Application of Hot Forming High Strength Steel Parts on Car Body in Side Impact

Lightweight structure is an important method to increase vehicle fuel efficiency. High strength steel is applied for replacing mild steel in automotive structures to decrease thickness of parts for lightweight. However, the lightweight structures must show the improved capability for structural rigidity and crash energy absorption. Advanced high strength steels are attractive materials to achieve higher strength for energy absorption and reduce weight of vehicles. Currently, many research works focus on component level axial crash testing and simulation of high strength steels. However, the effects of high strength steel parts to the impact of auto body are not considered. The goal of this research is to study the application of hot forming high strength steel（HFHSS） in order to evaluate the potential using in vehicle design for lightweight and passive safety. The performance of HFHSS is investigated by using both experimental and analytical techniques. In particular, the focus is on HFHSS which may have potential to enhance the passive safety for lightweight auto body. Automotive components made of HFHSS and general high strength steel（GHSS） are considered in this study. The material characterization of HFHSS is carried out through material experiments. The finite element method, in conjunction with the validated model is used to simulate the side impact of a car with GHSS and HFHSS parts according to China New Car Assessment Programme（C-NCAP） crash test. The deformation and acceleration characteristics of car body are analyzed and the injuries of an occupant are calculated. The results from the simulation analyses of HFHSS are compared with those of GHSS. The comparison indicates that the HFHSS parts on car body enhance the passive safety for the lightweight car body in side impact. Parts of HFHSS reduce weight of vehicle through thinner thickness offering higher strength of parts. Passive safety of lightweight car body is improved through reduction of crash deformation on car body by the application of HFHSS parts. The experiments and simulation are conducted to the HFHSS parts on auto body. The results demonstrate the feasibility of the application of HFHSS materials on automotive components for improved capability of passive safety and lightweight.

Effects of chromium on the corrosion and electrochemical behaviors of ultra high strength steels

The effects of chromium on the corrosion and the electrochemical behaviors of ultra high strength steels were studied by the salt spray test and electrochemical methods. The results show that ultra high strength steels remain martensite structures and have anodic dissolution characteristic with an increase of chromium content. There is no typical passive region on the polarization curves of an ultra high strength stainless steel, AerMet 100 steel, and 300M steel. However, chromium improves the corrosion resistance of the stainless steel remarkably. It has the slowest corrosion rate in the salt spray test, one order of magnitude less than that of AerMet 100 and 300M steels. With the increase of chromium content, the polarization resistance becomes larger, the corrosion potential shifts towards the positive direction with a value of 545 mV, and the corrosion current density decreases in electrochemical measures in 3.5wt% NaCl solutions. Because of the higher content of chromium, the ultra high strength stainless steel has a better corrosion resistance than AerMet 100 and 300M steels.

Delayed Fracture Behavior of CrMo-Type High Strength Steel Containing Titanium

The delayed fracture behaviors of CrMo-type high strength steels containing different amount of titanium(0to 0.10%)were studied.The steels were quenched at 880℃ and tempered from 400℃ to 650℃,and a wide range of tensile strength was obtained.The sustained load tensile test was carried out by using notched tensile specimens in Walpole solution.The experimental results showed that with higher strength,the Ti-microalloyed steels show higher resistance to delayed fracture compared with non-microalloyed steel due to titanium beneficial role and microstructure changes.The undissolved TiC is uniformly distributed as strong hydrogen traps,retarding or preventing the diffusion and accumulation of hydrogen to lower-interaction energy sites,such as prior austenite and martensite lath boundaries in stress concentration area.Meanwhile,the grain refining effect of titanium is also an important factor to improve the delayed fracture resistance of Ti-microalloyed steels.The characteristics of delayed fracture remain nearly the same with titanium addition.

Ultra-high cycle fatigue behavior of high strength steel with carbide-free bainite/martensite complex microstructure

The ultra-high cycle fatigue behavior of a novel high strength steel with carbide-free bainite/martensite （CFB/M） complex microstructure was studied. The ultra-high cycle fatigue properties were measured by ultrasonic fatigue testing equipment at a frequency of 20 kHz. It is found that there is no horizontal part in the S-N curve and fatigue fracture occurs when the life of specimens exceeds 10^7 cycles. In addition, the origination of fatigue cracks tends to transfer from the surface to interior of specimens as the fatigue cycle exceeds 10^7, and the fatigue crack originations of many specimens are not induced by inclusions, but by some kind of ＂soft structure＂. It is shown that the studied high strength steel performs good ultra-high cycle fatigue properties. The ultra-high fatigue mechanism was discussed and it is suggested that specific CFB/M complex microstructure of the studied steel contributes to its superior properties.

Experimental research on behavior of 460 MPa high strength steel I-section columns under cyclic loading

To investigate the seismic behavior of I-section columns made of 460 MPa high strength steel （HSS）, six specimens were tested under constant axial load and cyclic horizontal load. The specimens were designed with different width-to-thickness ratios and loaded under different axial load ratios. For each specimen, the failure mode was observed and hysteretic curve was measured. Comparison of different specimens on hysteretic characteristic, energy dissipation capacity and deformation capacity were further investigated. Test results showed that the degradation of bearing capacity was due to local buckling of flange and web. Under the same axial load ratio, as width-to-thickness ratio increased, the deformation area of local buckling became smaller. And also, displacement level at both peak load and failure load became smaller. In addition, the full extent of hysteretic curve, energy dissipation capacity, ultimate story drift angle decreased, and capacity degradation occurred more rapidly with the increase of width-to-thickness ratio or axial load ratio. Based on the capacity of story drift angle, limiting values which shall not be exceeded are suggested respectively for flange and web plate of 460 MPa HSS I-section columns when used in SMFs and in IMFs in the case of axial load ratio no more than 0.2. Such values should be smaller when the axial load ratio increases.

Effects of the shape and size of rectangular inclusions on the fatigue cracking behavior of ultra-high strength steels

The fatigue cracking behavior of ultra-high strength steels containing rectangular inclusions of small sizes were investigated based on in situ observations by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. The size and shape of rectangular inclusions affect markedly the initiation site and propagation path of a fatigue crack. Especially, the initiation site of a fatigue crack depends strongly on the angle between the long-axis of a rectangle inclusion and the loading direction, and the length/width ratio of this rectangle inclusion because the residual stress distribution fields vary with these conditions. The results coincide very well with those of finite element analysis.

Complex Precipitation Mechanism of Ti-Nb-V Microalloyed Bainitic Base High Strength Steel

The addition of high Ti(>0.1%) in microalloyed bainitic high strength steel was designed, and the precipitation morphology of steels with different Ti, Nb, and V contents was studied by utilizing transmission electron microscopy(TEM). Based on the classical nucleation-crystal growth theory and the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami equation, the precipitation thermodynamic and kinetic model of second phase particles in austenite was established in the form of(Nbx,Vy,Tiz)C, and the complex precipitation mechanism of second phase particles was emphatically studied. The experimental results show that the complex precipitation particles could be divided into two categories: the coarser particles with about 100 nm grain size and the independent complex precipitation particles in the form of(Nb,V,Ti)C with 35-50 nm grain size. The latter has a better precipitation strengthening effect, and the calculated PTT curve shows a typical "C" shape. When the deformed storage energy is 3 820 J·mol^-1, the fastest precipitation temperature of calculated PTT curve is 925℃, and the calculated result is essentially consistent with experimental values. The increase of Ti content increased the nose point temperature and expanded the range of fastest precipitation temperature.

1300 MPa High Strength Steel for Bolt with Superior Delayed Fracture Resistance

By the increase in Mo content,the addition of microalloying elements V and Nb and by reducing the contents of Mn,P and S based on the composition of steel 42 CrMo,we have developed a 1 300 MPa-grade high strength steel(ADF1)for bolts.The sustained load bending test,sustained load tensile test and stress corrosion cracking test have been carried out to evaluate the delayed fracture resistance of steel ADFl and commercial steel 42 CrMo.The results showed that steel ADF1 has superior delayed fracture resistance to that of 42 CrMo steel.It's concluded that the superior delayed fracture resistance of ADF1 is mainly due to the increase of tempering temperature,fine homogeneously distributed MC carbide and fine prior austenite grain size.

Study on welding process performance of HG70D high strength steel plate

In this paper, the performance of HG70D welded joint of ultra-high strength steel plates is presented, and the performance of HG70D and Q345B welded joints is studied. The high strength steel plate HG70D showed excellent weldability. Through the X-ray inspection of welded joints, tensile strength, impact test and bending performance test, the comprehensive performance of the joint was excellent. The macroscopic and microscopic metallographic analysises of the welded joints show that the welding seams included pearlite, sorbite, ferrite, etc. The influence of stress annealing temperature on HG70D of high strength steel plate was analyzed by heat treatment.

Effect of Heat Treatment on Delayed Fracture Resistance of High Strength Steel 30CrMnSi2NiNb

The steel specimens of nominal composition 0.3C-1.0Cr-1.0Mn-2.0Si-1.0Ni-0.04 Nb were quenched and tempered or isothermally quenched from various temperatures.It is found that the steel quenched and tempered with a tensile strength of 1 500-1 600 MPa has a KISCC（critical stress intensity factor） value below 15.0 MPa · m1/2.The steel isothermally quenched with a tensile strength of 1 350-1 750 MPa has a KISCC value about 20.0 MPa·m1/2.In addition,with increase of isothermal quenching temperature,the tensile strength decreases greatly and KISCC value does not pronouncedly change.The microstructure of isothermally quenched specimens is composed of bainite and retained austenite.The delayed fracture resistance is dependent on the stability of austenite,which is in turn related to the retained austenite volume fraction and carbon content in austenite.

Ultrasonic Analysis of Cracking Propagation Morphology in the Fusion Zone of High Strength Steel

Cracking morphology in the fusion zone of HQ130 high strength steel was researched by 'the y-slit test' and 'three-point bend test', ultrasonic test and microscope. HQ130 and QJ63 high strength steel was welded by Ar+CO2 gas shielded arc welding under the condition without preheating. Experimental results indicated that welding cracks were produced in the partially melted zone of the weld root of HQ130 steel side and propagated parallel to the fusion zone. The cracks were developed alternatively between the weld and the partially melted zone, and are not strictly ruptured at W/F (weld metal/fusion zone) boundary surface. Controlling weld heat input (E) about 16 kJ/cm could make the cracking rate lowest and satisfy the performance requirement of welded joint zone.

Microstructure and mechanical property of resistance spot welded joint of aluminum alloy to high strength steel with especial electrodes

Dissimilar material joining of 6008 aluminum alloy to H220 YD galvanized high strength steel was performed by resistance spot welding with especial electrodes that were a flat tip electrode against the steel surface and a domed tip electrode upon the aluminum alloy surface. An intermetallic compound layer composed of Fe2Al5 and FeAl3 was formed at the steel/ aluminum interface in the welded joint. The thickness of the intermetallic compound layer increased with increasing welding current and welding time, and the maximum thickness being 7. 0 μm was obtained at 25 kA and 300 ms. The weld nugget diameter and tensile shear load of the welded joint had increased tendencies first with increasing welding current （ 18 -22 kA） and welding time （ 50 - 300 ms）, then changed little with further increasing welding current （ 22 - 25 kA） and welding time （300 -400 ms）. The maximum tensile shear load reached 5.4 kN at 22 kA and 300 ms. The welded joint fractured through brittle intermetallic compound layer and aluminum alloy nugget.

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Aer Met 100 Ultra-high Strength Steel Joints by Laser Welding

AerMet100 ultra-high strength steel plates with a thickness of 2 mm were welded using a COz laser welding system. The influences of the welding process parameters on the morphology and microstructure of the welding joints were investigated, and the mechanical property of the welding joints was analyzed. The experimental results showed that the fusion zone of welding joint mainly consisted of columnar grains and a fine dendrite substructure grew epitaxially from the matrix. With the other conditions remaining unchanged, a finer weld microstructure was along with the scanning speed increase. The solidification microstructure gradually transformed from cellular crystal into dendrite crystal and the spaces of dendrite secondary arms rose from the fusion line to the center of the fusion zone. In the fusion zone of the weld, the rapid cooling caused the formation of martensite, which led the microhardness of the fusion zone higher than that of the matrix and the heat affected zone. The tensile strength of the welding joints was tested as 1 700 MPa, which was about 87% of the matrix. However, the tensile strength of the welding joints without defects existed was tested as 1832 MPa, which was about 94% of the matrix.

Manifestations in Corrosion Prophase of Ultra-high Strength Steel 30CrMnSiNi2 A in Sodium Chloride Solutions

The corrosion behaviors of ultra-high strength steel 30CrMnSiNi2A in sodium chloride solution were studied by weight loss and electrochemical methods. The morphology of corrosion products was observed using scanning electron microscopy（SEM） and the composition was analyzed using an energy dispersive spectroscopy（EDS） and X-Ray diffraction （XRD）. The experimental results showed that the corrosion came from pitting corrosion and the rust layer was composed of outer rust layer γ-FeOOH and inner rust layer Fe_2O_3 with a little β-FeOOH. The correlation between corrosion rate and test time accorded with exponential rule. The corrosion current measured by polarization methods was higher than that calculated by weight loss method after a long-time immersion, the main reason was that,β-FeOOH and γ-Fe_2O_3 transformed by γ-FeOOH led to overestimating corrosion rate. The processes of corrosion prophase were obtained from XRD and EIS results. The corrosion product, Fe（OH）_2 formed at the initial stage stayed at a non-steady state and then consequently transferred to γ-FeOOH, γ-Fe_2O_3 or β-FeOOH.

Analysis of the effect of geometrical parameters on fatigue performance of spot-weld joint for ultra-high strength steel

This paper studied the spot welding structure of ultra-high strength steel 22MnB5.ANSYS software was adopted to simulate its static strength;BS5400 algorithm was used to calculate the fatigue life;and the grouping method was used to test the fatigue performance of tensile shear spot weld specimens.The simulation results were in good agreement with the experimental values.Based on the validation of the simulation method,influences of different structural parameters on static strength and fatigue life were explored by adopting single factor.The results showed that within the selected structure parameter range,increase of the sheet thickness,nugget diameter,sheet width and overlapping length can lead to longer fatigue life.Besides,the fatigue life of spot weld took on a linear relationship with the overlapping length,a DoseResp relationship with the sheet thickness,and a single exponential decay relationship with the sheet width and the nugget diameter.Moreover,in order to estimate the impact from various parameters on the fatigue life of the specimens,the Taguchi orthogonal design method was applied in the simulation design.The simulating result indicated that influence of the sheet thickness on fatigue life was the most significant.In addition,the effects of nugget diameter,sheet width and overlapping length on fatigue life were reduced in turn.

Formation mechanism of transverse crack in repair welding for thick plate of Q345 high strength steel

Transverse cracks occur usually in repair welding for thick plate of high strength steel. It needs multiple times of repair welding. The quality of production and deliver deadline will be influenced. Therefore, it is very significant to investigate the cause and control of transverse crack in repair welding. In this paper, both ends restraint crack experiment is developed to produce delay transverse crack for high strength steel. Metallographic results show that four types of cracks are found in repair welding metal zone and heat affected zone. Large chevron transverse cracks are found in repair welding zone. Lots of micro transverse cracks are found in inter-layer repair welding metal zone, root HAZ and two ends of repair welding individually. The distribution character and formation mechanism of the transverse crack are further analyzed through hardness testing and residual stress measurement.

Effect of Quenching Parameters on Mechanical Property of Ultra High Strength Steel BR1500HS Based on Response Surface Methodology

Hot stamping of high strength steels is defined as a process in which blank is heated to the temperature of the austenite stabilization region for a definite time and then formed and quenched simultaneously in a mold with cooling channels. During this process,the processing parameters of austenite temperature and soaking time have strong effects on the mechanical properties such as quenching hardness,tensile strength and elongation. Hence,it is necessary to investigate the relationship between the mechanical properties and the two processing parameters. In this paper,the orthogonal experiment with two factors and five levels was applied, and the experimental data based on the orthogonal experiment was acquired. Based on the data,regression models were set up and the results of the analysis of variance( ANOVA) showed that it is reliable to predict the quenching hardness,tensile strength and elongation by the regression models. Besides,the optimal results of each single object were obtained based on response surface methodology( RSM),and global optimums was gained by employing ideal point method in which the quenching hardness,and tensile strength and elongation were considered simultaneously.

Effect of shot peening on hydrogen embrittlement of high strength steel

The effect of shot peening（SP） on hydrogen embrittlement of high strength steel was investigated by electrochemical hydrogen charging, slow strain rate tensile tests, and hydrogen permeation tests. Microstructure observation, microhardness, and X-ray diffraction residual stress studies were also conducted on the steel. The results show that the shot peening specimens exhibit a higher resistance to hydrogen embrittlement in comparison with the no shot peening（NSP） specimens under the same hydrogen-charging current density. In addition, SP treatment sharply decreases the apparent hydrogen diffusivity and increases the subsurface hydrogen concentration. These findings are attributed to the changes in microstructure and compressive residual stress in the surface layer by SP. Scanning electron microscope fractographs reveal that the fracture surface of the NSP specimen exhibits the intergranular and quasi-cleavage mixed fracture modes, whereas the SP specimen shows only the quasi-cleavage fractures under the same hydrogen charging conditions, implying that the SP treatment delays the onset of intergranular fracture.

Corrosion Behavior of Ultra-high Strength Steel 300M in Different Simulated Marine Environments

Corrosion behavior of 300M in neutralcorrosion environments containing Na Clsimulated by totalimmersion（TI）,salt spraying（SS）and periodic immersion（PI）,was investigated by surface analysis techniques,corrosion weight-loss method,and electrochemicalmeasurements.In totalimmersion environment,rust on the steelconsisted of a porous outer rust layer with main constituent of γ-Fe OOH,and an inner rust layer of dense Fe_3O_4 film with network broad cracks.In salt spraying environment,outer rust with main composition of γ-Fe OOH/α-Fe OOH/Fe_3O_4 was compact,and inner rust showed dense Fe_3O_4 film.Rust formed by periodic immersion exhibited a compact outer rust layer with constituent of α-Fe OOH/γ-Fe OOH/Fe_3O_4 and an inner rust layer with composition of α-Fe OOH/α-Fe_2O_3;inner rust showed a ultra-dense film adherent to the steel.The corrosion rate showed a rule of vss（salt spraying）〉vti（totalimmersion）〉〉vpi（periodic immersion）in 0-240 h,and vss≈vti？vpiin 240-720 h.The rust formed by periodic immersion was dense and compact,with stable electrochemicalproperties,and had excellent protection on the steel.Humidity and oxygen concentration in allthe environments played major roles in rust formation.

High-cycle Fatigue Fracture Behavior of Ultrahigh Strength Steels

The fatigue fracture behavior of four ultrahigh strength steels with different melting processes and therefore different inclusion sizes were studied by using a rotating bar two-point bending fatigue machine in the high-cycle regime up to 107 cycles of loading. The fracture surfaces were observed by field emission scanning electron microscopy （FESEM）. It was found that the size of inclusion has significant effect on the fatigue behavior. For AtSI 4340 steel in which the inclusion size is smaller than 5.5 μm, all the fatigue cracks except one did not initiated from inclusion but from specimen surface and conventional S-N curve exists. For 65Si2MnWE and Aermet 100 steels in which the average inclusion sizes are 12.2 and 14.9 μm, respectively, fatigue cracks initiated from inclusions at lower stress amplitudes and stepwise S-N curves were observed. The S-N curve displays a continuous decline and fatigue failures originated from large oxide inclusion for 60Si2CrVA steel in which the average inclusion size is 44.4 pro. In the case of internal inclusion-induced fractures at cycles beyond about 1×10^6 for 65Si2MnWE and 60Si2CrVA steels, inclusion was always found inside the fish-eye and a granular bright facet （GBF） was observed in the vicinity around the inclusion. The GBF sizes increase with increasing the number of cycles to failure Nf in the long-life regime. The values of stress intensity factor range at crack initiation site for the GBF are almost constant with Nf, and are almost equal to that for the surface inclusion and the internal inclusion at cycles lower than about 1×10^6. Neither fish-eye nor GBF was observed for Aermet 100 steel in the present study.