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.     

In‐situ Synchrotron XRD Analysis of the Effect of Static Strain Aging on the Elasto‐plastic Transition in CMnSi TRIP Steel

In situ synchrotron X‐ray diffraction was used to investigate the martensitic transformation kinetics, lattice straining and diffraction peak broadening in cold‐rolled TRIP steel during tensile testing. Direct evidence of stress‐strain partitioning between different phases, dislocation pinning and differences in yielding behaviour of the different phases were clearly observed. The TRIP steel was subjected to a bake‐hardening treatment and a pronounced static strain aging effect was observed. In the present work, the martensitic transformation kinetics and the elastic micro‐strain evolution for both ferrite and retained austenite during the elasto‐plastic transition are reported with an emphasis on bake‐hardening with and without pre‐straining.     

Influence of Strain‐Induced Retained Austenite Transformation on the Dynamic Tensile Behaviour of TRIP‐aided Steels

Tensile tests for two commercial TRIP‐aided steels with the compositions of 0.091%C‐1.456%Si‐1.061%Mn and 0.134%C‐1.525%Si‐1.226%Mn in the strain rate range of 10^?4‐10³ s^?1 were performed. Results for a pneumatic indirect bar‐bar tensile impact tester displayed sensitivity of tensile properties to strain‐rate within the testing range. XRD analysis for the relationship between the strain‐hardening exponent and the strain‐induced transformation of retained austenite suggested significant influence of the transformation of retained austenite on their work‐hardening behaviour.     

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.     

Strain Rate Dependent Flow Stress and Energy Absorption Behaviour of Cast CrMnNi TRIP/TWIP Steels

Modern steel developments often use additional deformation mechanisms like the deformation induced martensitic transformation (TRIP‐effect) and mechanical twinning (TWIP‐effect) to enhance elongation and strength. Three high‐alloyed cast CrMnNi‐steels with different austenite stabilities were examined. Dependent on the austenite stability, TRIP‐effect and TWIP‐effect were found. A low austenite stability causes a distinctive formation of deformation induced α'‐martensite and therefore a strong strain hardening. The increase of strain rate leads to an increase in yield strength and flow stress, but also to a counteractive adiabatic heating of the specimen. Dependent on the degree of deformation, low austenite stabilities and high strain rates lead to excellent values in specific energy absorption.     

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.     

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.     

Influence of silicon,aluminium, phosphorus and copper on the phase transformations of low alloyed TRIP‐steels

Although silicon is very Important to prevent carbide precipitation during annealing of low‐alloyed TRIP‐steels and thus allows the austenite to be stabilized by carbon, it causes problems during processing. Therefore, other alloying elements having a similar effect as silicon have to be considered. Possible candidates to substitute or reduce silicon are aluminium, copper and/or phosphorus, which are supposed to be capable of suppressing carbide formation, too. The influence of reduced silicon contents in combination with alloying elements being capable of substituting silicon completely or partially on the phase transformations occurring during heat treatment is studied. The results of the investigations are compared with a conventional low alloyed TRIP‐steel. The phase transformations are investigated by dilatometric measurements on cold rolled material. The influence of the cooling rate after the intercritical annealing on the transformation behaviour of the austenite upon cooling and isothermal holding in the bainitic range is studied. The interpretation of the phase transformations are supported by investigations of the microstructure via light microscopy and measuring the content of retained austenite using a magnetic volumetric method.     

Mechanical Behavior of Deformation‐Induced α′‐Martensite and Flow Curve Modeling of a Cast CrMnNi TRIP‐Steel

For the modeling of the mechanical behavior of a two phase alloy with the rule of mixture (RM), the flow stress of both phases is needed. In order to obtain these information for the α′‐martensite in high alloyed TRIP‐steels, compression tests at cryogenic temperatures were performed to create a fully deformation‐induced martensitic microstructure. This martensitic material condition was subsequently tested under compressive loading at ?60, 20, and 100°C and at strain rates of 10^?3, 10⁰, and 10³ s^?1 to determine the mechanical properties. The α′‐martensite possesses high strength and surprisingly good ductility up to 60% of compressive strain. Using the flow stress behavior of the α′‐martensite and that of the stable austenitic steel AISI 316L, the flow stress behavior of the high alloyed CrMnNi TRIP‐steel is modeled successfully using a special RM proposed by Narutani et al.     

形变过程中TRIP效应的相变热动态研究

采用拉伸与测温试验同时进行的方法,将应力应变曲线与热能曲线相结合,动态研究热轧TRIP钢拉伸过程中的相变热.研究表明:热轧TRIP钢在拉伸过程中材料增加的热能由部分转变的塑性功和马氏体相变热组成,因此,拉伸过程中实际测得的试样热能高于由塑性功转变的热能.利用平均综合热能损失系数对低速拉伸的TRIP钢的热能进行补充,通过计算与推导,证实了试样在刚进入塑性变形时,一定数量的较不稳定残余奥氏体首先集中发生马氏体相变,随着应变的进一步加大,剩余的较稳定的残余奥氏体根据其稳定情况发生马氏体相变的数量逐渐减少,在试样均匀延伸结束前绝大部分残余奥氏体已转变为马氏体.结合相变热变化可动态描述热轧TRIP钢形变过程中马氏体相变的情况.      

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.     

Light‐weight steels based on iron‐aluminium ‐ influence of micro alloying elements (B,Ti, Nb) on microstructures,textures and mechanical properties

The influence of the micro alloying elements B, Ti and Nb on the recrystallization texture and mechanical properties of iron aluminium light‐weight steels, particularly with reference to their improved deep drawing properties was investigated. Depending on the combination of the alloying elements the microstructures of the investigated micro alloyed Fe‐6Al steels are influenced by grain refinement. Likewise, variable combinations of micro alloying elements differently affect the texture. Generally, the mechanical properties are improved. However, small amounts of B, Ti and Nb cause superior deep drawing and stretch forming properties of these iron aluminium light‐weight steels The microstructures of various micro alloyed cold rolled Fe‐6Al steel sheets were evaluated by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) inclusively EDAX and X‐ray diffraction. Texture measurements were performed using a goniometer with a closed Eulerian cradle and analysed by ODF calculations. Tensile tests were carried out at room temperature and 200 °C, respectively. The deep drawing behaviour was determined by performing cupping tests and digitalised strain analysis.     

Effect of Silicon and Manganese on Mechanical Properties of Low-Carbon Plain TRIP Steel

Inthelasttwodecadesconsiderableefforthas beenputonthedevelopmentofhighstrengthsteels fortheautomotiveindustry.Themainaimistore ducecarweightbyincreasingthesteelstrength. Nowmoreandmoreattentionhasbeenpaidtohigh strengthtransformation inducedplasticity(TR…     

合金元素和工艺参数对热轧TRIP钢动态相变的影响

利用Gleeble热模拟试验机进行单轴压缩试验,研究了C-Mn-Si TRIP钢和C-Mn-Al-Si TRIP钢过冷奥氏体形变过程的组织演变,分析了合金元素和工艺参数对过冷奥氏体动态相变的影响.与等温相变相比,C-Mn-Si钢和C-MnAl-Si钢动态相变动力学明显加快.与C-Mn-Si钢相比,用质量分数约1%的Al替代Si后,C-Mn-Al-Si钢的A₃温度明显提高,在相同变形工艺条件下C-Mn-Al-Si钢过冷奥氏体动态相变较易发生,而C-Mn-Si钢动态相变得到的铁素体晶粒比较细小.减小动态相变前奥氏体晶粒尺寸,有利于过冷奥氏体动态相变的进行.提高过冷奥氏体形变时的变形温度或应变速率均对动态相变产生一定的阻碍作用,但影响不显著.      

Influence of Al,Si and P on the kinetics of intercritical annealing of TRIP‐aided steels: thermodynamical prediction and experimental verification

TRIP‐aided steels offer an excellent combination of strength and formability, which makes them particularly interesting for use in automotive applications. Recent investigations have shown that while the typical high CMnSi TRIP‐aided steel composition offers good mechanical properties, alloying with other elements or a modification of the processing are required to make this steel readily galvanizable without loss of the TRIP properties. Al‐alloying seems especially promising to realize this goal and P could also be an alternative. Due to the very specific thermal processing needed to obtain a TRIP microstructure, it is important to know the influence of these alloying elements on the re‐austenitization kinetics during the annealing. This paper aims at identifying the differences in the influence of Si, Al and P on the intercritical annealing of TRIP‐aided steels. The equilibrium thermodynamics calculations and diffusion‐controlled transformation simulations were used in order to predict the transformation behaviour, and experimental verification was done based on dilatometric experiments.     

Stress‐Temperature‐Transformation and Deformation‐Temperature‐Transformation Diagrams for an Austenitic CrMnNi as‐cast Steel

Stress‐Temperature‐Transformation (STT) and Deformation‐Temperature‐Transformation (DTT) diagrams are well‐suited to characterize the TRIP (transformation‐induced plasticity) and TWIP (twinning‐induced plasticity) effect in steels. The triggering stresses for the deformation‐induced microstructure transformation processes, the characteristic temperatures, the yield stress and the strength of the steel are plotted in the STT diagram as functions of temperature. The elongation values of the austenite, the strain‐induced twins and martensite formations are shown in the DTT diagram. The microstructure evolution of a novel austenitic Cr‐Mn‐Ni (16%Cr, 6% Mn, 6% Ni) as‐cast steel during deformation was investigated at various temperatures using static tensile tests, optical microscopy and the magnetic scale for the detection of ferromagnetic phase fraction. At the temperatures above 250 °C the steel only deforms by glide deformation of the austenite. Strain‐induced twinning replaces the glide deformation at temperatures below 250 °C with increasing strain. Below 100 °C, the strain‐induced martensite formation becomes more pronounced. The kinetics of the α'‐martensite formation is described according to stress and deformation temperatures. The STT and DTT diagrams, enhanced with the kinetics of the martensite formation, are presented in this paper.     

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.     

Effects of Niobium Addition on Microstructures and Formability in Si‐Al‐Mn TRIP Cold‐rolled Steels

The effects of Nb addition on microstructures and formability in Si‐Al‐Mn TRIP cold‐rolled steels were investigated. These steels were intercritical annealed at 770 °C for 5 min, and isothermally treated at 400 °C for 3 min. Microstructural observation, tensile tests and forming limit diagram (FLD) tests were conducted, and the changes of retained austenite volume fraction as a function of tensile strain were measured by using an X‐ray diffractometer. The results showed that Nb addition makes grain size refined, the volume fraction of ferrite increase and that of bainite decrease, however, obviously it does not affect the volume fraction and carbon content of retained austenite. The Nb addition increased the stability of retained austenite owing to grain refinement. With Nb addition, increase in strength, ductility, strain hardening exponent and formability could be achieved simultaneously. These findings indicate that Nb addition can be a new direction of microalloying design for the low carbon TRIP steels with excellent formability and high stability of retained austenite.     

Experimental determination of the stability of retained austenite in low alloy TRIP steels

The stability of retained austenite is the most important parameter controlling the transformation plasticity effects in multiphase low alloy TRIP steels. In this work the thermodynamic stability of the retained austenite has been determined experimentally by measuring the M^σ_s temperature as a function of bainite isothermal transformation (BIT) temperature and time in two low alloy TRIP steels. A single-specimen temperature-variable tension test technique (SS-TV-TT) has been employed, which allowed to link the appearance of yield points in the stress-strain curve with the mechanically-induced martensitic transformation of the retained austenite. The results indicated that the M^σ_S temperature varies with BIT temperature and time. Higher austenite stability is associated with a BIT temperature of 400°C rather than 375°C. In addition, the chemical stabilization of the retained austenite associated with carbon enrichment from the growing bainite is lowered at short BIT times. This stability drop is due to carbide precipitation and comes earlier in the Nb-containing steel. At longer BIT times the retained austenite dispersion becomes finer and its stability rises due to size stabilization. The experimental results are in good agreement with model predictions within the range of anticipated carbon enrichment of the retained austenite and measured austenite particle size.