Unraveling the Initial Microstructure Effects on Mechanical Properties and Work-Hardening Capacity of Dual-Phase Steel

Ferritic-martensitic, dual-phase (DP) microstructures with different size, morphology, and distribution of martensite were produced by altering the initial microstructures using heat treatment and thermomechanical processing routes. It was revealed that the strength, ductility, and work-hardening rate of DP steels strongly depend on the volume fraction and the morphology of the martensite phase. In this regard, the fine-grained DP microstructure showed a high work-hardening ability toward an excellent combination of strength and ductility. Such a microstructure can be readily obtained by intercritical annealing of an ultrafine grained (UFG) microstructure, where the latter can be produced by cold-rolling followed by tempering of a martensite starting microstructure. Conclusively, the enhancement of mechanical properties of DP steels through microstructural refinement was found to be more beneficial compared with increasing the volume fraction of martensite. Finally, it was also demonstrated that the work-hardening rate analysis based on the instantaneous (incremental) work-hardening exponents might be an advantageous approach for characterizing DP steels along with the conventional approaches.     

C和Mn元素配分行为对冷轧中锰TRIP钢组织性能的影响

采用冷轧+两相区温轧退火（CR+WR+IA）热处理工艺,研究了两相区退火时间对超细晶铁素体与奥氏体中组织形貌演变、C和Mn元素配分行为以及力学性能的影响。结果表明,冷轧试验钢经两相区形变退火处理后,获得了由铁素体、残余奥氏体或新生马氏体组成的超细晶复相组织。在645℃随退火时间的延长,形变马氏体向逆相变奥氏体配分的C、Mn元素增多,C、Mn元素富集位置增加,同时富Mn区形变马氏体回复再结晶现象明显;伴随少量碳化物溶解,试验钢的屈服强度由741持续降低到325MPa。两相区退火10min时,试验钢力学性能最佳,此时抗拉强度达到最大值1141MPa,断后伸长率及均匀伸长率分别为236%和181%,强塑积达到26928MPa·%。     

Effects of silicon content and intercritical annealing on the manganese partitioning in dual phase steels

 Steels of constant manganese and carbon contents with 0.34-2.26 wt. % silicon content were cast. The as-cast steels were then hot rolled at 1100°C in five passes to reduce the cast ingot thickness from 80 to 4 mm, air cooled to room temperature and cold rolled to 2 mm thickness. Dual-phase microstructures with different the volume fraction of martensite were obtained through the intercritical annealing of the steels at different temperatures for 15 min followed by water quenching. In addition of intercritical annealing temperature, silicon content also altered the volume fraction of martensite in dual-phase steels. The partitioning of manganese in dual-phase silicon steels were investigated using energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS). The partitioning coefficient, defined as the ratio of the amounts of alloying element in the austenite to that in the adjacent ferrite, for manganese increased with increasing intercritical annealing temperature and silicon content of steels. It was also shown that the solubility of manganese in ferrite and austenite decreased with increasing intercritical temperature. The results were discussed by the diffusivity and the solubility of manganese in ferrite and austenite present in dual-phase silicon steels.     

Microstructure-mechanical property relationships of dual-phase steel wire

The high strain hardening rate and formability of dual-phase steels makes them promising choices for drawing into high strength wire. As the fundamental part of an alloy design project, dual-phase steels with several different martensite volume fractions, particle shapes, particle sizes, compositions, and crystallographic relations with the ferrite matrix were studied. They were wire drawn with true strains of up to 6.1. The initial microstructure, void formation tendency, drawability, and mechanical properties of the various steels were compared and correlated. The Fe-2Si-0.1C alloy was found to be the most promising with a suggested reduction in the carbon level to 0.06 to 0.08 pct. The double heat treatment which consists of quenching from austenite to martensite followed by intercritical annealing and quenching produced the best microstructure for drawing into wire. The annealing temperature should be adjusted to yield 25 to 30 vol pct martensite in the final microstructure. Stress relief after drawing provided a substantial increase in ductility without significant loss in strength.     

原始组织对690 MPa级海工钢亚温淬火后强韧性的影响

 为了稳定亚温淬火工艺与工业化生产,通过力学性能分析及显微组织观察,对比了正火+亚温淬火+回火、在线淬火+亚温淬火+回火、离线淬火+亚温淬火+回火3种热处理工艺对690 MPa级海洋工程用钢板组织性能的影响。结果表明,采用离线淬火+亚温淬火+回火工艺结果最理想,能够大幅度提高钢板的低温冲击性能和伸长率。同时,还能够获得较低的屈强比,断口形貌全部为韧窝,呈明显的韧性断裂,而且随着亚温保温时间的增加,强度逐渐提高,当保温时间达到30 min以后,强度及条片状铁素体基本不发生变化;采用直接淬火态+亚温淬火+回火虽然可以保证高强度低屈强比,但是冲击功表现较为离散,稳定性欠佳,断口形貌为混合型,以韧性断裂为主;采用正火态+亚温淬火+回火工艺效果最差,尤其是不能保证钢板低温韧性,断口形貌全部为解理,呈明显的脆性断裂,其中片条状铁素体形貌是决定优良低温冲击性能的关键因素。     

Enhanced mechanical properties of dual-phase steel by repetitive intercritical annealing

The effect of repetitive intercritical annealing on the mechanical properties and work-hardening response of a typical C–Mn dual-phase (DP) steel was studied by consideration of different pre-intercritical annealing microstructures and martensite volume fractions. It was revealed that the DP steels produced from the initial martensitic microstructure have much better mechanical properties compared with those originated from the ferritic–pearlitic banded microstructure. The repetitive intercritical annealing of the initial martensitic microstructure was effective for the enhancement of strength–ductility balance, where at a comparable ductility; a twofold increase in the tensile strength was obtained. Finally, these results were discussed based on the Crussard–Jaoul work-hardening rate analysis.     

Hydrogen embrittlement of dual-phase steels

Reversible hydrogen embrittlement (HE) is usually only found in quenched and tempered steels with yield stresses in excess of 1035 MPa (150 ksi). A study of the HE phenomena in two dual-phase steels with tensile strengths of about 690 MPa (100 ksi) has shown that these steels are susceptible to the presence of hydrogen. HE results in a reduction in fracture strength, although no preyield failures are observed, and a change in fracture mode from ductile dimpling to transgranular cleavage. After prestraining and HE, it is found that the greater the prestrain the higher is the fracture stress. It is concluded that the presence of the 15 to 20 pct high carbon (0.6 pct C) high strength martensite in the dual-phase steels is responsible for the HE; tempering studies give results consistent with this idea. Delayed failure tests on notched specimens showed that for the as-received condition, the run-out stress (stress for no failures in 50 to 100 h) to be above the macroscopic flow stress. A condition for HE failure in dual-phase steels appears to be considerable macroscopic deformation.     

退火工艺对铁素体不锈钢SUS410L热轧钢板组织和性能的影响

研究了不同退火温度和保温时间对SUS410L热轧态钢板再结晶行为和力学性能的影响。试验结果表明,当保温温度为700℃时,保温480 min后SUS410L热轧钢板仍未完成再结晶。当保温温度为750℃和800℃时分别于120 min和30 min基本完成再结晶,晶粒在之后的保温时间里逐步长大。为避免退火过程中出现马氏体而降低材料的延伸率,退火温度≤800℃。材料的力学性能与热处理后的再结晶程度密切相关。当保温温度为750℃且保温时间为480 min时可获得最佳的综合机械性能:延伸率38%,HRB硬度值67,屈服强度236 MPa,抗拉强度441 MPa。     

退火温度和平整对冷轧热镀锌双相钢组织和性能的影响

本文在实验室试制了高强度冷轧热镀锌用双相钢,探讨了不同的退火温度和平整工艺对双相钢力学性能和组织的影响规律.研究表明:退火温度在800℃以上时,试制的低硅C-Mn-Cr系双相钢才能得到由铁素体和马氏体组成的性能优良的双相钢.平整工艺显著提高双相钢的屈服强度和屈强比,降低双相钢的延伸率,平整率小于1%时,有利于工业上得到综合性能良好的双相钢.     

Effect of Intercritical Annealing Parameters on Dual Phase Behavior of Commercial Low-Alloyed Steels

 It is known that dual phase (DP) heat treatments and alloying elements have a strong effect on martensitic transformations and mechanical properties. In the present work, the effects of some intercritical annealing parameters (heating rate, soaking temperature, soaking time, and quench media) on the microstructure and mechanical properties of cold rolled DP steel were studied. The microstructure of specimens quenched after each annealing stage, was analyzed using optical microscopy. The tensile properties, determined for specimens submitted to complete annealing cycles, are influenced by the volume fractions of multi phases (originated from martensite, bainite and retained austenite), which depend on annealing processing parameters. The results obtained showed that the yield strength (YS) and the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) increase with the increasing intercritical temperature and cooling rate. This can be explained by higher martensite volume ratio with the increased volume fraction of austenite formed at the higher temperatures and cooling rates. The experimental data also showed that, for the annealing cycles carried out, higher UTS values than ~ 800 MPa could be obtained with the S3 steel grade.     

Influence of intercritical annealing temperature on microstructure and mechanical properties of medium Mn TRIP steel

The transformation, microstructure and mechanical properties of the 0. 2C- 5Mn TRIP steel after intercritical annealing were investigated using dilatometer, scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy(TEM), X- ray diffraction (XRD), and tensile testing machine. The phase transformation thermodynamics of the investigated steel after intercritical annealing was calculated by Factsage software and the characteristics of the transformation were discussed. The results show that the reversed austenite content increases with the increasing of the intercritical annealing temperature, the carbon content in reversed austenite firstly increases and then decreases, manganese content in reversed austenite decreases, which results in the decreasing of the thermal stability of reversed austenite. When the intercritical annealing temperature is 700??, an obvious martensitic transformation occurs during the cooling process. With the increasing of intercritical annealing temperature, cementite is gradually dissolved, but it cannot be completely dissolved due to the short transformation time. When the intercritical annealing temperature is 600-675??, the microstructure after intercritical annealing consists of ferrite, cementite and retained austenite. When the intercritical annealing temperature is 700??, the microstructure after intercritical annealing consists of ferrite, retained austenite, martensite and a small amount of undissolved cementite. The engineering stress and strain curves of the investigated steel are significantly changed with increasing intercritical annealing temperature. At the same time, the optimal mechanical properties with tensile strength of 1138MPa and total elongation of 23% can be obtained after annealed at 675?? for 3min.     

低碳中锰热轧TRIP钢退火工艺及组织演变

研究了第三代高强度高塑性TRIP钢的退火工艺对性能的影响和组织演变规律.热轧后形成的原始马氏体与临界退火时形成的残余奥氏体使TRIP钢具有良好的强度和塑性.结果表明:实验用钢可获得1000MPa以上的抗拉强度和30%以上的断后延伸率,且强塑积>30 Gpa·%;退火温度和保温时间对钢的力学性能具有显著影响,热轧TRIP钢临界退火温度为630℃,保温时间18 h时,实验用钢能获得最佳的综合力学性能.      

Formability of High Strength Dual‐phase Steels

The application of ferritic‐martensitic dual‐phase (DP) steels has become an increasing trend in the automotive industry due to the possibility to achieve significant weight reduction and fuel efficiency with improved crash performance while keeping the manufacturing costs at affordable levels. In order to meet the different design requirements of individual auto‐body components, a wide variety of DP grades exhibiting different strength and ductility levels is currently industrially produced. Despite the numerous studies on the relationship between the mechanical properties and the microstructural characteristics of DP steels over the last decades, it is still a challenge to increase their formability at a constant strength level (or equivalently increasing the strength while maintaining a high ductility). One of the possibilities to increase strength is grain refinement. Ultrafine‐grained ferritic‐martensitic microstructures were produced by intercritical annealing of a cold‐rolled, pre‐processed dual‐phase steel. Ferrite mean grain sizes in the order of ~ 1.5 μm were obtained. The mechanical properties of these steels are studied, revealing the beneficial effect of grain refinement. Ultimate tensile strength above 800 MPa is achievable, while reaching remarkable high uniform and total elongations, which are only slightly affected by the martensite volume fraction. Moreover, the yield to tensile strength ratio can be adjusted between 0.4 and 0.5. Light and electron microscopy investigations, fracture profile and fracture surface analyses, hole expansion tests and additional ultramicrohardness measurements are used for the interpretation of the results and for the correlation of the mechanical properties and the formability characteristics with the microstructure of the steel.     

Effects of heat treatment and alloying elements on the microstructures and mechanical properties of 0.15 wt pct C transformation-induced plasticity-aided cold-rolled steel sheets

The main emphasis of this study has been placed on understanding the effects of manganese and silicon additions and of heat-treatment (intercritical annealing and isothermal treatment) conditions on the microstructures and mechanical properties of 0.15 wt pct C transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP)-aided cold-rolled steel sheets. The steel sheets were intercritically annealed and isothermally treated at the bainitic region. Microstructural observation and tensile tests were conducted, and volume fractions of retained austenite were measured. Steels having a high manganese content had higher retained austenite fractions than the steels having a low manganese content, but showed characteristics of a dual-phase steel such as continuous yielding behavior, high tensile strength over 1000 MPa, and a low elongation of about 20 pct. The retained austenite fractions and mechanical properties varied with the heat-treatment conditions. In particular, the retained austenite fractions increased with decreasing intercritical annealing and isothermal treatment temperatures, thereby resulting in the improvement of the elongation and strength-ductility balance without a serious decrease in the yield or tensile strength. These findings suggested that the intercritical annealing and isothermal treatment conditions should be established in consideration of the stability of austenite and the solubility of alloying elements in the austenite formed during the intercritical annealing.     

Influence of martensite content and morphology on tensile and impact properties of high-martensite dual-phase steels

A series of dual-phase (DP) steels containing finely dispersed martensite with different volume fractions of martensite (V _m) were produced by intermediate quenching of a boron- and vanadium-containing microalloyed steel. The volume fraction of martensite was varied from 0.3 to 0.8 by changing the intercritical annealing temperature. The tensile and impact properties of these steels were studied and compared to those of step-quenched steels, which showed banded microstructures. The experimental results show that DP steels with finely dispersed microstructures have excellent mechanical properties, including high impact toughness values, with an optimum in properties obtained at ∼0.55 V _m. A further increase in V _m was found to decrease the yield and tensile strengths as well as the impact properties. It was shown that models developed on the basis of a rule of mixtures are inadequate in capturing the tensile properties of DP steels with V _m>0.55. Jaoul-Crussard analyses of the work-hardening behavior of the high-martensite volume fraction DP steels show three distinct stages of plastic deformation.     

Early stages of yielding and strain aging of a vanadium-containing dual-phase steel

A study has been made of the early stages of yielding, 10⁻⁵ to 10⁻² plastic strain range, of a vanadium containing dual-phase steel as a function of pct martensite, pct prestrain and aging time and temperature. It is found that the 10⁻⁵ yield stress is independent of the pct martensite, while the 10⁻³ flow stress is proportional to, and increases rapidly with the martensite content. For dual-phase steels of commercial interest (15 to 25 pct martensite content), it is concluded that the yield behavior is controlled by the free dislocations introduced into the ferrite matrix when the austenite regions transform to martensite and their subsequent interaction with the martensite regions. While straining increases the microyield stresses and aging increases both the micro and macroyield stresses, these processes are not additive in a strained plus aged specimen. The activation energy for the production of a yield point plateau was determined to be about 33 kcal/mol. It is proposed that this high value is a result of carbon atoms interacting with vanadium rich clusters which remain in the structure after vanadium carbide precipitates are dissolved during intercritical annealing.     

Structure-Property Relationships in Dual-Phase Cu-Al Alloys: Part II. Alloy Behavior

The mechanical behavior of dual-phase Cu-Al alloys was investigated and properties were correlated to the relevant parameters: martensite volume fraction, martensite strength, and dual-phase morphology. The yield strength is markedly influenced by all parameters, being an increasing function of both martensite fraction and strength. With respect to component phases it is established that such function does not follow the law of mixtures. On the other hand, ultimate tensile strength exhibits linear dependence on volume fraction of martensite. On comparing theory with experiment, good agreement was established between true uniform strains calculated according to Mileiko's theory of composites and experimental results. High ductility levels are reachable over a rather broad range of martensite volume fraction. Depending on quench temperature, enhancement of ductility occursvia stress-induced phase transformation of martensite to fcc structure. Macrohardness measurements carried out on dual-phase structures showed linear dependence on martensite volume fraction. The data indicate that macrohardness could be predictedvia linear combination of microhardness of component phases and their volume fractions. Strengthening of dual-phase alloys could be achieved, at practically no loss of ductility, by means of short time annealing. Moreover, remarkable strengthening is attainablevia combinations of cold work and annealing while maintaining useful levels of ductility.     

临界退火中锰钢的组织性能和变形行为

 为了研究临界退火中锰钢的微观组织演变规律以及组织对力学性能和变形行为的影响,对冷轧中锰钢(0.1C-7Mn-0.35Si)在570～650 ℃范围内进行了临界退火处理。研究结果表明,随着退火温度升高,双相“奥氏体+铁素体”组织逐步趋于等轴化且晶粒有粗化的趋势,并且在650 ℃时出现了马氏体组织;试验钢的抗拉强度随温度升高而增加,而伸长率和屈服强度均呈下降趋势,局部不均匀变形带随着退火温度升高逐步弱化,在620和650 ℃时完全消失;在相对较高的退火温度下,粗化的等轴奥氏体晶粒中形变诱导马氏体相变的增强和大尺寸的铁素体晶粒中动态回复的减弱,以及更高温度时马氏体的引入等,均改善了屈服阶段的加工硬化能力,从而有效减弱或抑制吕德斯带的扩展。