Crystallographic texture and the mechanical properties of API 5L X70 pipeline steel designated for an arctic environment

The aim of this research is to examine the effect of roughing and finishing reductions on crystallographic texture. Three rolling conditions were applied with the same total reduction but different combinations of the roughing and finishing reductions, identified by their finishing reductions as low (X7FL), medium (X7FM), and high (X7FH). Texture measurements showed significant inhomogeneity at the centreline region that had higher intensities of Epsilon, Alpha, and Gamma fibre textures compared to the quarter-thickness and surface layers. Drop Weight Tear Test (DWTT) indicated that X7FL and X7FM specimens, with a relatively higher fraction of texture components of {332}<113>, Gamma fibre, and Transformed Copper (TC), exhibited superior low-temperature impact toughness compared to the X7FH steel. The electrochemical hydrogen charging experiments showed that the internal hydrogen cracks appeared only in X7FL and X7FM steels due to the large presence of detrimental {001} grain orientation on surface layer, perpendicular to ND.