Mechanical properties and retained austenite in intercritically heat-treated bainite-transformed steel and their variation with Si and Mn additions

Processing peculiarities and functions of alloying elements, such as Si and Mn, were studied for improving formability of steel sheets with mixed microstructures. Annealing a sheet steel with 0.2 pct C in the intercritical range produced very fine particles of retained austenite which were moderately stabilized due to C enrichment by subsequent holding in the bainite transformation range. Its strength-ductility balance is greatly superior to that of other dual-phase steels due to transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP). The holding time in the bainite transformation range varies with temperature, depending on the activation energy of C diffusion in austenite, and shifts to longer times with an increase of Si or Mn additions. The optimum cooling rate from the intercritical region is reduced with an increase of Mn content but is not influenced by Si content. Additional Mn makes the retained austenite content larger, although uniform elongation remains the same. In this case, the product of tensile strength and total elongation is increased due to an increase in the tensile strength. Contrary to Mn, Si does not affect retained austenite content but improves the uniform elongation by increasing its stability.