.

The 9–12% Cr ferritic–martensitic heat-resistant steel is the main candidate structural material for the Lead-cooled Faster Reactor. The lower Gibbs free energy change of Si oxide can promote the formation of a stable oxide layer, which can improve the corrosion resistance of the material. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the effect of silicon (Si) on the corrosion resistance of T91 steel in lead–bismuth eutectic (LBE). The corrosion resistance of T91 steel with Si contents of 0.5 wt.%, 1.3 wt.%, and 2.0 wt.%, both in dynamic and static LBE at 550 °C, was investigated. The microstructure was analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM), while the oxide films were characterized by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA). Results show that the addition of Si is conducive to improving the corrosion resistance of T91 steel in LBE. T91 steel with high Si content has a thinner and more stable oxide film. The change of Si content can change the contact angle between the steel and LBE, and the contact angle is the largest when the Si content is 1.3 wt.%. The Si-rich oxide layer is usually located in the inner oxide layer, which promotes the formation of a Cr oxide layer located in the internal oxidation zone (IOZ). Si will not enter the precipitated phase, but only change the ferrite content. The oxidation model of T91 steel containing Si in LBE was also proposed.