Medium-Mn steels for hot forming application in the automotive industry

Advanced high-strength steels have been widely used to improve the crashworthiness and lightweight of vehicles.Different from the popular cold stamping,hot forming of boron-alloyed manganese steels,such as 22MnB5,could produce ultra-high-strength steel parts without springback and with accurate control of dimensions.Moreover,hot-formed medium-Mn steels could have many advantages,including better mechanical properties and lower production cost,over hot-formed 22MnB5.This paper reviews the hot forming process in the automotive industry,hot-formed steel grades,and medium-Mn steel grades and their application in hot forming in depth.In particular,the adaptabilities of medium-Mn steels and the presently popular 22MnB5 into hot forming were compared thoroughly.Future research should focus on the technological issues encountered in hot forming of medium-Mn steels to promote their commercialization.

Effect of flash processing on recrystallization behavior and mechanical performance of cold-rolled IF steel

Flash processing(FP)has attracted considerable attention due to its high efficiency,economic advantages,and the extraordinary opportunity if offers to improve the mechanical properties of steel.In this study,we investigated the influences of FP on the recrystallization(REX)behavior and mechanical performance of cold-rolled IF steel.Using a thermomechanical simulator,we performed both single-stage FPs,at heating rates of 200℃/s and 500℃/s,and two-stage FP,with an initial preheating to 400℃ at a rate of 5℃/s and then to peak temperatures at a rate of 200℃/s.In comparison to continuous annealing(CA),single-stage FP can effectively refine the recrystallized grain sizes and produce a similar or even sharperγ(ND(normal direction)//{111})texture component.In particular,the heating rate of 500℃/s led to an increase in the yield strength of about 23.2%and a similar ductility.In contrast,the two-stage FP resulted in a higher REX temperature as well as a certain grain refinement due to the stored strain energy,i.e.,the driving force of REX,which was largely consumed during preheating.Furthermore,both stronger{110}<110>and weakerγtexture components appeared in the two-stage FP and were believed to be responsible for the early necking and deterioration in ductility.

Multiphase-field simulation of austenite reversion in medium-Mn steels

Medium-Mn steels have attracted immense attention for automotive applications owing to their outstanding combination of high strength and superior ductility.This steel class is generally characterized by an ultrafine-grained duplex microstructure consisting of ferrite and a large amount of austenite.Such a unique microstructure is processed by intercritical annealing,where austenite reversion occurs in a fine martensitic matrix.In the present study,austenite reversion in a medium-Mn alloy was simulated by the multiphase-field approach using the commercial software MICRESS®coupled with the thermodynamic database TCFE8 and the kinetic database MOBFE2.In particular,a faceted anisotropy model was incorporated to replicate the lamellar morphology of reversed austenite.The simulated microstructural morphology and phase transformation kinetics(indicated by the amount of phase)concurred well with experimental observations by scanning electron microscopy and in situ synchrotron high-energy X-ray diffraction,respectively.

Modeling decarburization kinetics of grain-oriented silicon steel

A mathematic model has been presented to predict the decarburization kinetics of grain-oriented silicon steel sheet in the gas mixture of N2–H2–H2O during annealing.This model is based on the carbon flux balance between the oxidation reaction at the surface and the carbon diffusion inside the steel sheet.It can be numerically solved to quantify the influences of annealing temperature and atmosphere on decarburization kinetics when the boundary conditions are properly determined.In case that a humid gas mixture is employed during annealing,the most influential process parameter is temperature rather than compositions of the gas mixture,because the diffusion of carbon in ferrite is the rate-limiting step.Therefore,a higher temperature is required for the efficient decarburization of the thicker silicon steel sheet using the industrial continuous annealing production line.

Progress on statistical models of evaluating inclusions in clean steels

Non-metallic inclusions are critical for the fatigue failure of clean steels in service;especially,the large and hard inclusions are detrimental.Since it is not possible to measure all the inclusions in the large-volume clean steels,statistical models have been developed to evaluate inclusions,aiming at predicting the maximum inclusion size in the large volume from the data of inclusions,which are derived from the limited observations on small-volume specimens.Different statistical models were reviewed together with their supporting theories.In particular,the block maxima and the threshold types of models were discussed through a thorough comparison as they are both widely used and based on the extreme value theory.The predicted results not only are used to distinguish the different cleanliness levels of steels,but also help to estimate fatigue strength.Finally,future research is proposed to focus on tackling the present difficulties encountered by statistical models,including the sufficient credibility of obtained results and the robustness of models for applications.

Mn Diffusion at Early Stage of Intercritical Annealing of 5Mn Steel

Mn distribution and austenite morphology at the early stage of intercritical annealing of 5Mn steel were investigated. It was experimentally demonstrated that a newly formed 20 nm-thick austenite was formed without the partitioning of Mn. The elemental analysis confirmed that the growth of austenite should be controlled by the diffusion of C prior to the diffusion of Mn at a low heating rate. The austenite growth started under negligible-partitioning local equilibrium mode and then switched to partitioning local equilibrium mode. Mn segregation at the γ/α interface suggested that the collector plate mechanism was the essential way of Mn partitioning at the early stage of austenite growth.