The Effect of Accelerated Cooling on Microstructure and Impact Strength of S355J2 Quality Steels Used in Power Transmission Line Construction

Abstract

Heat treatment is the most commonly used production step which can change the overall mechanical properties of the material without changing the chemical composition. Among the heat treatment methods, accelerated cooling has been regarded as one of the most important method for obtaining good mechanical properties. Today, this method is used in the manufacture of thin pearlitic steel, double phase steel, bainitic steel in the production process of many different quality and size products from construction bar to profile. In the scope of this study, investigations were carried out on S355J2 equal angles section profiles produced by hot rolling method. It was observed that intensive inclusions were found in all of the materials and the mechanical strength could not be met at low rolling ratios. Particularly, these materials with low impact resistance have been subjected to accelerated cooling process in order to increase their impact strength. As a result of the accelerated cooling process, significant increases in impact strength have been observed, particularly with the change of microstructure.