The Microstructure and Properties of 1215MS Low Carbon and High Sulfur Free-cutting Steel Wire Rod Before and After Cold Drawing
ZHENG Jiangpeng1, CHU Mingqiang1, WEN Shuwen1, ZHANG Shuyan1,2, ZHANG Peng1, ZHONG Shoujun3, ZHANG Zhiming3, LIN Yanmin3, HU Shouhao4
1 Centre for Excellence and Advanced Materials, Dongguan 523808, China 2 Songshan Lake Laboratory for Materials Science, Dongguan 523808, China 3 SGIS Songshan Co.,Ltd., Shaoguan 512123, China 4 Dongguan Wanxin Metal Products Co., Ltd., Dongguan 523560, China
Abstract: The microstructure and mechanical properties of 1215MS low carbon and high sulfur free cutting steel hot rolled wire rod and hexagonal bar made from it by cold drawing were studied by means of metallographic microscope, SEM, micro-hardness and tensile test in this paper. The results showed that the microstructure of 1215MS hot-rolled wire rod is ferrite + a small amount of pearlite. The strip-shaped MnS inclusions are distributed in parallel to the rolling direction within the ferrite matrix, and the wire rod has excellent tensile mechanical properties. After being cold drawn into hexagonal bar, the metallographic structure type did not change significantly, but the density of the MnS inclusions in the cross section was increased, and the grain size was refined, which was reduced by 1—1.5 μm compared with that before drawing. The grains and MnS inclusions in the longitudinal section were elongated along the deformation direction, forming banded structures. Compared with the wire rod, the strength of the hexagonal bar was increased by more than 50%, the hardness was nearly doubled, while the elongation was decreased by 85% substantially, showing a strong work hardening phenomenon.