Vessel microstructure design: A new approach for site-specific core-shell micromechanical tailoring of TRIP-assisted ultra-high strength steels

© 2016 Acta Materialia Inc. All rights reserved. The mechanical performance of multi-phase steel microstructures critically depends on the constituents' chemical and morphological constitutions, which in combination determine the composite hardness, the onset of plasticity, internal load and strain-partitioning, as well as the stability and transformation kinetics of retained austenite in case of TRIP steels. The novel approach of utilising temporary vessel phases, hence termed vessel microstructure design, enables the tuning of constituent phase properties by linking their formation to a controllable landscape of chemical gradients. This approach hinges on the introduction of alloy carbides as a temporary container, or 'vessel' phase, deliberately producing localised enrichment of alloying elements in a structure predetermined by preliminary heat treatments, referred to as conditioning and accumulation stages. These vessel carbides, which act as reservoirs for specific alloying elements, are then partially dissolved through flash heating, leading to a self-organising landscape of alloying elements in the vicinity of the dissolving particles. The resulting three- or multiple phase microstructures then consist of confined laminates incorporating retained carbides, enveloped by retained austenite shells, embedded within a martensitic matrix. Such complex yet entirely self-organized microstructures offer unique opportunities for strain and load partitioning which we refer to as core-shell micromechanics. Different variants of these core-shell composite structures are produced and examined together with reference microstructures by tensile testing, hardness mappings, impact toughness, X-ray measurements, as well as by electron microscopy. It is found that these novel microstructures, when tempered, exhibit ultra-high strength and delayed necking, enabled by a combination of gradual strain-hardening and transformation-induced plasticity that is tuneable via control of the initial carbide structure.

Jaar van publicatie:2016