Kateřina Opatová

Physical Simulation of Press Hardening of TRIP Steel

Deformation-induced martensitic transformation is used for improving mechanical properties of AHS steels which contain metastable retained austenite. TRIP steels are one of the categories that fall into this group. Their microstructures consist of proeutectoid ferrite, bainite, and metastable retained austenite. Cold working causes retained austenite in these steels to transform to deformation-induced martensite. A technical complication to their treatment routes is the isothermal holding stage. At this stage, bainite forms and retained austenite becomes stabilized which is the key aspect of the process. A CMnSi-type low-alloy steel with 0.2% carbon was subjected to various experimental cooling sequences which represented press hardening operations at tool temperatures ranging from 500 °C to room temperature, followed by isothermal holding in the bainitic transformation region. By varying the cooling parameters, one can obtain a broad range of mixed martensitic-bainitic structures containing retained austenite, with strengths in the vicinity of 1300 MPa, and A20 elongation levels of 10%.

Effects of Heat Treatment on Microstructure of High-Strength Manganese-Silicon Steels

Today’s advanced steels are required to possess high strength and ductility. This can be accomplished by producing appropriate microstructures with a certain volume fraction of retained austenite. The resulting microstructure depends on material’s heat treatment and alloying. High ultimate strengths and sufficient elongation levels can be obtained by various methods, including quenching and partitioning (Q&P process). The present paper introduces new procedures aimed at simplifying this process with the use of material-technological modelling. Three experimental steels have been made and cast for this investigation, whose main alloying additions were manganese, silicon, chromium, molybdenum and nickel. The purpose of manganese addition was to depress the Ms and Mf temperatures. The Q&P process was carried out in a thermomechanical simulator for better and easier control. The heat treatment parameters were varied between the sequences and their effect on microstructure evolution was evaluated. They included the cooling rate, partitioning temperature and time at partitioning temperature. Microstructures including martensite with strength levels of more than 2000 MPa and elongation of 10–15 % were obtained.

Semi-solid processing of high-chromium tool steel to obtain microstructures without carbide network

Treatment of high-alloy tool steels that involves transition to the semi-solid state can transform the sharp-edged primary carbides which usually form during solidification. These carbides severely impair toughness and are virtually impossible to eliminate by conventional treatment routes. Upon classical semi-solid processing which dissolves these carbides, the resulting microstructure consists of polyhedral and super-saturated austenite embedded in lamellar austenite-carbide network. This type of microstructure reflects in the mechanical properties, predominantly in material behaviour under tensile loading. Such a network, however, can be removed by appropriate thermomechanical treatment. In the present experiment, various procedures involving heating to the semi-solid state were tested on X210Cr12 tool steel. The feedstock was heated to the temperature range of 1220 – 1280 °C. The heating was followed by procedures involving either water quenching to the forming temperature, room temperature or temperature from the range from 500 °C to 1000 °C followed by reheating to the forming temperature. It was found that the development of the lamellar network strongly depends on the temperature of heating to semi-solid state. Thermomechanical treatment produced microstructures in which the matrix consisted of a mixture of polyhedral austenite grains and the M-A constituent. In addition, the initial lamellar eutectic network was partially or even completely melted and substituted with a mixture of very fine recrystallized austenite grains and precipitates of chromium carbides. Some fine M7C3 carbides were present in the austenitic-martensitic matrix as well. When appropriate processing parameters were chosen, very good mechanical properties were obtained, among them a hardness of 860 HV10.

Evolution of microstructure and mechanical properties during Q&P processing of medium-carbon steels with different silicon levels

Evolution of microstructure during heat treatment plays a fundamental role in the resulting mechanical properties of steel. Today, mechanical properties in conjunction with technological properties, such as weldability, formability, and machinability, and their optimum combinations, are widely discussed in a number of mechanical engineering disciplines. In this manner, requirements arise for developing steels which could offer high strength and good formability, and which could be used for making parts with high resistance to failure and with a long life. One present-day example of such steels involves Q&P-processed martensitic steels. Their properties are dictated by their treatment, as well as their alloying, particularly by the silicon content. Silicon fundamentally affects microstructure evolution during Q&P processing and, as a result, mechanical properties. With this way it is possible to receive microstructures consinsting of martensite and retained austenite with an ultimate tensile stress of more than 1600 MPa and a uniform elongation of more than 12 %.

Development of Unconventional Processing of Steels in Semi-Solid State

This paper describes selected capabilities of unconventional processing of steels in semi-solid state under various process conditions and with the use of various steel chemistries for obtaining unusual structures formed by rapid solidification in combination with other procedures. This investigation involves the use of severe plastic deformation techniques (SPD) and in-situ observation of the transformation of microstructure from solid state to semi-solid state at temperatures above 1200°C using a high-temperature microscope.

Development of microstructure in high-alloy steel K390 using semi-solid forming

Semi-solid processing of light alloys, namely aluminium and magnesium alloys, is a widely known and well-established process. By contrast, processing of powder steels which have high levels of alloying elements is a rather new subject of research. Thixoforming of high-alloy steels entails a number of technical difficulties. If these are overcome, the method can offer a variety of benefits. First of all, the final product shape and the desired mechanical properties can be obtained using a single forming operation. Semi-solid forming can produce unusual powder steel microstructures unattainable by any other route. Generally, the microstructures, which are normally found in thixoformed steels, consist of large fractions of globular or polygonal particles of metastable austenite embedded in a carbide network. An example is the X210Cr12 steel which is often used for semi-solid processing experiments. A disadvantage of the normal microstructure configuration is the brittleness of the carbide network, in which cracks initiate and propagate, causing low energy fractures. However, there is a newly-developed mini-thixoforming route which produces microstructures with an inverted configuration. Here, the material chosen for this purpose was K390 steel, in which the content of alloying elements is up to 24%. Its microstructure which was obtained by mini- thixoforming did not contain polyhedral austenite grains but hard carbides embedded in a ductile austenitic matrix. This provided the material with improved toughness. The spaces between the austenite grains were filled with a eutectic in which chromium, molybdenum and cobalt were distributed uniformly. After the processing parameters were optimized, complexshaped demonstration products were manufactured by this route. These products showed an extraordinary compressive strength and high wear resistance, thanks to the hardness of their microstructure constituents, predominantly the carbides.