Formability of aluminum-silicon coated boron steel in hot stamping process

Flow behavior of the Al-Si coated boron steel was investigated with Gleeble-3500,in comparison with the uncoated one.Effect of deformation conditions on the coating integrity was characterized by optical microscopy.Facture surfaces of the coated steels were inspected under SEM.Experimental results indicate that the ultimate tensile strength and ductility of the Al-Si coated boron steel are lower than those of the uncoated steel under test conditions.Extensive cracks occur in the coating after tensile tests;the width and density of cracks are sensitive to the deformation temperatures and strain rates.The bare substrate exposed between the separate coating segments is oxidized.Appearance of the oxide degrades the Al-Si coating adhesion.Remarkable difference between formability of the coating layer and the substrate is confirmed.The formability of the Al-Si coating could be optimized by controlling the phase transformation of the ductile Fe-rich intermetallic compounds within it during the austenization.

Effect of hot stamping parameters on the mechanical properties and microstructure of cold-rolled 22MnB5 steel strips

Thermomechanical experiments were carried out to reproduce the hot stamping process and to investigate the effects of process parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of stamped parts. The process parameters, such as austenitizing temperature, soaking time, initial deformation temperature and cooling rate, are studied. The resulting microstructures of specimens were observed and analyzed. To evaluate the mechanical properties of specimens, tensile and hardness tests were also performed at room temperature. The op-timum parameters to achieve the highest tensile strength and the desired microstructure were acquired by comparing and analyzing the results. It is indicated that hot deformation changes the transformation characteristics of 22MnB5 steel. Austenite deformation promotes the austen-ite-to-ferrite transformation and elevates the critical cooling rate to induce a fully martensitic transformation.

Microstructures and mechanical properties of C-Mn-Cr-Nb and C-Mn-Si-Nb ultra-high strength dual-phase steels

The microstructures and mechanical properties of C-Mn-Cr-Nb and C-Mn-Si-Nb ultra-high strength dual-phase steels were studied by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, and tensile test. The results show that Si can promote the transformation of austenite （γ） to ferrite （α）, enlarge the （α＋γ） region, and increase the aging stability of martensite by inhibiting carbide precipitation. Adding Cr leads to the formation of retained austenite and martensite/austenite （M/A） constituents, as well as the decomposi- tion of martensite during the overaging stage. Both of the steels show higher initial strain-hardening rates and two-stage strain-hardening characteristics. The C-Mn-Si-Nb steel shows the higher strain-hardening rate than the C-Mn-Cr-Nb steel in the first stage; however, there is no significant difference in the second stage. Although the tensile strength and elongation of the two steels both exceed 1000 MPa and 15%, respectively, the comprehensive mechanical properties of the C-Mn-Si-Nb steel are superior.

Analysis of edge microstructural characteristics and stamping formability of low carbon pickled steel sheets

The microstructural characteristics and formability at the edges of low carbon pickled steel sheets have been investigated based on the generation of earing and cracking defects while drawing. The microstructure of the edge features coarse grains and mixed sized grains. The strength of the sheet edge is slightly lower than that at the center. Besides, the formability is obviously worsened. The plastic strain ratios along the longitudinal and transverse orientations are 0.31 and 0.6, respectively, with distinct anisotropy. The plastic strain ratio at the edge is obviously lower than that at the middle of the steel sheet. The observed microstructural characteristics and mechanical properties at the edge of the steel sheet can be attributed to the lower rolling temperature in the two-phase region of pro-eutectoid ferrite and austenite. These differences in microstructure and mechanical properties at the edge of the steel sheet lead to the generation of earing and cracking defects while drawing. The microstructure and mechanical properties at the edge of low carbon pickled steel sheets can be improved via the optimization of the rolling process and the adjustment of chemical composition.

Numerical simulation on the microstress and microstrain of low Si-Mn-Nb dual-phase steel

According to the stress-strain curves of single-phase martensite and single-phase ferrite steels,whose compositions are similar to those of martensite and ferrite in low Si-Mn-Nb dual-phase steel,the stress-strain curve of the low Si-Mn-Nb dual-phase steel was simulated using the finite element method（FEM）.The simulated result was compared with the measured one and they fit closely with each other, which proves that the FE model is correct.Based on the FE model,the microstress and microstrain of the dual-phase steel were analyzed. Meanwhile,the effective factors such as the volume fraction of martensite and the yield stress ratio between martensite and ferrite phases on the stress-strain curves of the dual-phase steel were simulated,too.The simulated results indicate that for the low Si-Mn-Nb dual-phase steel, the maximum stress occurs in the martensite region,while the maximum strain occurs in the ferrite one.The effect of the volume fraction of martensite（fm） and the yield stress ratio on the stress-strain curve of the dual-phase steel is small in the elastic part,while it is obvious in the plastic part.In the plastic part of this curve,the strain decreases with the increase of f_M,while it decreases with the decrease of the yield stress ratio.

Effect of hot-dip galvanizing processes on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 600-MPa hot-dip galvanized dual-phase steel

A C–Mn dual-phase steel was soaked at 800°C for 90 s and then either rapidly cooled to 450°C and held for 30 s(process A) or rapidly cooled to 350°C and then reheated to 450°C(process B) to simulate the hot-dip galvanizing process. The influence of the hot-dip galvanizing process on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 600-MPa hot-dip galvanized dual-phase steel(DP600) was investigated using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy(SEM), transmission electron microscopy(TEM), and tensile tests. The results showed that, in the case of process A, the microstructure of DP600 was composed of ferrite, martensite, and a small amount of bainite. The granular bainite was formed in the hot-dip galvanizing stage, and martensite islands were formed in the final cooling stage after hot-dip galvanizing. By contrast, in the case of process B, the microstructure of the DP600 was composed of ferrite, martensite, bainite, and cementite. In addition, compared with the yield strength(YS) of the DP600 annealed by process A, that for the DP600 annealed by process B increased by approximately 50 MPa because of the tempering of the martensite formed during rapid cooling. The work-hardening coefficient(n value) of the DP600 steel annealed by process B clearly decreased because the increase of the YS affected the computation result for the n value. However, the ultimate tensile strength(UTS) and elongation(A80) of the DP600 annealed by process B exhibited less variation compared with those of the DP600 annealed by process A. Therefore, DP600 with excellent comprehensive mechanical properties(YS = 362 MPa, UTS = 638 MPa, A_(80) = 24.3%, n = 0.17) was obtained via process A.

Effects of pre-strain and baking parameters on the microstructure and bake-hardening behavior of dual-phase steel

In a typical process, C-Mn steel was annealed at 800℃ for 180 s, and then cooled rapidly to obtain the ferrite-martensite microstructure. After pre-straining, the specimens were baked and the corresponding bake-hardening （BH） values were determined as a function of pre-strain, baking temperature, and baking time. The influences ofpre-strain, baking temperature and baking time on the microstructure evolution and bake-hardening behavior of the dual-phase steel were investigated systematically. It was found that the BH value apparently increased with an increase in pre-strain in the range from 0 to 1%; however, increasing pre-strain from 1% to 8% led to a decrease in the BH value. Furthermore, an increase in baking temperature favored a gradual improvement in the BH value because of the formation of Cottrell atmosphere and the precipitation of carbides in both the ferrite and martensite phases. The BH value reached a maximum of 110 MPa at a baking temperature of 300℃. Moreover, the BH value enhanced significantly with increasing baking time from 10 to 100 min.

Effect of Holding Time on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Dual-Phase Steel during Intercritical Annealing

Continuous annealing simulation tests were conducted by using a continuous annealing thermomechanical simulator. Holding times of 5, 60, 180, and 480 seconds for an intercritical annealing temperature of 820℃ were adopted to investigate the evolution of the mierostructure and mechanical properties of ferrite-bainite dual-phase steel. The ferrite-bainite dual-phase steel was characterized by high strength and low yield ratio due to the presence of the constituents （polygonal ferrite, bainite, martensite and retained austenite） of the steel microstructure. Specimen 3 exhibits the highest value of A50 （7.67%） and a product of Rm × A50 （10453MPa%） after a 180s holding. This is likely attributed to the presence of a C-enriched retained anstenite in the microstructure. And the effect of martensite islands and carbide precipitate is thought to be able to contribute in strengthening the present steel. It is expected that equilibrium of anstenite fraction would be reached for reasonable intercritical holding period, regardless of the heating temperature. The results suggest that long increasing holding times may not be needed because the major phase of the microstructure does not change very significantly. It is favorable for industrial production of DP steels to shorten holding times. Key words： ferrite-bainite dual-phase steel; holding time; martensite islands; mechanical properties

Corrosion behavior of tempered dual-phase steel embedded in concrete

Dual-phase （DP） steels with different martensite contents were obtained by appropriate heat treatment of an SAE1010 structural carbon steel, which was cheap and widely used in the construction industry. The corrosion behavior of DP steels in concrete was investigated under various tempering conditions. Intercritical annealing heat treatment was applied to the reinforcing steel to obtain DP steels with different contents of martensite. These DP steels were tempered at 200, 300, and 400℃ for 45 min and then cooled to room temperature. Corrosion experiments were conducted in two stages. In the first stage, the corrosion potential of DP steels embedded in concrete was measured every day for a period of 30 d based on the ASTM C 876 standard. In the second stage, the anodic and cathodic polarization values of these steels were obtained and subsequently the corrosion currents were determined with the aid of cathodic polarization curves. It was observed that the amount of second phase had a definite effect on the corrosion behavior of the DP steel embedded in concrete. As a result of this study, it is found that the corrosion rate of the DP steel increases with an increase in the amount of martensite.

Effect of intercritical annealing on microstructure,mechanical properties,and work-hardening behavior of ultrahigh-strength dual-phase steels with different silicon contents

In this study,three kinds of dual-phase(DP) steels were used to investigate the influence of silicon content and intercritical annealing temperature on their microstructures,mechanical properties,and work-hardening behaviors. By adding silicon and matching the critical annealing temperature,a new DP steel(1.0Si and intercritically annealed at 790 ℃) that exhibits an excellent combination of ultrahigh strength and adequate ductility was obtained. Variations in the strength,elongation,and fracture mechanism of the specimens with respect to different intercritical annealing temperatures were correlated to microstructural features. With an increase in the silicon content,there is no significant change in the martensitic band structure or ferrite morphology. At the same annealing temperature,the yield strength and yield strength ratio of the specimens decreased,but at different annealing temperatures,the tensile strength was reduced. The Hollomon analysis results indicate that the workhardening behavior obeys a two-stage work-hardening mechanism. With an increasing intercritical annealing temperature,the "transition strain"shifts to the left,and with an increasing silicon content,the "transition strain"shifts to the right. The surface exhibits ductile fractures characterized by a high density of microvoid dimples. With an increase in the silicon content,the average dimple size on the fracture surface decreases and the plasticity of the material increases.

Effects of overaging temperature on the microstructure and properties of 600MPa cold-rolled dual-phase steel

C–Mn steels prepared by annealing at 800°C for 120 s and overaging at 250–400°C were subjected to pre-straining（2%） and baking treatments（170°C for 20 min） to measure their bake-hardening（BH_2） values. The effects of overaging temperature on the microstructure, mechanical properties, and BH_2 behavior of 600 MPa cold-rolled dual-phase（DP） steel were investigated by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and tensile tests. The results indicated that the martensite morphology exhibited less variation when the DP steel was overaged at 250–350°C. However, when the DP steel was overaged at 400°C, numerous non-martensite and carbide particles formed and yield-point elongation was observed in the tensile curve. When the overaging temperature was increased from 250 to 400°C, the yield strength increased from 272 to 317 MPa, the tensile strength decreased from 643 to 574 MPa, and the elongation increased from 27.8% to 30.6%. Furthermore, with an increase in overaging temperature from 250 to 400°C, the BH_2 value initially increases and then decreases. The maximum BH_2 value of 83 MPa was observed for the specimen overaged at 350°C.

Plastic Deformation Mechanism of Dual-phase Steel at Different Strain Rates

The mechanical properties of dual-phase steel (DP1000) over the strain rate range of 10^-3-10^3 s^-1 were studied using an electronic universal testing machine and a high-speed tensile testing machine.The plastic deformation mechanism was investigated from the perspectives of the strain rate sensitivity index,activation volume and dynamic factors.The results show that the tensile strength and yield strength of DP1000 increase as the strain rate increases.The elongation increases without any change after fracture,and then decreased rapidly when the strain rate reaches 103 s^-1.The true strain curves of DP1000 show three stages:the point of instability decreases in the strain range of 10^-3-10^-1 s^-1;the instability point increases between 100-5×10^2 s^-1;above 5×10^2 s^-1,and the instability strain becomes smaller again.The plastic deformation mechanism of the DP was determined by the competitive contributions of work hardening (strain hardening,strain rate hardening) and softening effects due to the adiabatic temperature rise.

Microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of 1000 MPa cold rolled dual-phase steel

The microstructure evolution of 1 000 MPa cold rolled dual-phase (DP) steel at the initial heating stages of the continuous annealing process was analyzed. The effects of different overaging temperatures on the microstructures and mechanical properties of 1 000 MPa cold rolled DP steel were investigated using a Gleeble-3500 thermal/mechanical simulator. The experimental results show that ferrite recovery and recrystallization, pearlite dissolution and austenite nucleation and growth take place in the annealing process of ultra-high strength cold rolled DP steel. When being annealed at 800 ℃ for 80 s, the tensile strength and total elongation of DP steel can reach 1 150 MPa and 13%, respectively. The microstructure of DP steel mainly consists of a mixture of ferrite and martensite. The steel exhibits low yield strength and continuous yielding which is commonly attributed to mobile dislocations introduced during cooling process from the intercritical annealing temperature.

Study on the resistance spot welding technology of 22MnMoB hot stamping quenched steel

In this paper, the spot welding technology of a new kind of 22MnMoB hot stamping quenched steel sheet was systematically studied by power frequency spot welder. Through a series of technology and test experiments, we have obtained the optimal spot welding technological parameter condition. According to the results, the relations among spot welding technological parameter, welding nugget, mechanical property and fracture mode were discussed. The effects of all the welding parameters such as welding current, welding time and electrode force on the quality of joint can be boiled down to one thing--the diameter of welding nugget. The experimental results showed that welding nugget diameter determines the mechanical property of spot welding joint and the relation between welding nugget diameter and the mechanical property of joint presents a kind of linear mathematic representation. There are two typical fracture models of 22MnMoB hot stamping quenched steel sheet, i.e., interracial fracture and nugget pullout. Other than mild steel or normal high strength steel, in the shearing tensile test, hot stamping quenched steel has a great tendency to fail in interfacial mode due to the effects of high strength matrix structure, welding soft zone and the porosity level of fusion zone.

CHARACTERISTICS OF MARTENSITIC TRANSFORMATION IN DUAL-PHASE STEELS

A theorectical expression for the driving force and M_(?) point of martensitic transformation has been proposed.The M_(?) values using this expression are in good agreement with that obtained experimentally.It was found that the values of M_(?) and M_(?) are not only related to the carbon content in martensite,but also to the volume fraction of ferrite.

Microstructure design and feasibility of hot stamping for new generation high strength multi-phase steels

Optimization of microstructure for new generation advanced high strength steels(AHSS ) for automobiles was briefly reviewed.Two different heat treatments(quenching partitioning austempering/QPA and quenching partitioning tempering/QPT) have been investigated to obtain optimal microstructures,which are made up of martensite(hard phase),retained austenite(soft phase),and carbide or nano-bainite.Combination of hot stamping and newly developed heat treatments is discussed.

The Study of Dual-phase Steel after Cyclic Deformation at Various Strain Amplitudes

Low cycle fatigue tests under plastic strain control were carried out with a dual-phase steel containing 23 Vol.-％ martensite. Specimens hardened rapidly at first few cycles followed by a slight softening to saturation stages when cycled at higher strain amplitudes, whereas at lower strain amplitudes the specimens presented continually hardening for a long time until saturation. TEM examination of the saturation dislocation structures show that clusters, parallel walls and cells were found at low, medium and high strain amplitude, respectively. It also has been found that the martensite/ferrite interfaces did not affect the dislocation structures signi- ficantly when a specimen was fatigued at lower strain amplitude. However, the dislocation struc- ture adjacent to the two-phase boundary is dif- ferent to some extent from that in the remote regions in the ferrite when a higher strain amplitude is applied.

MICROFRACTOGRAPHY OF NEAR-THRESHOLD FATIGUE CRACK PROPAGATION IN DUAL-PHASE STEELS

SEM microfractography of near-threshold fatigue crack propagation were carried out in the dual-phase steels of 3 martensite morphologies and 6 volume fractions of martensite (V_m). All of them are featured by cyclic cleavage characteristics in near-threshold region,i.e.,main- ly controlled by mode Ⅱ stress.In the higher ΔK regions,the fracture surfaces are character- ized by mixed modes including cyclic cleavage facets,two types of secondary cracks and striations,etc..The roughness-induced crack closure of fracture surface is attributed primarily to extreme high fatigue crack growth threshold values.

EFFECT OF CRACK CLOSURE ON SLOW PROPAGATION IN DUAL-PHASE STEEL

The effect of ferrite content in ferrite-martensite dual-phase steel on the initiation and prop- agation of fatigue crack and the plastic deformation at crack tip has been studied.In the range of ferrite content from 24.2 to 41.5％,the optimum seems to be 33.8％,of which the crack ini- tiation will be prolonged,the threshold value increased,the propagation rate decreased and the closure stress intensity factor increased.As the propagation force is described by effective stress intensity factor,three steels with various ferrite contents will show the same propagation behaviour on da/dN vs △ K_(eff)curve.It is shown that the closure effect increases with the decrease in △K at the fatigue crack tip.When △K equals to △K_(th),the closure effect reaches a maximum value of0.7 in a dual-phase steel with 33.8％ferrite.

Thermal-mechanical and springback behavior of dual-phase steel at warm temperatures

For non-quenchable dual-phase(DP)steel sheet,the warm forming process can effectively reduce the amount of springback,and the mechanical parameters that influence its elastic and inelastic recovery to decrease exhibit a strong temperature dependence,especially under cyclic loading conditions.In this paper,the monotonic and cyclic loading tests of DP980 steel sheets are conducted at the temperatures ranging from 25℃ to 500℃.The temperature-dependent flow stress,nonlinear elastic recovery,and Bauschinger effect are investigated.The results demonstrate that both the elastic modulus and Bauschinger effect show an exponential law with pre-strain,and decrease with the increase of forming temperature,while there will be an abnormal phenomenon of rebound due to the influence of dynamic strain aging effect.Meanwhile,a linear relationship between the Bauschinger effect and inelastic strain is observed at various temperatures,and the weight of the Bauschinger effect in the total strain reduces with temperature increasing,which indicates that the springback is dominated by linear elastic recovery.Furthermore,the U-draw bending tests are carried out to clarify the influence of Vickers hardness distribution and martensite size effect on the springback behavior.