Effect of the Tempered Martensite Matrix and Granular Bainite on Stretch-Flangeability for 980 MPa Hot-Rolled Steel

The main goal of the study is to obtain high strength and formability for automotive sheet steels such as wheel and chassis. Ferrite-based steels developed previously exhibited superior stretch-flangeability to 780 MPa and even to 980 MPa grade steels. However, it was difficult to achieve 980 MPa tensile strength sufficiently. To achieve a superior stretch-flangeability and to acquire a sufficiently high strength over 980 MPa, a composition of Fe-Cr-Ti-B was developed for hot rolling. The manufactured steel was coiled for 1 hour at 430, 450, and 470 ℃. Specifically, 998 MPa ultimate tensile strength, 11% total elongation, and a 59% excellent hole expansion ratio were obtained by microstructural constituents of a tempered martensite matrix and granular bainite when the coiling was conducted at 470 ℃. As the coiling temperature varied from 470 to 430 ℃, the fraction of granular bainite decreased and that of tempered martensite increased. Therefore, the deviation of phase fractions between two phases decreased at 470 ℃ coiling. Furthermore, as the hole expansion ratio (HER) increased, the hardness deviation of the two phases decreased. As the HER value increased, the crack propagation path dispersed on the second fracture surface and fracture was significantly delayed. Therefore, hot rolled steels using a tempered martensite matrix and granular bainite had the same behavior of stretch-flangeability with respect to the hardness deviation and crack propagation path as compared with the steels using a ferrite matrix. For high strength steels composed of the tempered martensite matrix and granular bainite, however, the minimal deviation between the two constituent phases was acknowledged as an important factor to increase stretch-flangeability. †(Received May 8, 2013)