Response Characteristics and Adiabatic Heating during High Strain Rate for TRIP Steel and DP Steel

By using a static and high-speed material testing machine,tensile deformation behaviors of two kinds of SiMn TRIP(transformation induced plasticity)steels and DP(dual phase)steel were studied in a large range of strain rates(0.001-2 000s-1).Temperature variation during adiabatic heating and the amount of retained austenite at fracture were measured by an infrared thermometer and an X-ray stress analyser,respectively.The microstructure of steels was observed by optical microscopy(OM)and scanning electron microscopy(SEM)before and after tensile test.It was found from the experimental results that the tensile strength of these steels increased,and the fracture elongation firstly decreased and subsequently increased,as the strain rate increased in the range of 0.1-2 000s-1.The temperature raised during adiabatic heating of TRIP steel was in the range of 100-300℃,while that of the DP steel was in the range of 100-220 ℃.The temperature rise of these steels increased with increasing the strain rate,as well as the amount of the transformed retained austenite in TRIP steels.It was confirmed that austenite to martensite transformation is not suppressed by adiabatic heating.     

Physical Metallurgy of Multi‐Phase Steel for Improved Passenger Car Crash‐Worthiness

The dynamic testing of high strength automotive steel grades is of great practical importance if their crash‐worthiness is to be evaluated. During forming operations, steels are processed in a controlled dynamic manner. In collisions, the deformation is different in the sense that the deformation is not controlled, i.e. both strain and strain rate are not pre‐determined. No clear standard testing procedures are currently available to test high strength steels dynamically, in order to evaluate their performance during car crashes. High tensile strength TRIP‐aided steels have been developed by the steel industry because of their promising high strain rate performance. The present contribution focuses on the effect of the strain rate and temperature on the mechanical behaviour of the low alloy high strength TRIP steel. The tests were carried out on the separated phases in order to determine their specific high strain rate deformation response. The temperature‐dependence of the transformation rate of the retained austenite is presented. It is argued that the adiabatic conditions present during high strain rate deformations have a beneficial effect on the behaviour of TRIP steel.     

Effect of Bake‐Hardening on the Structure‐Property Relationship of Multiphase Steels for the Automotive Industry

The effect of a bake‐hardening (BH) treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties has been studied in C‐Mn‐Si TRansformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) and Dual Phase (DP) steels after: (i) thermomechanical processing (TMP) and (ii) intercritical annealing (IA). The steels were characterized using X‐ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and three‐dimensional atom probe tomography (APT). All steels showed high BH response. However, the DP and TRIP steels after IA/BH showed the appearance of upper and lower yield points, while the stress‐strain behavior of the TRIP steel after TMP/BH was still continuous. This was due to the higher volume fraction of bainite and more stable retained austenite in the TMP/BH steel, the formation of plastic deformation zones with high dislocation density around the “as‐quenched” martensite and “TRIP” martensite in the IA/BH DP steel and IA/BH TRIP steel, respectively.     

Martensite Transformation and Its Control in DP,TRIP and TWIP Steels

Designing of alloy concept and process for DP,TRIP and TWIP steels stressing at martensite transformation are analyzed.For DP steel,austenite volume percent and its carbon content at different intercritical temperatures are calculated as well as the tensile strength of the steel,which meet well with the experimental result.The condition for dissolution of carbide is discussed by experiments and predicted by kinetic estimation.Several sample TRIP steels are prepared and their concentration profiles are calculated showing different diffusion characteristics of elements.Calculation also shows carbon enrichment is successful in this stage through the quick diffusion of carbon from ferrite to austenie.In order to maintain the austenite stability or to prevent precipitation of cementite,minimum cooling rate from the intercritical zone to over aging stage is obtained through kinetic simulation.Bainite transformation is estimated,which indicates the carbon rerichment from ferrite of bainite structure to austenite in this stage is also successful.Thermal HCP martensite transformation and the strain induced martensite transformation in TWIP steel is introduced.Relationship between transformation and mechanical properties in the steel is also mentioned.     

The Formation of Complex Microstructures After Different Deformation Modes in Advanced High-Strength Steels

The microstructure of transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) and dual phase (DP) multiphase steels after stamping of an industrial component at different strain levels was investigated using transmission electron microscopy. The TRIP steel microstructure showed a more complex dislocation substructure of ferrite at different strain levels than DP steel. The deformation microstructure of the stamped parts was compared to the deformation microstructure in these complex steels for different “equivalent” tensile strains. It was found that the microstructures are similar only at high levels of strain (>10 pct) for both steels.     

Tensile Mechanical Behavior of Cold Rolled Si-Mn Steel Under Different Strain Rates

Tensile mechanical behavior of cold rolled Si-Mn steel after TRIP (TRansformation Induced Plasticity) and DP (Dual Phase) treatment were investigated under different strain rates.The dynamic tensile test was carried out using the rotation disk bar-bar tensile impact apparatus.At static tension test condition,the values of total elongation for TRIP steel was approximately 2-3 times higher than DP steel because of TRIP effect;the DP steel showed a higher tensile strength because of 39.6vol% martensite in the matrix.The results of tension test at high strain rate condition were different.For the studied steel,the elongation increased with increasing strain rate due to softening of matrix caused by adiabatic heating;in addition,TRIP steel at low strain rate was always higher than that at high strain rate because progressive strain induced retained austenite was suppressed at high strain rate.     

Effect of hot‐rolling conditions on the tensile properties of multiphase steels exhibiting a TRIP effect

TRIP‐assisted multiphase steels have been thoroughly studied in the cold‐rolled and annealed state. The effects of hot‐rolling conditions on these steels are much less studied even though these are of major importance for industrial practice. This study was carried out in order to understand the effect of the hot deformation of austenite on the tensile properties of TRIP‐assisted multiphase steels. Two different compositions and microstructures are investigated. The first one is a low‐carbon steel (mass content of 0.15 %) with a microstructure consisting of an intercritical ferritic matrix, bainite and retained austenite. The second one is a medium‐carbon steel (mass content of 0.4 %) that consists of bainite and retained austenite. Both steels were deformed to various strain levels below the non‐recrystallisation temperature of austenite. The medium carbon steel was deformed in the fully austenitic temperature range whereas the low‐carbon steel was deformed in the intercritical temperature range. In both cases, the prior hot deformation of austenite brings about a large enhancement of the work‐hardening capabilities. In the case of the medium‐carbon steel, this effect can be attributed to a much larger TRIP effect taking place during straining. In the case of the low‐carbon steel, the improvement of the work‐hardening behaviour was attributed to an Interaction between the martensitic transformation and the dislocations already present within the surrounding ferrite matrix.     

Properties and application of TRIP‐steel in sheet metal forming

A further development of dual‐phase‐steels are represented by TRIP (transformation induced plasticity) ‐steels. TRIP‐steels contain austenite, which is metastable at room temperature. It transforms to martensite during straining (TRIP effect). This process improves the strength‐ductility balance of these steels. Two types of TRIP‐steels, low alloyed (L‐TRIP) and high alloyed (H‐TRIP), can be applied in sheet forming processes and exhibit different forming characteristics. Basing on results of uniaxial tensile tests and the evaluation of Young's modulus the forming limits in deep drawing processes and the component properties of deep drawn parts are discussed. The Young's modulus decreases significantly with increasing pre‐strain, especially demonstrated for the L‐TRIP material TRIP700. Forming limit curves determined at different forming temperatures indicate its influence on the forming limits. Martensite transformation is suppressed at a temperature of approximately T = 200 °C and therefore the major strain ?₁ decreases significantly. For the investigated stainless steel AISI304 (H‐TRIP) different lubricant types in comparison to chlorinated paraffins have been tested. Lubricants consisting of sulphur additives led to good forming conditions in forming processes, even better than lubricants based on chlorinated paraffins. The evaluation of component properties, compared between L‐TRIP and H‐TRIP, was done based on the analysis of springback and dent resistance. The L‐TRIP material TRIP700 shows higher springback angles than AISI304 resulting from higher yield strength and decreased Young's modulus, resulting from the forming process. The dent resistance of TRIP‐steel was exemplarily demonstrated for AISI304. Uniaxial pre‐strained sheet specimen were analysed to show the dent resistance depending on dent depth. During elastic denting pre‐strain has no influence on dent resistance. Further increasing dent depth lead to increased dent forces for pre‐strained specimens.     

Strain Hardening and Strain Rate Sensitivity Behaviors of Advanced High Strength Steels

 The mechanical properties of commercial dual phase (DP), transformation induced plasticity (TRIP), and high strength low alloy (HSLA-340) steel sheets are investigated and compared at various strain rates ranging from 0. 0017 to 0. 17 s-1 at ambient temperature. TRIP steel outperforms the other two materials, having comparable ductility and twice as large strength relative to DP steel. TRIP has larger strength and much larger ductility than HSLA-340. The exceuent ductility of TRIP800 is due to its high strain hardening capability, which promotes stable plastic deformation. It is observed that the strain hardening rate in TRIP800 does not decrease to zero at failure, as common in most materials in which failure is preceded by necking.     

Determination of crash‐relevant material parameters by dynamic tensile tests

The mechanical properties of eight different steels, representing the wide range of steels for automotive application, are determined by accomplishing high speed tensile tests using flat sheet specimens. The steels chosen for investigations are deep drawing grade DC04, high strength steel ZStE340, three dual phase steels with strengths of 600, 800 and 1000 MPa, a TRIP steel and two austenitic stainless steels 1.4301 and 1.4318. Tests are carried out at five different strain rates within the range of 5‐10^?3 and 200 s^?1, all at room temperature. The results show different strain rate sensitivities according to the different grades of steel. The TRIP steel and both stainless steels show a great potential for energy consumption, when tested at high strain rates.     

The influence of preceding cryoforming and testing temperature on the mechanical properties of austenitic stainless steels

The TRIP effect in austenitic stainless steels leads to temperature dependent mechanical properties. As this is caused by stress or strain induced austenite/martensite transformation a predeformation at low temperatures (cryoforming) will change the microstructure and the transformation behaviour of the remaining austenite constituent. The mechanical properties in tensile tests and the J‐integral of the chromium and nickel alloyed steels 1.4301 and 1.4571 have been tested in the temperature range from 123 to 323 K in the as‐industrially supplied condition and after 10 % cryoforming at 77 K. The temperature dependence of the elongation values and the strain hardening behaviour of the undeformed steels is much more pronounced than of the yield and tensile strength. The mechanical behaviour can be explained by differences in response to the ?‐, the α_e'‐ and the α_g'‐martensite transformation. A cryoforming changes the mechanical properties of the examined austenitic stainless steels.     

Anisotropy of Retained Austenite Stability during Transformation to Martensite in a TRIP‐Assisted Steel

Retained austenite as a key constituent in final microstructure plays an important role in TRansformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) steels. The volume fraction, carbon concentration, size, and morphology of this phase are the well‐known parameters which effects on the rate of transformation of retained austenite to martensite and the properties of steel, are studied by many researchers. Of the transformation of retained austenite to martensite under strain in a TRIP steel is studied in this paper. The experimental results show that the transformation rate of retained, austenite with similar characteristics, to martensite in differently processed TRIP steel samples, exhibits an anisotropic behavior. This phenomenon implies a kind of variant selection of martensitic reaction of retained austenite under strain and is explained by ferrite texture developed in steel.     

高强TRIP钢的动态力学性能

将Si-Mn系双相钢（DP钢）作为对比钢种,分析研究了高应变速率下600 MPa级Si-Mn系TRIP钢及含Al、Ni的1000 MPa级TRIP钢的显微组织及其动态力学性能.对DP钢而言,其抗拉强度随着应变速率的增大而升高,断裂延伸率则由于绝热温升的作用也呈上升趋势;对TRIP钢而言,随着应变速率的增大,其抗拉强度不断增大,断裂延伸率先减小后增大,但无法达到其静态拉伸时的塑性水平,这是由于在动态拉伸条件下奥氏体向马氏体的渐进式转变被抑制造成的.此外,在相同应变速率下测得的TRIP钢的绝热温升始终比DP钢高,而这部分高出的热量应当来自于在动态变形条件下TRIP钢中发生TRIP效应后释放的相变潜热.      

Evaluation of the Static Stress‐Strain Behaviour of Phosphorus Alloyed and Titanium Micro‐alloyed TRIP Steels

A considerable research effort has been done in the field of cold rolled TRIP steels submitted to a two‐step annealing cycle. After annealing, these steels contain retained austenite, which offers them superior mechanical properties required for specific applications in automotive industry. In the present work, a physically based microstructural model has been applied to describe the static stress‐strain behaviour of phosphorus alloyed TRIP steel. The impact of the TiC precipitation on the static stress‐strain behaviour for a Ti micro‐alloyed TRIP steel was simulated. The model calculations were compared with experimental stress‐strain curves. An excellent agreement between simulation and experimental data was demonstrated.     

Development of high strength low alloy TRIP‐aided steels with annealed martensite matrix

Formable high‐strength low‐alloy TRIP‐aided sheet steels with annealed martensite matrix or TRIP‐aided annealed martensitic steel were developed for automotive applications. The steels possessed a large amount of plate‐like retained austenite along annealed martensite lath boundary, the stability of which against the strain‐induced transformation was higher than that of the conventional TRIP‐aided dual‐phase steel with polygonal ferrite matrix. In a tensile strength range between 600 and 1000 MPa, the TRIP‐aided annealed martensitic steels exhibited superior large elongation and reduction of area. In addition, the steels possessed the same excellent stretch‐flangeability and bendability as TRIP‐aided bainitic steel with bainitic ferrite matrix. These properties were discussed by matrix structure, a strength ratio of second phase to matrix, retained austenite stability, internal stress in matrix and so on.     

The Effects of Strain Rate and Temperature on the Deformation Behavior of Cold‐Rolled TRIP800 Steel

In the present study, the influences of temperature and strain rate on the deformation behavior of cold‐rolled TRIP800 steel were investigated. Microstructural observation and tensile tests were performed and volume fractions of retained austenite were measured at various temperatures and strain rates. The results reveal that both temperature and strain rate affect the volume fractions of retained austenite that transforms into martensite. The strain‐induced transformation of retained austenite is retarded with increasing temperature and the retained austenite becomes more stable against straining. The amount of retained austenite that transforms into martensite is not influenced significantly by strain rate. The variation in mechanical properties with temperature and strain rate was related to the effects of dynamic strain aging, tempering of banite, high temperature softening, and the volume fractions of retained austenite.     

Enhancement of Superplastic Properties in Ultrahigh Carbon Steel through Silicon Addition

The superplastic behaviour of ultrahigh carbon steels (UHCS) has been greatly improved by silicon additions and thermomechanical processing. A UHC steel containing 3 wt% Si shows superplastic behaviour in a wide temperature range from 650 to 900°C. This behaviour is observed even at high strain rates, i.e. 10^‐2 s^‐1, in the temperature range between 800 and 825°C. Furthermore, the flow stress required for superplastic deformation is reduced drastically, i.e. σ=12 MPa at a strain rate of 10^‐4 s^‐l. Finally, it is found that the flow stress at a given strain rate is relatively constant over a wide range of temperatures (750‐900°C) due to a unique transformation behaviour in the UHCS‐3Si alloy.     

Analysis of the Strain‐Induced Martensitic Transformation of Retained Austenite in Cold Rolled Micro‐Alloyed TRIP Steel

The stability of retained austenite and the kinetics of the strain‐induced martensitic transformation in micro‐alloyed TRIP‐aided steel were obtained from interrupted tensile tests and saturation magnetization measurements. Tensile tests with single specimens and at variable temperature were carried out to determine the influence of the micro‐alloying on the M_s^σ temperature of the retained austenite. Although model calculations show that the addition of the micro‐alloying elements influences a number of stabilizing factors, the results indicate that the stability of retained austenite in the micro‐alloyed TRIP‐aided steels is not significantly influenced by the micro‐alloying. The kinetics of the strain‐induced martensitic transformation was also not significantly influenced by addition of the micro‐alloying elements. The addition of micro‐alloying elements slows down the autocatalytic propagation of the strain‐induced martensite due to the increase of the yield strength of retained austenite. The lower uniform elongation of micro‐alloyed TRIP‐aided steel is very likely due to the presence of numerous precipitates in the microstructure and the pronounced ferrite grain size refinement.     

Deformation Mechanisms and Martensitic Phase Transformation in TRIP‐Steel/Zirconia Honeycombs

The mechanical and structural response of powder metallurgical square‐celled honeycomb structures to quasi‐static and dynamic impact loads are described. By constructing the cellular lattice with a novel metal matrix composite material based on a metastable high‐alloyed austenitic TRIP‐steel particle‐reinforced by magnesia partially stabilized zirconia (Mg‐PSZ), high specific yield and ultimate collapse strengths as well as a high ductility and an enhanced specific energy absorption were gained. In order to prove the temperature sensitivity of the honeycomb structures, a selected low‐reinforced composite condition was investigated in a pre‐series of quasi‐static compression tests at temperatures in the range between ?190 and 150°C. The present study shows that the deformation mechanisms of the TRIP‐matrix composite honeycomb structures can be classified with respect to strain rate and deformation temperature, including the failure characteristics and the strain‐induced α′‐martensite transformation in the austenitic steel matrices ensuring the TRIP effect. The evolution of the α′‐martensite phase content in the central crush zone of the TRIP steel and TRIP‐Matrix Composite honeycombs is demonstrated based on the results of magnetic balance measurements.     

Advanced Cold Rolled Steels for Automotive Applications

Advanced high‐strength steels offer a great potential for the further development of automobile bodies‐in‐white due to their combined mechanical properties of high formability and strength. They represent the first choice in material selection for strength and crash‐relevant parts with challenging geometries. The intensive development of multiphase steels by ThyssenKrupp Steel has led to hot dip galvanizing concepts with an outstanding forming potential. Hot rolled, hot dip galvanized complex‐phase steels are currently produced in addition to cold rolled dual phase (DP) and retained austenite (RA) or transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) steels. New continuously annealed grades of steel are being developed with tensile strength levels of up to 1000 MPa in combination with sufficient ductility for the high demands of structural automobile components. These steels make use of the classic advantages of microalloying as well as the principles of DP steels and RA / TRIP steels. Further improvement of properties will be reached by the new class of high manganese alloyed steels.