Effects of mixed rare earth elements on microstructure and tensile properties of HRB400 steel

The effects of increasing the content of mixed rare earth on the microstructure and mechanical properties of HRB400 steel were studied by means of optical microscope, scanning electron microscope and electronic universal testing machine. The results showed that the increase of rare earth content led to the increase of the upper and lower yield points. With the increase of rare earth element content, the volume fraction of pearlite increased but the lamellar spacing decreased, which further enhanced the tensile strength. However, with rare earth content increasing, the number and depth of dimples were reduced in 0.045RE-HRB400 steel so that the elongation and reduction of the dimples were reduced.