A process for preparing a multi-thickness welded steel vehicle rail, the process comprises the steps of: (a) forming a first tube having a first outer diameter, an inner diameter and a first wall thickness; (b) forming a second tube having the first outer diameter, a second inner diameter and a second wall thickness different than the first wall thickness; (c) swaging a first end of the first tube to a second outer diameter less than the second inner diameter of the second tube; (d) inserting the swaged first end of the first tube into an end of the second tube to form a joint; (e) welding the first tube and the second tube together to form a weld at the joint to form a tube blank with a heat affected zone of lower metal strength in the area of the weld; (f) preheating the tube blank to create a common crystalline microstructure along a length of the tube blank; (g) introducing the tube blank into a blow molding tool having inner molding walls; (h) molding the tube blank at an elevated temperature by expanding the tube blank against the inner molding walls of the molding tool by injecting a pressurized medium into an interior cavity of the tube blank; and (i) quenching the tube blank by replacing the pressurized medium with a cooling medium through the molding tool and the tube blank to achieve a rapid cooling effect on the tube blank and to create a completed vehicle rail with essentially uniform material strength across the weld. A completed vehicle rail has an overlapped welded structure and uniform microcrystalline structure along the length of the rail.

An alloy pipe and a method for producing the same are disclosed. The alloy pipe of the present invention contains, as a component composition, in terms of % by mass, Cr: 11.5-35.0%, Ni: 23.0-60.0%, and Mo: 0.5-17.0%, has an austenitic phase as a microstructure, has a Mo concentration (% by mass) in a grain boundary of the austenitic phase that is 4.0 times or less than a Mo concentration (% by mass) within grains of the austenitic phase, and has a tensile yield strength in a pipe axial direction of 689 MPa or more and a ratio (compressive yield strength in a pipe axial direction)/(tensile yield strength in a pipe axial direction) of 0.85 to 1.15.

The present disclosure is directed and formulations and methods to provide alloys having relative high strength and ductility. The alloys may be provided in seamless tubular form and characterized by their particular alloy chemistries and identifiable crystalline grain size morphology. The alloys are such that they include boride pinning phases. In what is termed a Class 1 Steel the alloys indicate tensile strengths of 700 MPa to 1400 MPa and elongations of 10-70%. Class 2 Steel indicates tensile strengths of 800 MPa to 1800 MPa and elongations of 5-65%. Class 3 Steel indicates tensile strengths of 1000 MPa to 2000 MPa and elongations of 0.5-15%.

The steel material of the present disclosure includes a chemical composition consisting of, in mass %, C: 0.035% or less, Si: 1.00% or less, Mn: 1.00% or less, P: 0.030% or less, S: 0.0050% or less, sol. Al: 0.005 to 0.100%, N: 0.001 to 0.020%, Ni: 5.00 to 7.00%, Cr: 10.00 to 14.00%, Cu: 1.50 to 3.50%, Mo: 1.00 to 4.00%, V: 0.01 to 1.00%, Ti: 0.02 to 0.30%, Co: 0.01 to 0.50%, Ca: 0.0003 to 0.0030%, O: 0.0050% or less, W: 0 to 1.50%, Nb: 0 to 0.50%, B: 0 to 0.0050%, Mg: 0 to 0.0050%, and rare earth metals (REM): 0 to 0.020%, with the balance being Fe and impurities, in which a total number density of Mn sulfide having an equivalent circular diameter of 1.0 μm or more and Ca sulfide having an equivalent circular diameter of 2.0 μm or more is 0.50 pieces/mm.sup.2 or less.

An apparatus line for manufacturing seamless steel pipes and tubes includes: a heating apparatus for heating a steel raw material; a piercing apparatus for piercing the heated steel raw material thus forming a hollow material; and a rolling apparatus for applying working to the hollow material to form a seamless steel pipe having a predetermined shape. A cooling apparatus is arranged on an exit side of the rolling apparatus. A heated steel raw material is worked by the rolling apparatus after being pierced by the piercing apparatus, and thereafter, using a surface temperature of a hollow piece before being cooled by the cooling apparatus as a cooling start temperature, the hollow piece is cooled to a cooling stop temperature differing by 50° C. or more from the cooling start temperature and being equal to or above 600° C. at an average cooling speed of 1.0° C./s or more in terms of an outer surface temperature.

Disclosed is a high strength, high-temperature corrosion resistant martensitic stainless steel characterized by comprising the following chemical elements in percentages by mass: 0<C≤0.05%, 0.1-0.2% of Si, 0.20-1.0% of Mn, 11.0-14.0% of Cr, 4.0-6.0% of Ni, 1.5-2.5% of Mo, 0.001%-0.10% of N, 0.03-0.2% of V, 0.01-0.1% of Nb, 0.01-0.04% of Al, and the balance being Fe and inevitable impurities. In addition, also disclosed are tubing and casing manufactured from the above-mentioned high strength, high-temperature corrosion resistant martensitic stainless steel, and a method for manufacturing the tubing and the casing. The high strength, high-temperature corrosion resistant martensitic stainless steel of the present disclosure has an excellent high temperature corrosion resistance to carbon dioxide and chloride ions, as well as excellent low-temperature impact toughness and a high-temperature strength degradation resistance.

A high-nitrogen nickel-free austenitic stainless steel seamless thin-walled tube, a high-safety nickel-free metal-based drug-eluting vascular stent manufactured therefrom, and manufacturing methods therefor. In the process of manufacturing a stent tube, the nitrogen content of a material is further increased by means of stage-by-stage nitriding, so as to obtain a high-nitrogen nickel-free austenitic stainless steel seamless thin-walled tube having the nitrogen content of 0.8-1.2% as a metal stent platform material. By using rolling line contact type electrochemical polishing, the surface of the stent forms a micron-scale protrusion-recess structure by means of crystal grains having different orientations, thus improving a binding force between a metal stent material and a drug coating. The vascular stent has the characteristics of high fatigue life, high biological safety, and a high binding force between the drug coating and a substrate.

Disclosed in the present disclosure is an S32750 austenitic ferrite super duplex stainless steel seamless pipe for a deep sea manifold and a method for preparing the same. The stainless steel seamless pipe includes the following components in percentage by mass: less than or equal to 0.03% of C, less than or equal to 0.80% of Si, less than or equal to 1.20% of Mn, less than or equal to 0.035% of P, less than or equal to 0.01% of S, 24.0-26.0% of Cr, 6.0-8.0% of Ni, 3.0-5.0% of Mo, less than or equal to 0.50% of Cu, 0.24-0.32% of N, 0.012-0.018% of Al, and the balance of Fe and impurities. The ferrite content of the stainless steel seamless pipe is 40-60%, and 41≤PREN<45. The stainless steel seamless pipe is prepared by metal collaborative design, smelting, pouring, forging, hot piercing and cold working.

A lumen stent preform is provided using a plasma nitriding technology, a preparation method thereof, a method for preparing a lumen stent by using the preform, and a lumen stent obtained according to the method. The preform is manufactured by using pure iron or an iron alloy containing no strong nitrogen compound, has a hardness of 160-250HV0.05/10, and has a microstructure that is a deformed structure having a grain size scale greater than or equal to 9 or a deformed structure after cold machining. Alternatively, the preform is an iron alloy containing a strong nitrogen compound, and has a microstructure that is a deformed structure having a grain size scale greater than or equal to 9 or a deformed structure after cold machining. The lumen stent preform meets the requirements of a conventional stent for radial strength and plasticity, so that plasma nitriding is applicable to commercial preparation of a lumen stent.

A stainless steel material having compositions which contain on the basis of percent by mass, C from 0.04 to 0.12%, Ni from 0 (including a case of no addition) to 5.0%, Cr from 12.0 to 17.0%, N from 0.0 to 0.10%, Si from 0.2 to 2.0%, Mn at 2.0% or less, Cu from 0.0 to 2.0%, P at 0.06% or less, S at 0.006% or less, with residue being Fe and unavoidable impurities. Further, a parent phase has any one of a single phase structure of ferrite phase or martensite phase and a diploid phase structure of ferrite phase and martensite phase. An end of the base material is melt-welded as a joint to form a pipe. The parent phase is provided with carbide uniformly separated at grain boundaries and within grains, with a dissolved amount of C being 0.03% by mass or less.