Design of TRIP Steel With High Welding and Galvanizing Performance in Light of Thermodynamics and Kinetics

A new type of transformation induced plasticity （TRIP） steel with not only high strength and high ductility but also superior welding and galvanizing properties was designed and developed recently. Low carbon and low silicon content were preliminarily selected with the aim of meeting the requirements of superior quality in both welding and galvanizing. Phosphorus was chosen as one of the alloying elements, because it could reduce carbon activity in cementite and increase the stability of austenite. In addition, the possibility of phosphorus segregating at grain boundary was also discussed by thermodynamics as well as kinetics. Phase diagram was estimated at high temperature and the composition of the steel was then selected in the hyperperitectic range to avoid problems, which might occur in sheet steel continuous casting. Phase diagram in the inter.critical temperature was estimated for the steel to obtain the starting temperature of fast cooling. For understanding the minimum rate of fast cooling, pearlite growth kinetics was calculated with self-developed diffusion coefficients of elements in grain boundary. Overaging temperature was determined through the calculation of To temperature by both equilibrium and para-equilibrium assumptions, which was different from the current determination, which is only based on an equilibrium estimation.

Calculation of Phase Transformation Kinetics from Dilatation Curves

The structure of a steel changes with temperature due to phase transformations. This phase change is generally companied by a variation in the specific volume which is exhibited as a departure from the behaviour of the thermal expansion or contraction, at the temperature at which the change occurs. This behaviour can be detected as a change in the dimensions of a suitable test piece, and forms the operating principle of dilatometry. The dilatometric technique may be applicable to the investigation of the phase transformation kinetics if the relation between the fractions of phases, the temperature, the compositions of phases and the dilatation can be built up. Efforts have been made to analyze the dilatation during an isothermal transformation or to calculate the dilatation during the heating of plain carbon steels using the thermodynamic function. The existing models are, however, not directly applicable to the determination of the phase transformation kinetics from a dilatation curve. A detailed analysis has been made of the length change of a hypoeutectoid steel during a continuous cooling. A model has been developed in which the transient dilatation is calculated based on the fraction of the phases present. The model takes into account the redistribution of carbon and is applicable to the determination of the phase transformation kinetics from the dilatation data during a cooling of a hypo-eutectoid steel. The model was validated by comparing the model results with the experimental results of an interstitial free steel. Experiments have been done with an interstitial-free steel and a C-Mn steel. The model has been applied to the calculation of the transformation kinetics indicated by the dilatation curves. Excellent agreements between the model and the experiments have been obtained.