Evaluation of Adhesion of Oxide Scale by Tensile Test

In the hot rolling process, the external appearance of steel can deteriorate due to spalling of oxide scales. We used a tensile test in order to evaluate and quantify the adhesion of the scales in the hot rolling process. When loaded with tensile stress, the behavior of the scales goes through the following three stages: 1 The scales have only residual stress 2 The scales and the steel are both elastically deformed 3 The scales are elastically deformed but the steel is plastically deformed. For these three stages, the strain energy accumulated in the scales before spalling was calculated and then the adhesion energy was derived. For about 4 μm thick scales on 99.9% Fe and Fe–1.0%C the adhesion energies were 1.70 J/m2 and 36.2 J/m2, respectively. The adhesion energies determined by a scratch test were 2.90 J/m2, and 31.6 J/m2 each. Thus, the results of the two tests are approximately in agreement. [doi:10.2320/jinstmet.JBW201603]