EFFECT OF CHEMICAL COMPOSITION ON RETAINED AUSTENITE IN TRIP STEEL

The systematic chemical compositions including common C, Si, Mn, Al, and micro-alloying elements of Ti and Nb were designed for high volume fraction of retained austenite as much as possible. The thermo-cycle experiments were conducted by using Gleeble 2000 thermo-dynamic test machine for finding the appropriate composition. The experimental results showed that chemical composition had a significant effect on retained austenite, and the appropriate compositions were determined for commercial production of TRIP steels.

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.

REVIEW AND PROSPECT OF HIGH STRENGTH LOW ALLOY TRIP STEEL

Research status of high strength low alloy TRIP (transformation induced plasticity) steels for automobile structural parts is briefly described. Composition and microstruc-ture factors especially the morphology, size and volume fraction of retained austenite, which largely influence the strength and ductility of the steel, are reviewed and discussed one after another. Modelling of the inter-critical annealing and martempering processes as well as the designing of the TRIP steel aided by commercial software are introduced. Some special aspects of the dynamic mechanical properties of TRIP steel are firstly reported.

Effect of Silicon Content on Thermodynamics of Austenite Decomposition in C-Si-Mn TRIP Steels

Some numerical models such as central atoms model （CAM） and superelement model were used to simulate the thermodynamics of austenite decomposition in the Fe-C-Mn-Si TRIP （transformation induced plasticity） steels. Thermodynamic calculations were carried out under a para-equilibrium （PE） condition. The results show that certain silicon content can accelerate the polygonal ferritic transformation and increase the volume fraction and stability of retained austenite by retarding the precipitation of carbides during the bainitic transformation.

EFFECTS OF CARBON CONTENT AND ROLLING PROCESSING ON RETAINED AUSTENITE FOR HOT-ROLLED TRIP STEELS

The effects of finishing rolling temperature and coiling temperature on retained austen-ite were studied for hot-rolled transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) steels with different carbon content. The experimental results showed that an appropriate volume fraction of retained austenite from 6% to 11% could be obtained according to the different carbon content less than 0.20% by controlled finishing rolling and coiling for the hot-rolled TRIP steels. It can be concluded that carbon content has a significant effect on the fraction of retained austenite and coiling processing plays stronger role on retaining austenite than fishing rolling processing.

ON THE TENSILE MECHANICAL PROPERTY OF Si-Mn TRIP STEELS AT HIGH STRAIN RATE

Tensile mechanical properties of 1.6Si-1.58Mn-0.195C TRIP (transformation-induced plasticity) steels under high strain rate and effects of DP (dual-phase) treatments were studied and compared to the quasi-static tensile behavior. The results show that the increasing of strain rate leads to increasing in their strengths and decreasing in the uniform elongation remarkably. Because the stable retained austenite in TRIP steel can transform to martensite during tensile testing and the material exhibits excellent characteristic of transformation induced plasticity, the plastic deformation behavior is evidently improved and the combination of strength and elongation is superior to that of dual-phase steel, although its strength is smaller than that of DP steel. However, DP treated steel shown lower elongation under dynamic tension in spite of higher strength. A model was proposed to explain the excellent elongation rate of TRIP steel compared with DP steel on the basis of SEM analysis and the strength of the components in microstructure.

Mechanical properties and microstructure of TRIP steels produced using TSCR process

C-Si-Mn TRIP steels were produced using the thin slab casting and rolling （TSCR） process under simulation in laboratory. The results of tensile tests show that the yield strength, tensile strength, and the total elongation of the experimental TRIP steels are 430 MPa, 610 MPa, and 28.4%, respectively. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, and transmission electron microscopy （TEM） were employed to identify the microstructures of the TRIP steels. The final microstructures consist of ferrite, bainite, and retained austenite. The results of quantitative color metallography show that the fraction of the retained austenite is about 5.8%.

Effect of bending temperatures on the microstructure and springback of a TRIP steel sheet

Transformation-induced plasticity(TRIP)steel possesses high strength and formability,enabling the use of a thinner gauge material and allowing for the fabrication of complex shapes.In this research,we measured the effect of bending temperatures on the microstructure and air-bending springback angle of TRIP steel at temperatures from 25 to 600
C.Real-time in situ X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were used for pre-and postbending analysis.As the prebending temperature increased from 25
C to 600
C,the retained austenite(RA)volume fraction decreased,and the RA transformed to bainite at temperatures above 400
C.The springback angle was positively correlated with the prebending RA volume fraction,with the smallest springback angle achieved at 400
C.Additionally,the springback angle was positively correlated with the bending angle,because the RA transformation ratio contributed to increased strain hardening.Further microstructure analysis revealed that the RA became elongated in the tension direction as the bending temperatures increased.

Microstructure and Performance of 2Y-PSZ/TRIP Steel Composites

2Y-PSZ/TRIP steel composites have been sintered by hot-pressing method. Their microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated by means of SEM, TEM, XRD and static tension, split Hopkinson pressure bar method. The results showed that the strength and elastic modulus of 2Y-PSZ/TRIP steel composites at room temperature decreased with the increase of 2Y-PSZ content. The main reason was that the combining strength was quite weak between the grains of ZrO2. Distortion induced martensite transformation and plasticity during the dynamic loading increased the strength and distortion capability of the composites. The transformation was carried out mainly through twins formation. The shape of martensite induced by distortion was lamellate with substructures of twins. The habit plane was near {259}T with no mid-ridge and no explosion phenomena. The interface was straight between the austenite and martensite induced by distortion. The increase of 2Y-PSZ content, on the one hand, made the composite dynamic flow stress improved. Thereby, the fracture strength was improved. On the other hand, it depressed both the distortion capability and the martensite transformation induced by distortion. This resulted in the decrease of dynamic fracture strength.

EFFECT OF SILICON ADDITION ON RECRYSTALLIZATION AND PHASE TRANSFORMATION BEHAVIOR OF HIGH-STRENGTH HOT-ROLLED TRIP STEEL

Because Si is a noncarbide forming element, a multiphase microstructure consisting of ferrite, bainite, and retained austenite, at room temperature, can be formed by controlling the thermomechanical process strictly. The cooling schedules must be restricted by the formation of pearlite and cementite. In the present article, a new integrated mathematical model for prediction of microstructure evolution during controlled rolling and controlled cooling is developed for a typical kind of low carbon Si-Mn TRIP steel, which consists of temperature simulation, recrystallization, and transformation models. The influence of Si contents has been thoroughly investigated. The calculated results indicate that Si retards recrystallization, restrains austenite grain growth as well as accelerates polygonal ferrite transformation.

Recrystallization Modelling of Hot Deformed Si-Mn TRIP Steel

By means of hot compression single and double hit experiments, the kinetics of dynamic and static recrystallization in hot-rolled Si-Mn TRIP steel was studied, and the emphasis was put on the influence of high silicon content. The results show that the calculated parameters are consistent with the experimental ones, and addition of silicon retards both dynamic and static recrystallization as well as increases the flow stress of austenite, and the non-recrystallization zone can be enlarged by increasing the silicon contents.

Effect of Microstructure in TRIP Steel on Its Tensile Behavior at High Strain Rate

The relationships between microstructure of 0.195C-1.6Si-1.58 Mn TRIP steel and its dynamic mechanical properties at high strain rate were investigated.The effect of microstructures on dynamic properties was discussed and the comparison with its static mechanical properties was also presented.The specimens of TRIP steel via three heat treatment techniques exhibit different morphological structures,responsible for their dynamic mechanical performances.The dynamic tensile testing was performed on self-made pneumatic tensile impact tester.The results showed that the size,volume fraction,morphology and distribution of retained austenite all affect the final mechanical properties at high strain rate.Among them,the second phase(retained austenite + bainite) with net structure severely decreases the elongation of TRIP steel in spite of the fact that it enhances strength because it restrains ferrite deformation.In order to obtain the excellent combination of strength and elongation,rational matching of morphology,size and volume fraction of several phases in TRIP steel can be obtained via proper heat treatment techniques.

Characteristics of Retained Austenite in TRIP Steels with Bainitic Ferrite Matrix

Heat treatment process for producing cold rolled transformation induced plasticity-aided （TRIP-aided） steels with bainitic ferrite matrix was adopted. Characteristics of retained austenite （RA） in such TRIP steels were investigated. SEM and OM determination results showed that the stable austenite retained at room temperature were mainly located between laths and some of them inside the coarse ferrite. The grains were uniformly distributed in heat treated steel matrix and the regularly dispersed RA represented to be triangular morphology. XRD analysis indicated that RA content in matrix was not less than 10%, and TEM testified that RA inside the matrix were formed at the prior austenite boundaries and represented to be single or twin crystals. The ductile fracture originated from the boundaries of martensite islands from RA and ferrite. The cracks propagated along grain boundaries and some passed through the large ferrite grains and induced transgranular fracture.

Mechanical and Transformation Behaviors of a C-Mn-Si-Al-Cr TRIP Steel under Stress

Transformation induced plasticity （TRIP） steels combine high strength and excellent ductility, making them suited for application in crash-relevant parts in the automotive industry. However, the high Si contents in the conventional TRIP steel will generate surface defects on the hot rolled strip, which is difficult to process in continuous galvanizing lines. In order to solve the above problem the TRIP steel with the addition of Al replacing majority of Si was designed. In the present paper, the volume fraction of various phases in a C-Mn-Si-Al-Cr TRIP steel was determined by metallographic examination and X-ray diffraction analysis, and the multi-phase microstructures were characterized using an atomic force microscope based on their height difference. Tensile tests were performed at different temperatures ranging from -40℃ to 90℃. The results show that transition temperature Ms^σ in the present TRIP steel cannot be determined due to its lower volume fraction of retained austenite, different from the conventional TRIP steel. While the yield stress and tensile strength at different temperatures are higher than those of the conventional TRIP steel, which is attributed to the addition of Cr. In order to evaluate the effect of martensitic transformation on the total elongation, the sample without retained austenite obtained by quenching in liquid nitrogen was carried out under tensile test. The results indicate that the elongation of the original sample containing 9% retained austenite is about 20% higher than that of the sample quenched in liquid nitrogen, which demonstrates that the retained austenite plays an important role in improving the elongation of the TRIP steel.

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF MICROSTRUCTURES AND PROPERTIES FOR ADVANCED ALUMINUM/SILICON CONTAINED HOT-ROLLED TRIP STEELS

The microstructure characteristics with super fine ferrite grain size less than 5mm, appropriate retained austenite fraction around 5.0% and or removable abundant dislocations have been obtained by controlled rolling and cooling, which leads to well balance com- prehensive properties with high tensile strength of 510 and 615MPa, high elongation of 40% and 27%, low ratio of yield strength to tensile strength 0.83 and 0.80, as well as low ductile- brittle transition temperature less than -80 and -70℃ for advanced aluminum hot-rolled TRIP steel and silicon hot-rolled TRIP steel, respectively.

TRIP Steel Retained Austenite Transformation under Cyclic V-bending Deformation

To investigate the transformation behavior of TRIP steel retained austenite under cyclic load, cyclic V-bending deformation of low carbon Si-Mn TRIP600 was studied by experiment and finite element in this paper. The results showed that, under cyclic V-bending deformation, retained austenite in TRIP steel transformed into martensite gradually with the increasing of bending times, and for the symmetrical characteristic, upper surface and lower surface presented the same transformation tendency. From the first to the fourth V-bending deformatiort, retained austenite volume fraction decreased nearly linearly and then attained saturation step by step. Compressive stress state was helpful for martensite transformation than tension stress state with V-bending deformation, and strain magnitude was the determining factor for retaining anstenite martensitic transformation. With the increasing of bending times effective stress increased and the relationship between maximum effective stress and bending times was nearly linear. Effective stress and effective strain distribution were non-uniform, the maximum effective stress and effective strain were present in the center of the samples. The relationships between retained austenite and V-bending times, and retained austenite with effective strain were set up as Eqs.（1）-（5）. The relationship was typical quadric function, decreased linearly for the initial deformation and attained saturation finally.

Influence of Hot Rolling Conditions on the Mechanical Properties of Hot Rolled TRIP Steel

Influence of hot rolling conditions on the mechanical properties of hot rolled TRIP steel was investigated. Thermomechanical control processing （TMCP） was conducted by using a laboratory hot rolling mill, in which three different kinds of finish rolling temperatures were applied. The results show that polygonal ferrite, granular bainite and larger amount of stabilized retained austenite can be obtained by controlled rolling processes. The finer ferrite grain size is produced through the deformation induced transformation during deformation rather than after deformation, which affects the mechanical properties of hot rolled TRIP steel. Mechanical properties increase with decreasing finish rolling temperature due to the stabilization of retained austenite. Ultimate tensile strength （UTS）, total elongation （TEL） and the product of ultimate tensile strength and total elongation （UTS×TEL） reaches optimal values （791 MPa, 36% and 28 476 MPa%, respectively） when the specimen was hot rolled for 50% reduction at finish rolling temperature of 700 ℃.

Effect of Thermomechanical Processing on Microstructures of TRIP Steel

In order to control retained austenite, the effect of hot deformation in the intercritical region on the microstructure of hot-rolled transformation-induced plasticity （TRIP） steel was studied on a Gleeble 1500 hot simulator. Compressive strains varying in amounts from 0 to 60% were imposed inthe intercritical region, and effects on the formation of polygonal ferrite, carbide-free bainite and retained austenite were determined. With increasing the hot deformation amount and the ferrite content and decreasing the carbide-free bainite content, the volume fraction of retained austenite decreases. Increased dislocation density, grain refinement of ferrite and carbon enrichment are the main factors which control retained austenite stability.

Internal Friction on the Bake-Hardening Behavior of 0.11C-1.67Mn-1.19Si TRIP Steel

The bake-hardening （BH） values and the ＂internal friction-temperature＂ spectrums were studied for the baked 0.11C-1.67Mn-1.19Si TRIP （transformation induced plasticity） specimens with 0%, 2% and 6% prestrain. Results show that the experimental TRIP steel deserves good bake-hardening ability and Cottrell atmosphere is the reason for its bake hardening characteristic. It is also concluded that both the number and the saturation degree of Cottrell atmosphere might affect the BH value of TRIP steel.

Effect of preforming on the formability of TRIP steel sheet forming processes

In this study,the formability of transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) steel is studied during deep-drawing processes with preforming.The effects of preforming on theminimum thickness of can are investigated with a constitutive model accompanying strain-induced martensite transformation in prestrain condition.The constitutive model has been implemented into ABAQUS/UMAT for analysis of TRIP steel-forming processes.The results show that preforming slightly influences the thickness uniformity of TRIP steel in forming.