Wire rod & Delamination

Wire manufacturing

Delamination
Manufacturing process
 Manufacturing process of wire rods

Hot Metal Converter Ladle Arc Furnace

BOF(basic oxygen furnace) Pretreatment Si deoxidation Chemical compositions
EAF(electric arc furnace) Removing P & S Removing [O] Controlling [N]

RF Degasser
Removing [N] or [H]

Continuous Casting
Bloom Billet
Wire rod rolling
 Manufacturing process of wire rods

Hot
Billet Rolling

Wire Rod

Phase transformation
Wire drawing

Dry drawing & Wet drawing

Wire drawing
Trends in the development of high strength steel wires

Strength of Pearlite

V f f (1 V f ) C

Embury-Fisher Equation
ky
o exp
2So 4

Increase the initial strength

Increase the drawing strain
 Manufacturing steel wires

Lubricant Coating

The Occurrence
of Delamination
during Stranding

Stranding
Microstructure of Deformed Pearlite
Microstructure of Deformed Pearlite

(a) = 0.61 (b) = 1.19

(c) = 2.06 (d) = 2.63

Microstructure of Deformed Pearlite

(a) = 0.61 (b) = 1.19

(c) = 2.06 (d) = 2.63

Delamination
Torsion Test

Ductile materials fail in shear Brittle materials generally weak in

when subjected to torsion. tension than in shear. When

Specimens will break along a subjected to torsion a specimen

plane perpendicular to its tents to break along surfaces

longitudinal axis which are perpendicular to the

direction in which tension is
maximum.
F F
The longitudinal splitting into several layers in the wire during stranding

Stranding The Occurrence

of Delamination
during Stranding

1) Development of texture
2) Development of residual stress

3) Drawing conditions
: Die Geometry, Reduction per pass, Environmental pressure friction,
Drawing speed, Wire Diameter
4) Cementite Decomposition (dynamic aging)
5) Surface defects
 Development of texture : The formation of different texture
between surface area and center region in drawn wires.

Development of residual stress : The formation tensile residual

stress at surface area in drawn wires.

Occurrence of dynamic aging (cementite decomposition) : The

decrease of the ductility of lamellar ferrite in drawn wires.

Formation of cracks at wire surfaces or boundaries of pearlite

colonies in drawn wires.
Texture
1) Fiber texture : center region, <110>
2) Circular texture : middle area, <110> {110}
3) Surface texture : surface area, <110> {112} : cylindrical texture
The size of three zones depends on the die angle and the friction force.

Trans. temp. Interlamellar spacing Texture behavior

Improvementof the Torsional Properties of Drawn High Carbon Steel
Wire by the Control of Pearlitic Microstructure
ISIJ International, Vol. 29 (1989). No. 8, pp. 687-694
Y. KANETSUK, Y. HIRA, R. OGAWA

(A) Surface, conventional method

(B) Surface, new method
(C) Intermediate, conventional method
(D) Intermediate, new method

Delamination is controlled by
{110} <114> texture formation
and the crystallographic
property of pearlite.

Fig. 9. (110) pole figures of the surface and intermediate layers of drawn
wires patented by the conventional and new methods.
 Development of texture : The formation of different texture
between surface area and center region in drawn wires.

Development of residual stress : The formation tensile residual

stress at surface area in drawn wires.

Occurrence of dynamic aging (cementite decomposition) : The

decrease of the ductility of lamellar ferrite in drawn wires.

Formation of cracks at wire surfaces or boundaries of pearlite

colonies in drawn wires.
 Residual Stress

- axial residual stress :
- hoop residual stress :
- radial residual stress :

Axial stress Hoop stress Radial stress

Scripta Mater, 52 (2005) p455, M. Elices : <Residual stress in cold drawn wire>
Residual Stress

- axial residual stress : ,
- hoop residual stress
- radial residual stress :

In cold-drawn eutectoid steel wires, the presence of tensile

residual stresses decreases the elastic limit and increases the
stress relaxation loss. In addition, time to rupture in stress
corrosion tests is clearly reduced with tensile residual stresses at
the wire surface.

- : , :
- Die angle
Residual Stress
Residual Stress

Materials Sci & Eng A 435-436 (2006) p725, M. Elices

<Residual stress measurement by neutron diffraction>

* Cold drawn steel wire : [110] fiber texture.

* X-ray diffraction is limited to the surface due to its low penetration.
Thus, neutron or high-energy X-rays (synchrotron radiation) are
required.
* Measurement of the radial & hoop direction : (211) plane
The axial direction : (110) plane
* Axisymmetric residual stress state generated by cold drawing.
 Development of texture : The formation of different texture
between surface area and center region in drawn wires.

Development of residual stress : The formation tensile residual

stress at surface area in drawn wires.

Occurrence of dynamic aging (cementite decomposition) : The

decrease of the ductility of lamellar ferrite in drawn wires.

Formation of cracks at wire surfaces or boundaries of pearlite

colonies in drawn wires.
Surface defects
Surface defects

Fig. 2 Ten different types of flaws that may be found in rolled bars. (a) Inclusions. (b)
Laminations from spatter (entrapped splashes) during the pouring. (c) Slivers. (d)
Scabs are caused by splashing liquid metal in the mold. (e) Pits and blisters caused
by gaseous pockets in the ingot. (f) Embedded scale from excessive scaling during
prior heating operations. (g) Cracks with little or no oxide present on their edges when
the metal cools in the mold, setting up highly stressed areas. (h) Seams that develop
from elongated trapped-gas pockets or from cracks during working. (j) Laps when
excessive material is squeezed out and turned back into the material. (k) Chevron or
internal bursts.
Surface defects

Periodic defects like roll marks caused by broken roll/roller, rolled in

matter in guides etc are detected effectively thereby providing the
user a very high degree of process control measure in the mill.

Effect: Roll mark defects

Cause: Rolled in matter in guide roller

Surface defects
Seams

Seams can be difficult to detect, because they may appear as

scratches on the forging, or because a machining process may
obliterate them. Figure 26 is an example of a seam detected by
routine magnetic-particle inspection of a hot-rolled 4130 steel bar. No
stringer-type inclusions were observed in the region of the flaw, but
it did contain a substantial amount of oxide (Fig. 26b).
 Development of texture : The formation of different texture
between surface area and center region in drawn wires.

Development of residual stress : The formation tensile residual

stress at surface area in drawn wires.

Occurrence of dynamic aging (cementite decomposition) : The

decrease of the ductility of lamellar ferrite in drawn wires.

Formation of cracks at wire surfaces or boundaries of pearlite

colonies in drawn wires.
Cementite decomposition

Fracture of cementite at = 0.61 Deformation of cementite at = 1.76

Fracture of cementite at = 4.10

 Dynamic Ageing Procedures

(1) The migration of interstitially dissolved carbon atoms to dislocations in

lamellar ferrite

(2) Decomposition of lamellar cementite & carbon atoms move to

dislocations in ferrite/cementite interfaces.

(3) The re-precipitation of cementite, the spheroidization of lamellar

cementite, or the recovery and recrystallization of lamellar
 Aging

Mechanism of dynamic (strain) aging

1) Interactions between dislocations (in the ferrite near cementite

/ferrite interface) and carbon atoms (in the cementite) : Gridnev & Gavrilyuk

2) Destabilization of the cementite due to the increase of its interfacial

free energy : Languillaume

Influence of dynamic (strain) aging

1) Increase of strength, Decrease of ductility :

Carbon content increases in pearlitic ferrite

2) Acceleration of Delamination
 Cementite decomposition Effect of interlamellar spacing
(a) = 3.6 (b) = 5.1 on cementite decomposition
< scripta, Hono et al>

According to Tashiro (NSC) : During wire drawing, the carbon content

in pearlitic ferrite (1 at%, about 0.2wt%) causes the delamination in
pearlitic steels. Cementite Decomposition (Dynamic Aging)
Wire diameter
Photo 1 Transmission electron Fig. 6 Changes in concentration
micrographs of patented and drawn of C in ferrite during the drawing
wire in 0.9%C 4,000 MPa steel cord of pearlite steel wire
Atomic-scale mechanisms of deformation-induced cementite
decomposition in pearlite, Acta Materialia 59 (2011) 39653977
Y.J. Li, P. Choi , C. Borchers, S. Westerkamp, S. Goto, D. Raabe, R. Kirchheim

Fe0.81C0.49Mn0.20Si0.006P0.008S wt.% : Nippon Steel Corporation

1.70 mm 1223 K for 80 s lead bath at 853 K for 20 s
true strains of 0 (as-patented), 0.93, 2, 3.47, 5 and 5.4

Fig. 2. TEM images of wires taken in longitudinal direction for (a) as patented
state, (b) = 2 and (c) = 5. The arrow marks one of the cell boundaries.
cell or low-angle grain boundaries of dislocations
Fig. 3. 3D atom maps of cold-drawn wires for = 2 (left) containing roughly 6.8 x
106 atoms within a volume of 54 x 52 x 122 nm3 and = 5 (right) containing 16.2
x 106 atoms within a volume of 81 x 81 x 122 nm3. For clarity only 2% of the iron
(blue) and 20% of the carbon (yellow) atoms are displayed.
Fig. 4. Atom maps of the cold drawn
pearlitic wires at = 2 (upper) and
= 5 (middle). The large yellow dots
and the small blue dots represent
carbon (100% shown) and iron
(50% shown), respectively.

The bottom figure shows the

corresponding 1D carbon
concentration profiles along the
direction perpendicular to the
lamellar interfaces (also the probing
direction). The error bars are
marked in gray.
Fig. 9. 3D carbon atom maps with an isoconcentration surface drawn at
7 at.% Carbon for the pearlitic wire at = 2. Top and bottom images
show two side views (rotated 90 with respect to each other) of cementite
lamellae, respectively.
(a) Part of the 3D carbon atom map with
an isoconcentration surface at 7 at.% C
for wires at = 5.4. (b) and (c) Front and
side views, Respectively. The yellow, red
and gray dots represent C, Mn and Si
atoms, respectively. (d) 1D
concentration profiles for the three
elements shown along the direction
(marked with the black arrows)
perpendicular to the carbon-enriched
boundary.
Cementite Decomposition during Heat Treatment

Heavy Cold Drawing

Cementite
Decomposition
Annealing
(Zn Galvanizing) Accelerate
Decomposition

Low annealing temperature High annealing temperature

Interaction of dissolved Recovery of Ferrite &
C atoms with Dislocation Spheroidization of Cementite

Static Ageing Hardening Static Ageing Softening

T. Tarui, T. Talahashi, S. Ohashi and R. Uemori
Iron Steelmaker, Vol. 21, No.9, 1994, pp.25
Effect of Heating
Heavy deformation Cementite decomposition
Cold drawing
Adequate deformation Deformed cementite

Heating after wire drawing

Low temperature
*Cementite decomposition Strain aging : The occurrence of Delamination

High temperature
Spheroidization : Delamination disappears
(low strain)

Low temperature
Deformed cementite Strain aging : The occurrence of Delamination
or No delamination (sound cementite)

High temperature
Spheroidization : Delamination disappears
 Ageing Procedures

Fig. 2. TEM micrographs :(a)as drawn(=1.13), (b)annealed at 425C for 30s, (c)
and (d) drawn(=2.38) and subsequently annealed at 500C for1h.
 Dynamic Ageing Procedures

Fig. 7. TEM micrographs :(a) bright field image and (b) dark field image of strain of
1.73 and subsequently annealed at 425C for30s,(c) and (d) strain 2.38 and
subsequently annealed at 425C for 30s.
Change in carbon state by low-temperature aging in heavily drawn pearlitic
steel wires,
Acta Materialia 60 (2012) 387395
J. Takahashi, M. Kosaka, K. Kawakami, T. Tarui

Fe0.92C0.48Mn0.22Si wt.% (Fe4.13C0.47Mn0.42Si at.%)

2.0mm 1223K 843K true strains of 4.61 (0.2mm)

The third mechanism is the so-called carbon drag effect. In this model, moving
dislocations during deformation carry the trapped carbon atoms because of the
large attractive interaction between the carbon and the dislocation. The
dislocations generated from the interface of lamellar cementite move to the
lamellar ferrite with trapped carbon atoms, and carbon atoms remain in the ferrite
by the pair annihilation of the dislocations. Consequently, highly supersaturated
solute carbon is formed.
Fig. 1. Change in the tensile strength of
the sample wire ( = 4.61) as a function of
the aging temperature.
Fig. 2. TEM bright-field images of
longitudinal sections of the sample wires
with (a) no aging, (b) 150C aging,
(c) 200C aging and (d) 350C aging.
Fig. 3. (a) FIM image at 10 kV and (b) 3-D carbon maps and concentration profile of
the as-drawn sample wire without aging.

Fig. 4. (a) FIM image at 13 kV and (b) 3-D carbon maps and concentration profile of
the sample wire with aging at 150C.
Fig. 5. (a) FIM image at 9.5 kV and (b) 3-D carbon maps and concentration profile of
the sample wire with aging at 200C.

Fig. 6. (a) FIM image at 11 kV and (b) 3-D carbon maps and concentration profile of
the sample wire with aging at 350C.
Fig. 7. Change in carbon state and tensile strength as a function of aging
temperature. The yield strength is also represented in the figure.
Evolution of strength and microstructure during annealing of heavily cold-
drawn 6.3 GPa hypereutectoid pearlitic steel wire,
Acta Materialia 60 (2012) 40054016
Y.J. Li, P. Choi , S. Goto, C. Borchers, D. Raabe, R. Kirchheim

Fe0.98C0.31Mn0.20Si 0.20Cr0.01Cu0.006P0.007S wt%

(Fe4.40C0.30Mn0.39Si 0.21Cr0.003Cu0.01P0.01S at.%)
Suzuki Metal Industry Co., LTD
0.18mm 1223 K for 80 s lead bath at 853 K for 20 s
true strains of 6.02 (8.85m)
 A nearly equiaxed hexagonal (sub)grain
structure has formed inside the ferrite

Fig. 4. 3-D carbon atom maps of hypereutectoid pearlitic steel wires with a cold drawing
strain of = 6.02: (a) as-deformed state; (b) annealed at 473 K for 30 min; and (c)
annealed at 673 K for 30 min. The isoconcentration surfaces for 7 at.% carbon are
shown in green. Only 30% of all carbon and 0.5% of all iron atoms are displayed. Both
the cross-sectional (top) and longitudinal views (bottom) of the wires are shown.
Fig. 5. TEM images of
hypereutectoid pearlitic steel
wires. (a and b) As-deformed
( = 6.02) states in longitudinal
and transverse cross-sections
of wires, respectively.

(c and d) As-annealed states

at 523 and 723 K for 30 min,
respectively. The arrows mark
the wire axis which is also
parallel with the ferrite/
cemetite interfaces. Some
globular cementite particles (h)
are marked.
Fig. 8. (a) Carbon atom
map of the annealed
wire (673 K for 30 min).
The white arrows mark
the directions along
which the concentration
profiles are drawn.

(be) Carbon atom

maps.
(fi) 1-D carbon
concentration profiles.

The average carbon

concentration inside the
ferrite grains is
displayed as short-
dashed lines in (f) and
(g).
Fig. 9. 673 K for 30 min
 : Aging

Del.
Del. No del.
+

Delamination Del. No del.

No del. Del. No del.

Low No del. Del. No del.

Strain

patenting No delamination

,
 No del. Del. No del.

Strain aging
Strain aging

Delamnation ,

Low No del. Del. No del.

Strain
Strain aging ,

,
 No del. Del. No del.

Strain aging
Strain aging

Delamnation ,

Del. Del. No del.

,
Strain aging ,

,
 No del. Del. No del.

Strain aging
Strain aging

Delamnation ,

Del. Del. No del.

+

crack ,

,
 Factors of Wire Drawability

Die Geometry
Reduction per pass Heat
Friction between the die and the wire Cementite decomposition
Drawing speed
Environmental pressure
Chemical composition
Microstructural features
Interlamellar spacing
Volume fraction of cementite in pearlite
Cementite decomposition during wire drawing hardening of lamellar
ferrite
Deformability of cementite
Austenite grain size
Array of cementite during wire drawing
Void initiation and microstructural changes during wire drawing of pearlitc steels
Materials Science and Engineering 203 (1995) 278-285
Won Jong Nam, Chul Min Bae
EFFECT OF INTERLAMELLAR SPACING ON THE DELAMINATION OF PEARLITC
STEEL WIRES,
Scripta Materialia, Vol. 35, No. 5, pp. 641-646, 1996
C.M. BAE, W.J. NAM, C.S. LEE
EFFECT OF CUMULATIVE COLD DRAWING ON THE PEARLITE
INTERLAMELLAR SPACING IN EUTECTOID STEEL,
Scripta Materialia, Vol. 39, No. 3, pp. 323328, 1998
J. Toribio, E. Ovejero
Evolution of cementite morphology in pearlitic steel wire during wet wire drawing
Materials Characterization 61 (2010) 65-72
X. Zhang, A. Godfrey, N. Hansen, X. Huang, W. Liu, Q. Liu
Delamination ?