A high-strength steel sheet has a specific composition and a microstructure. In the microstructure, the area fraction of elongated ferrite phase grains having an aspect ratio of 3 or more is 1% or less, the average crystal grain size of martensite included in a region extending 50 μm from a surface of the steel sheet is 20 μm or less, the content of oxide particles having a minor axis length of 0.8 μm or less in the region extending 50 μm from the surface of the steel sheet is 1.0×10.sup.10 particles/m.sup.2 or more, and the content of coarse oxide particles having a minor axis length of more than 1 μm in the region extending 50 μm from the surface of the steel sheet is 1.0×10.sup.8 particles/m.sup.2 or less. The content of hydrogen trapped in the steel sheet is 0.05 ppm by mass or more.

This hot-rolled steel sheet has a predetermined chemical composition, in which in a case where the thickness is denoted by t, a metallographic structure at a t/4 position from the surface includes, by area fraction, 77.0% to 97.0% of bainite or tempered martensite, 0% to 5.0% of ferrite, 0% to 5.0% of pearlite, 3.0% or more of residual austenite, and 0% to 10.0% of martensite, in the metallographic structure, the average grain size excluding the residual austenite is 7.0 μm or less, the average number density of iron-based carbides having a diameter of 20 nm or more is 1.0×10.sup.6 carbides/mm.sup.2 or more, a tensile strength is 980 MPa or more, and an average Ni concentration on the surface is 7.0% or more.

The present invention relates to the application of at least partially bainitic or interstitial martensitic heat treatments on steels, often tool steels or steels that can be used for tools. The first tranche of the heat treatment implying austenitization is applied so that the steel presents a low enough hardness to allow for advantageous shape modification, often trough machining. Thus a steel product is obtained which can be shaped with ease and whose hardness can be raised to a higher working hardness with a simple heat treatment at low temperature (below austenitization temperature).

A steel sheet includes a predetermined chemical composition and a metal structure represented by, in area fraction, ferrite: 50% to 95%, granular bainite: 5% to 48%, martensite: 2% to 30%, and upper bainite, lower bainite, tempered martensite, retained austenite, and pearlite: 5% or less in total.

A cold rolled and heat treated steel sheet having a composition with the following elements, expressed in percentage by weight: 0.10%≤Carbon≤0.5%,1%≤Manganese≤3.4%, 0.5%≤Silicon≤2.5%, 0.03%≤Aluminum≤1.5%, 0%≤Sulfur≤0.003% 0.002%≤Phosphorus≤0.02%, 0%≤Nitrogen≤0.01% and can contain one or more of the following optional elements 0.05%≤Chromium≤1%, 0.001%≤Molybdenum≤0.5%, 0.001%≤Niobium≤0.1%, 0.001%≤Titanium≤0.1%, 0.01%≤Copper≤2%, 0.01%≤Nickel≤3%, 0.0001%≤Calcium≤0.005%, 0%≤Vanadium≤0.1%, 0%≤Boron≤0.003%, 0%≤Cerium≤0.1%, 0%≤Magnesium≤0.010%, 0%≤Zirconium≤0.010% the remainder composition being composed of iron and unavoidable impurities caused by processing, the microstructure of the steel sheet having in area fraction, 10 to 30% Residual Austenite, 10 to 40% Bainite, 5% to 50% Annealed Martensite, 1% to 20% Quenched Martensite and less than 30% Tempered Martensite, wherein the cumulated amounts of Bainite and Residual Austenite is more than or equal to 25%.

A structural steel having excellent brittle crack propagation resistance, according to one aspect of the present invention, comprises, by wt %, 0.02-0.12% of C, 0.01-0.8% of Si, 1.7-2.5% of Mn, 0.005-0.5% of Al, and the balance of Fe and inevitable impurities, wherein an outer surface part and an inner center part thereof are microstructurally distinguished in the thickness direction, and the surface part comprises tempered bainite as a base structure, comprises fresh martensite as a second structure and can comprise austenite as a residual structure.

A steel sheet has a tensile strength of 1310 MPa or higher, a specified chemical composition, and a steel microstructure containing martensite at an area ratio of 70% or more, bainite at an area ratio of 30% or less, and ferrite and retained austenite at a total area ratio of 10% or less, in which, at a ¼ thickness position of the steel sheet, a number density of carbides having long axes of 0.5 μm or more is 60000 carbides/mm.sup.2 or less, in a ¼-to-¾ thickness region of the steel sheet, a number density of inclusion grains having equivalent circle diameters of 4.0 μm or more is 10 grains/mm.sup.2 or more and 30 grains/mm.sup.2 or less, and, in a surface-to-¼ thickness region of the steel sheet, a number density of inclusion grains having equivalent circle diameters of 4.0 μm or more is 27 grains/mm.sup.2 or less.

A stainless steel pipe of a predetermined composition is provided that has an axial tensile yield strength of 689 MPa or more, an axial compressive yield strength/axial tensile yield strength ratio of 0.85 to 1.15, and a microstructure that is 20 to 80% ferrite phase by volume with the remainder containing an austenite phase, the stainless steel pipe having pipe end portions at least one of which has a fastening portion for an external thread or an internal thread, and having a curvature radius of 0.2 mm or more for a corner R formed by a bottom surface of a thread root and a pressure-side flank surface of the thread, measured in an axial plane section of the fastening portion.

Adopted are a hot-rolled steel sheet having a predetermined chemical composition, in which a region, where a rotation angle between a normal line of a surface and a (011) pole near the normal line becomes 5° or less, is 0.150 or less from the surface in terms of a sheet thickness direction position standardized by a sheet thickness, and a region, where the rotation angle becomes 20° or more, is 0.250 or more from the surface in terms of the sheet thickness direction position standardized by the sheet thickness and a manufacturing method thereof.

A heat treated and cold rolled steel sheet having a composition including of the following elements 0.09%≤Carbon≤0.15%, 1.8%≤Manganese≤2.5%, 0.2%≤Silicon≤0.7%, 0.01%≤Aluminum≤0.1%, 0%≤Phosphorus≤0.09%, 0%≤Sulfur≤0.09%, 0%≤Nitrogen≤0.09%, 0%≤Niobium≤0.1%, 0%≤Titanium≤0.1%, 0%≤Chromium≤1%, 0%≤Molybdenum≤1%, 0%≤Vanadium≤0.1%, 0%≤Calcium≤0.005%, 0%≤Boron≤0.01%, 0%≤Cerium≤0.1%, 0%≤Magnesium≤0.05%, 0%≤Zirconium≤0.05% the remainder composition being composed of iron and unavoidable impurities caused by processing, the microstructure of said steel sheet comprising in area fraction, 65 to 85% Tempered Martensite, 0% to 5% Residual Austenite and a cumulative presence of Ferrite and Bainite between 15 and 35%.