In this article, we probe the strain partitioning between the microstructural features present in a continuously cooled carbide-free bainitic steel together with damage nucleation and propagation. ...These features mainly comprise of phases (bainitic ferrite, martensite, and blocky/thin film austenite), interfaces between them, grain size and grain morphology. A micro Digital Image Correlation (μ-DIC) technique in scanning electron microscope is used to quantify the strain distribution between these microstructural features. The results show a strong strain partitioning between martensite, bainitic ferrite and retained austenite that provides weak links in the microstructure and creates conditions for the crack initiation and propagation during deformation. Blocky austenite islands accommodate maximum local strains in the global strain range of 0–2.3% and undergo strain-induced austenite to martensite transformation governing the local strain evolution in the microstructure. However, the local strains are minimum in martensite regions during entire in-situ deformation stage. Narrow bainitic ferrite channels in between martensitic islands and martensite-bainitic ferrite interfaces are recognised as primary damage sites with high strain accumulation of 30 ± 2% and 20 ± 3% respectively, at a global strain of 9%. The inclination of these interfaces with the tensile direction also affects the strain accumulation and damage.
A novel high-strength steel design is proposed, with a fine bainitic microstructure free from inter-lath carbides, for railway crossings applications. The design is based on the phase transformation ...theory and avoids microstructural constituents like martensite, cementite and large blocky retained austenite islands in the microstructure which are considered to be responsible for strain partitioning and damage initiation. The designed steel consists of fine bainitic ferrite, thin film austenite and a minor fraction of blocky austenite which contribute to its high strength, appreciable toughness and damage resistance. Atom probe tomography and dilatometry results are used to study the deviation of carbon partitioning in retained austenite and bainitic ferrite fractions from the T0/T0ʹ predictions. A high carbon concentration of 7.9 at.% (1.8 wt%) was measured in thin film austenite, which governs its mechanical stability. Various strengthening mechanisms such as effect of grain size, nano-sized cementite precipitation and Cottrell atmosphere at dislocations within bainitic ferrite are discussed. Mechanical properties of the designed steel are found to be superior to those of conventional steels used in railway crossings. The designed steel also offers controlled crack growth under the impact fatigue, which is the main cause of failure in crossings. In-situ testing using micro digital image correlation is carried out to study the micromechanical response of the designed microstructure. The results show uniform strain distribution with low standard deviation of 1.5% from the mean local strain value of 7.7% at 8% global strain.
A methodology to distinguish martensite formed in the first quench (M1) from martensite formed in the second quench (M2) of the Quenching and Partitioning process is presented, enabling the study of ...the structural characteristics of both microstructural constituents. Investigations show that M1 displays larger block size and less lattice imperfections than M2, differences that can be related to their respective carbon contents.
•An approach to distinguish “old” from “new” martensite in Q&P steels is presented•Methodology allows separate characterization of microstructure and crystallography “Old” martensite has larger block size and more perfect lattice than the “new” one•The differences between the old and new martensite depend on their carbon contents
The article focuses on the effect of alloying and microstructure on formability of advanced high strength steels (AHSSs) processed via quenching and partitioning (Q&P). Three different Q&P steels ...with different combination of alloying elements and volume fraction of retained austenite are subjected to uniaxial tensile and Nakajima testing. Tensile mechanical properties are determined, and the forming limit diagrams (FLDs) are plotted. Microstructure of the tested samples is analyzed, and dramatic reduction of retained austenite fraction is detected. It is demonstrated that all steels are able to accumulate much higher amount of plastic strain when tested using Nakajima method. The observed phenomenon is related to the multiaxial stress state and strain gradients through the sheet thickness resulting in a fast transformation of retained austenite, as well as the ability of the tempered martensitic matrix to accumulate plastic strain. Surprisingly, a Q&P steel with the highest volume fraction of retained austenite and highest tensile ductility shows the lowest formability among studied grades. The latter observation is related to the highest sum of fractions of initial fresh martensite and stress/strain induced martensite promoting formation of microcracks. Their role and ability of tempered martensitic matrix to accumulate plastic deformation during forming of Q&P steels is discussed.
Heating experiments in a wide range of heating rates from 10°C/s to 1200°C/s and subsequent quenching without isothermal soaking have been carried out on a low carbon steel. The thermal cycles were ...run on two different cold rolled microstructures, namely ferrite+pearlite and ferrite+martensite. It is shown that the average ferritic grain size, the ferrite grain size distribution, the phase volume fractions and the corresponding mechanical properties (ultimate tensile strength and ductility) after quenching are strongly influenced by the heating rates and the initial microstructure. The ferrite grain size distribution is significantly modified by the heating rate, showing a markedly bimodal distribution after fast annealing. The rise of the heating rate has produced a change in the relative intensities of texture components, favouring those of the cold-deformed structure (RD fibre) over the recrystallization components (ND fibre).
Display omitted
► The grain scale strain distribution during bending was studied in AA5754 CC sheets. ► DIC based strain mapping from SEM images of in situ bent samples was applied. ► Tendency for ...strain localization due to the presence of particle stringers was found. ► Facilitated matrix shearing and decreased local fracture strength were observed. ► Maximum Mises strain of 2.0 was calculated within dominant shear bands.
The mechanism triggering failure during deformation in Al–Mg alloys often includes localization of the plastic flow into narrow and intense transgranular shear bands propagating through the microstructure with little evidence of damage prior to the final fracture event. The cracks initiate in the sheared zones and propagate by conventional ductile mechanism of fracture, including nucleation of voids at second-phase particles, followed by their growth and ultimate coalescence. In an attempt to fully understand the mechanism of damage in continuous cast (CC) AA5754 aluminium alloy sheet, a methodology for characterization of the microscopic fracture strain distribution during bending was adopted in this work. A batch of digital images representing the deformation history of the samples bent during in situ V-bending tests performed in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) was recorded and later used as an input to a digital image correlation system (DIC) for strain calculations. Local strain maps of the tensile through-thickness cross-section of the bent sheets were built. The results clearly reveal development of spatial inhomogeneity of the strain at microscopic level. The strain concentration inside the formed intensive shear bands, which were the predecessors of the subsequent crack propagation, was found to be considerably larger than the macro-strains typically suggested by the forming limit diagrams for aluminium sheet materials. The presented results are consistent with previously published results on the general forming characteristics of continuous cast AA5754 aluminium alloy sheet materials.
The microstructure and mechanical properties of an Fe-0.24C-1.4Mn-1.4Si steel were investigated after combining ultrafast heating (UFH) at a heating rate of 500 °C/s followed by fast cooling to room ...temperature (DQ) or quenching and partitioning processes (Q&P). Two peak temperatures were studied, annealing into the intercritical range and above the AC3 temperature. After ultrafast heating and quenching, the resulting microstructures revealed that intercritical annealing led to the formation of a banded ferritic-martensitic microstructure. On the other hand, heating above the intercritical range led to an even distribution of allotriomorphic ferrite grains upon fast cooling and a complex phase microstructure, consisting mainly of martensite, was produced. Q&P steel grades exhibit an enhanced mechanical behavior compared to their DQ counterparts, where yield strength, uniform elongation, and total elongation increased after partitioning at 400 °C. The ultimate tensile strength of the Q&P steels decreased compared to the DQ steels annealed at the same peak temperature. However, the final strength-ductility balance of the studied Q&P steels was superior to the DQ steel grades. Moreover, considerable strength and improved ductility were obtained through the combination of peak annealing above the AC3 temperature followed by Q&P. These results are attributed to an interplay between a sustainable TRIP effect and effective strain-stress partitioning among the microconstituents resulted after the Q&P process.
The influence of the heating rates from 10 to 1000 °C/s and annealing temperatures on the microstructure and mechanical properties of two 0.2%C, 1.9%Mn, 1.4%Si cold-rolled steels with and without the ...addition of carbide-forming elements (Mo, Nb, and Ti) have been investigated. Results show that the increase of the heating rate above 100 °C/s refines the parent austenitic grains in both alloys. The increment of the heating rate led to carbon heterogeneities in the austenite, which after subsequent cooling promoted the formation of a complex mixture of fine-grained constituents. As expected, at the lower heating rates the presence of Nb and Ti-rich carbides and carbonitrides controls the austenite grain growth during the annealing treatment. The tensile test results reveal that high heating rates do not have a significant influence on the tensile strength of the alloy with carbide-forming elements. On the other hand, both the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and total elongation of the alloy without carbide-forming elements decrease, due to the formation of bands of ferrite and high carbon martensite. However, samples treated at heating rates above 100 °C/s show a combination of UTS in the range of 1400–1600 MPa, and 12–18% of total elongation. The results suggest that the microstructure heterogeneity obtained after high heating rates, especially the ferrite content, has the major effect on the mechanical behavior of the studied steels.
Third generation advanced high strength steels produced via quenching and partitioning (Q&P) treatment are receiving increased attention. A 0.25C–3Mn–1.5Si–0.023 Al steel was subjected to Q&P ...processing (with varying partitioning temperature and time) resulting in the formation of complex multi-phase microstructures. The effect of Q&P parameters on the microstructure and morphology of microconstituents was analyzed. Mechanical properties of the material and of its individual microconstituents were studied via tensile testing and nanoindentation on individual microconstituents, which were identified a priori by electron back-scattered diffraction analysis. Special attention is paid to the effect of the morphology of retained austenite on its transformation stability. In situ tensile tests and digital image correlation analysis were performed to study deformation behavior of the Q&P processed steel at the micro-scale with respect to the local microstructure. The effect of local microstructure and properties of individual phases on the degree of strain partitioning is discussed.
The aim of the present study is to evaluate the impact of heating rate on the microstructure and tensile properties of cold-rolled low and medium carbon steels. For this purpose, cold-rolled low and ...medium carbon steels were subjected to short peak-annealing experiments at 900 and 1100 °C under three heating rates (10, 450 and 1500 °C/s). The microstructure reveals a mixture of phases and microconstituents (ferrite, bainite, and as-quenched martensite) which are related to the carbon heterogeneities in austenite. The microstructural characterization suggests that the grain refinement achieved after ultrafast heating has a minor effect on the yield and ultimate tensile strength, compared to the relative microstructural distribution. It is suggested that the interplay of various strengthening mechanisms in samples subjected to ultrafast heating rates are responsible for the observed increase in strength and ductility.
PDF
