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Effects of Temperature and Strain Rate on Steel Strengthening

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced Materials Characterization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 13596

Special Issue Editor

Department of Engineering Materials and Biomaterials, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Interests: advanced high-strength steels; high-strength low-alloyed steels; heat treatment; thermomechanical processing; hot rolling; hot-working phenomena; physical simulation; deformation of metals
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Steel is ideally suited for different strengthening mechanisms taking place at high temperatures and especially during cold straining or heat treatment. Together with its good formability, heat treatment opportunities, recycling benefits and cost effectiveness all the features make this alloy one of the most popular and still evolving materials in the world. The mechanical properties of steels are usually tailored by typical strengthening mechanisms including work strengthening, precipitation strengthening, grain refinement, solid solution strengthening, texture strengthening and substructure strengthening. A very wide range of the steels is strengthened by the heat treatment consisting of quenching and tempering, solution heat treatment and ageing and/or annealing (causing strengthening or softening effects). Strain-induced strengthening mechanisms like TRansformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP), TWinning Induced Plasticity (TWIP) and Shear Band Induced Plasticity (SBIP) are additional sources of the strengthening in Advanced High-Strength Steels (AHSS).

This special issue aims at covering the effects of temperature and strain rate on the steel strengthening mechanisms. These factors have an essential impact on manufacturing of all steel semi-products like sheets, plates, rods, bars, forgings, wires and their processing to the final products. All aspects related to the temperature- and/or strain-rate-dependent steel production, hot-working, cold straining, heat treatment, thermomechanical processing, physical and numerical simulation are covered. Review articles which describe the current state of the art are also welcomed.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Adam Grajcar
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • strengthening mechanism
  • hot deformation of steel
  • cold straining of steel
  • effect of temperature on steel microstructure and properties
  • effect of strain rate on steel microstructure and properties
  • structural steel
  • tool steel
  • automotive sheet steel
  • plate steel
  • steels for forgings
  • heat treatment of steel
  • thermomechanical processing of steel
  • physical and numerical simulation of steel processing
  • microstructural characterization of steel
  • HSLA and AHSS
  • multiphase steel
  • stainless steel

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 9986 KiB  
Article
Effect of Cold Swaging on the Bulk Gradient Structure Formation and Mechanical Properties of a 316-Type Austenitic Stainless Steel
by Dmitrii Panov, Ruslan Chernichenko, Egor Kudryavtsev, Denis Klimenko, Stanislav Naumov and Alexei Pertcev
Materials 2022, 15(7), 2468; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15072468 - 27 Mar 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1554
Abstract
The present study aimed to discover the effect of cold swaging reduction on the bulk gradient structure formation and mechanical properties of a 316-type austenitic stainless steel. The initial rod was subjected to radial swaging until 20–95% reduction of initial rod diameter, at [...] Read more.
The present study aimed to discover the effect of cold swaging reduction on the bulk gradient structure formation and mechanical properties of a 316-type austenitic stainless steel. The initial rod was subjected to radial swaging until 20–95% reduction of initial rod diameter, at room temperature. According to finite element simulation, higher plastic strain was accumulated in the surface layer compared to the center region during swaging. Microstructural investigations revealed three-stage gradient structure formation in the center and edge regions of the deformed rod. Meanwhile, cold swaging resulted in the development of strong 111ǁBA, 001ǁBA, and weak 111ǁBA texture components in the center and edge, respectively. Significant tensile strengthening was observed after cold swaging. For instance, the yield strength (YS) increased from 820 MPa to 930 MPa after 40–80% reduction respectively, without the loss of ductility (δ–14%). This unique aspect of the mechanical behavior was attributed to the gradient structure of the cold swaged material and explained in detail. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Temperature and Strain Rate on Steel Strengthening)
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20 pages, 6550 KiB  
Article
Austenite Decomposition of a Lean Medium Mn Steel Suitable for Quenching and Partitioning Process: Comparison of CCT and DCCT Diagram and Their Microstructural Changes
by Michal Krbata, Daniel Krizan, Maros Eckert, Simone Kaar, Andrej Dubec and Robert Ciger
Materials 2022, 15(5), 1753; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15051753 - 25 Feb 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1685
Abstract
The present work deals with the dilatometric study of a hot-rolled 0.2C3Mn1.5Si lean medium Mn steel, mainly suitable for the quenching and partitioning (Q&P) heat treatment in both hot-rolled or cold-rolled condition, subjected to a variation of austenitization temperature. These investigations were performed [...] Read more.
The present work deals with the dilatometric study of a hot-rolled 0.2C3Mn1.5Si lean medium Mn steel, mainly suitable for the quenching and partitioning (Q&P) heat treatment in both hot-rolled or cold-rolled condition, subjected to a variation of austenitization temperature. These investigations were performed in a temperature range of 800–1200 °C. In this context, the martensite transformation start temperature (Ms) was determined as a function of austenitization temperature and in turn obtained prior austenite grain size (PAGS). The results show rise in prior austenite grain size due to increasing austenitization temperature, resulting in elevated Ms temperatures. Measured dilatation curves were confronted with the metallographic analysis by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The present paper also focuses on the construction of a continuous cooling transformation (CCT) and deformation continuous cooling transformation (DCCT) diagram of the investigated lean medium Mn steel in a range of cooling rates from 100 to 0.01 °C/s and their subsequent comparison. By comparing these two diagrams, we observed an overall shift of the DCCT diagram to shorter times compared to the CCT diagram, which represents an earlier formation of phase transformations with respect to the individual cooling rates. Moreover, the determination of individual phase fractions in the CCT and DCCT mode revealed that the growth stage of ferrite and bainite is decelerated by deformation, especially for intermediate cooling rates. Microstructural changes corresponding to cooling were also observed using SEM to provide more detailed investigation of the structure and present phases identification as a function of cooling rate. Moreover, the volume fractions obtained from the saturation magnetization method (SMM) are compared with data from X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. The discussion of the data suggests that magnetization measurements lead to more reliable results and a more sensitive detection of the retained austenite than XRD measurements. In that regard, the volume fraction of retained austenite increased with a decrease of cooling rate as a result of larger volume fraction of ferrite and bainite. The hardness of the samples subjected to the deformation was slightly higher compared to non-deformed samples. The reason for this was an evident grain refinement after deformation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Temperature and Strain Rate on Steel Strengthening)
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15 pages, 10030 KiB  
Article
Effect of Hot Deformation on Phase Transformation Kinetics in Isothermally Annealed 3Mn-1.6Al Steel
by Adam Skowronek, Mateusz Morawiec, Aleksandra Kozłowska and Wojciech Pakieła
Materials 2020, 13(24), 5817; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma13245817 - 20 Dec 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1844
Abstract
The kinetics of ferritic transformation and the corresponding microstructural evolution in 0.17C-3.1Mn-1.6Al-0.04Nb-0.22Mo-0.22Si medium-Mn steel during isothermal annealing was investigated in dilatometric studies. The material was subjected to thermal and thermo-mechanical treatments aimed at obtaining, by the austenite → ferrite transformation, a sufficient fraction [...] Read more.
The kinetics of ferritic transformation and the corresponding microstructural evolution in 0.17C-3.1Mn-1.6Al-0.04Nb-0.22Mo-0.22Si medium-Mn steel during isothermal annealing was investigated in dilatometric studies. The material was subjected to thermal and thermo-mechanical treatments aimed at obtaining, by the austenite → ferrite transformation, a sufficient fraction of ferrite to stabilize the retained austenite by C and eventual Mn partitioning. The samples were isothermally held for 5 h in a temperature range from 600 to 750 °C to simulate simplified temperature conditions of an industrial coiling process following hot rolling. Some of the samples were plastically deformed at a temperature of 900 °C before isothermal holding in order to study the effect of hot deformation on the kinetics of phase transformations. After the dilatometric investigations the material was subjected to light and scanning electron microscopy to reveal relationships between the holding temperature, deformation and microstructure evolution. Hardness tests were performed to assess the mechanical behavior. A significant effect of manganese in slowing down diffusional transformations during the cooling of steel was found. The influence of austenite deformation on the kinetics of austenite to ferrite transformation was noted. The plastically deformed samples showed an accelerated start of ferritic transformation and the extension of its range. During dilatometric tests, low-range dynamic ferritic transformation was recorded, which was also confirmed by the microscopic tests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Temperature and Strain Rate on Steel Strengthening)
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13 pages, 6587 KiB  
Article
Dilatometric Analysis of the Austenite Decomposition in Undeformed and Deformed Low-Carbon Structural Steel
by Mateusz Morawiec, Adam Skowronek, Mariusz Król and Adam Grajcar
Materials 2020, 13(23), 5443; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma13235443 - 29 Nov 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1877
Abstract
This paper aims to analyze the effect of deformation on the phase transformation kinetics of low-carbon structural steel. The steel used for the investigation was subjected to two different dilatometric analyses using a DIL 805A/D device. The first analysis was to determine the [...] Read more.
This paper aims to analyze the effect of deformation on the phase transformation kinetics of low-carbon structural steel. The steel used for the investigation was subjected to two different dilatometric analyses using a DIL 805A/D device. The first analysis was to determine the phase transformation kinetics without deformation of austenite before cooling. Then, the analysis under deformation conditions was conducted to investigate the deformation effect on the transformation kinetics. Microscopic studies by light microscopy were performed. The essential part of the research was hardness analysis for different cooling rates and the creation of continuous-cooling-transformation (CCT) and deformation continuous-cooling-transformation (DCCT) diagrams. It was found that the deformation of the samples before cooling increases a diffusion rate in the austenite resulting in the corresponding increase of ferritic, pearlitic, and bainitic start temperatures, as well as shifting the austenite transformation product regions to a longer time. The increase of the transformation area and a decrease in grain size are observed for the deformed samples. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Temperature and Strain Rate on Steel Strengthening)
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14 pages, 6118 KiB  
Article
Effect of Elevated Deformation Temperatures on Microstructural and Tensile Behavior of Si-Al Alloyed TRIP-Aided Steel
by Aleksandra Kozłowska and Adam Grajcar
Materials 2020, 13(22), 5284; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma13225284 - 22 Nov 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1803
Abstract
The influence of elevated deformation temperatures on the relationships between the microstructure and mechanical properties in a hot-rolled Si-Al-alloyed transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP)-aided steel was studied in a static tensile test. The morphological features of specimens deformed at the different temperatures were characterized by [...] Read more.
The influence of elevated deformation temperatures on the relationships between the microstructure and mechanical properties in a hot-rolled Si-Al-alloyed transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP)-aided steel was studied in a static tensile test. The morphological features of specimens deformed at the different temperatures were characterized by different microstructural techniques: optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). An increase in the deformation temperature from 20 to 200 °C resulted in the reduced effectiveness of the TRIP effect, due to the increasing mechanical stability of the γ phase. The gradual transformation of retained austenite into martensite expressed by a progressive increase in the work hardening exponent (n) led to a beneficial balance of strength, uniform elongation and total elongation. The best product of UTS × TEl = 17,805 MPa% showed the sample deformed at 20 °C with a peak n value amounting to 0.3. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Temperature and Strain Rate on Steel Strengthening)
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10 pages, 3462 KiB  
Article
Dilatometric and Microstructural Study of Martensite Tempering in 4% Mn Steel
by Adam Grajcar, Mateusz Morawiec, Jose Antonio Jimenez and Carlos Garcia-Mateo
Materials 2020, 13(19), 4442; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma13194442 - 07 Oct 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1952
Abstract
This paper presents the results of martensite tempering resistance in 4% Mn steel. The material was quenched and tempered at 350 °C for 15, 30, and 60 min. The analysis of the quenching and tempering was carried out using dilatometric and microstructural approaches. [...] Read more.
This paper presents the results of martensite tempering resistance in 4% Mn steel. The material was quenched and tempered at 350 °C for 15, 30, and 60 min. The analysis of the quenching and tempering was carried out using dilatometric and microstructural approaches. The phase composition was assessed using X-ray diffraction. The Ms temperature and tempering progress were simulated using JMatPro software. The dilatometric analysis revealed a small decrease in the relative change in length (RCL) during tempering. This decrease was connected to the precipitation kinetics of cementite within the martensite laths. The microstructure investigation using a scanning electron microscope showed a very small amount of carbides, even for the longest tempering time. This showed the high tempering resistance of the martensite in medium-Mn steels. The hardness results showed an insignificant decrease in the hardness depending on the tempering time, which confirmed the high tempering resistance of martensite. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Temperature and Strain Rate on Steel Strengthening)
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17 pages, 4917 KiB  
Article
Effect of Deformation Temperature on the Mechanical Behavior and Stability of Retained Austenite in TRIP-Assisted Medium-C Multiphase Steel
by Adam Skowronek and Adam Grajcar
Materials 2020, 13(11), 2433; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma13112433 - 26 May 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2131
Abstract
The temperature-dependent microstructural evolution and corresponding mechanical stability of retained austenite in medium-C TRIP-assisted 0.43C-1.45Mn-0.98Si-1Al-0.033Nb-0.01Ti steel obtained by thermomechanical processing was investigated using static tensile tests and microstructural studies. The light microscopy, image analysis, XRD diffraction and the Jaoul–Crussard analysis were applied to [...] Read more.
The temperature-dependent microstructural evolution and corresponding mechanical stability of retained austenite in medium-C TRIP-assisted 0.43C-1.45Mn-0.98Si-1Al-0.033Nb-0.01Ti steel obtained by thermomechanical processing was investigated using static tensile tests and microstructural studies. The light microscopy, image analysis, XRD diffraction and the Jaoul–Crussard analysis were applied to reveal relationships between microstructure and mechanical properties. Specimens were deformed in the static tensile tests in a temperature range of −20–140 °C. It was found that an increase in deformation temperature resulted in the reduced intensity of the TRIP effect due to the higher stability of retained austenite. An increase in the retained austenite stability along with a smaller grain size and a change from its blocky morphology to thin layers was also indicated. The impact of strengthening mechanisms at different temperatures was analyzed. The best combination of strength and ductility was obtained in the samples deformed at 20 and 60 °C, which is associated with the moderate work hardening in this temperature range. The Jaoul–Crussard analysis showed much less strengthening during the second phase of deformation at 100 and 140 °C due to the high stability of retained austenite. The higher C content in the investigated TRIP steel resulted in substantial volume fractions of retained austenite stable after completing deformation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Temperature and Strain Rate on Steel Strengthening)
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