Cold Rolled Ultra High Strength Steel Sheet Having Excellent Stretch Formability And Method Of Manufacturing The Same.
Abstract:
ABSTRACT
TITLE: COLD ROLLED ULTRA HIGH STRENGTH STEEL SHEET WITH EXCELLENT STRETCH FORMABILITY AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME.
The Present invention relates to cold rolled high strength steel sheet having excellent strain hardening property and method of manufacturing the same. The steel sheets having Tensile strength of 1000 MPa or moreinvolving selective chemical composition and processing to achieve the desired microstructure and the stretch formability property. The advancement favors generation of cold rolled high strength steel sheet having Yield strength of 500MPa or more, Tensile strength of 1000 MPa or more, total elongation of 18% or more, strain hardening coefficient of 0.16 or more and bake hardening index of 40 MPa or more and preferred ODF random intensity of ?-fiber texture of (111)[1-23] and (111)[1-32] more than 3 for excellent stretch formability and crash resistance which makes such steel sheets suitable for automobile applications.The present advancement also concerns achieving better stretch formability utilizing Transformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) phenomenon whereby retained austenite in ferrite-bainite matrix can be transformed to martensite post forming resulting better formability.
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Notices, Deadlines & Correspondence
JSW Steel Limited
Vijayanagar Works
P.O. Vidyanagar, Ballari
Karnataka, India.
PIN-583275
Specification
DESC:FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The Present invention relates to cold rolled ultra high strength steel sheet having excellent strain hardening property and method of manufacturing the same. More particularly, the present invention is directed to provide 1000 MPa Tensile strength level high strength cold rolled steel sheet involving selective chemical composition to achieve the desired microstructure and the stretch formability property. Advancement is also directed to cold rolled ultra high strength steel sheet having Yield strength of 500 MPa or more, Tensile strength of 1000 MPa or more, total elongation of 18% or more, strain hardening coefficient of 0.16 or more and bake hardening index of 40 MPa or more, and preferred orientation distribution function (ODF) random intensity of ?-fiber texture of (111)[1-23] and (111)[1-32] more than 3.The present advancement also concerns improving the strain hardening coefficient for achieving better stretch formability utilizing Transformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) phenomenon whereby retained austenite in ferrite-bainite matrix can be transformed to martensite post forming resulting better formability.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There is an increased attention to light weighing, reliability in product performance and passenger safety in automotive segment. To boot, the stringent emission norms has triggered the automakers to speed up the programs to reduce vehicle weight for higher fuel efficiency and better environmental performance. This can be achieved by incorporating thinner high strength steel sheet having strength more than 1000 MPa in place of conventional one. Conversely, increasing strength of steel through higher amount of alloying results in poor drawability and surface appearance. As a result, high strength steel sheet are not recommended to be used for automotive body parts requiring high amount of drawability and superior surface appearance. In recent years, many high strength steels have been tried conventionally with the aim of reducing the vehicle weight and increasing the strength of the auto body to ensure safety.
Formability is a major limitation which restricts the application of high strength steel in automotive body parts having complex profile. Through improving the strain hardening coefficient better formability can be achieved. To facilitate, TRIP phenomenon has been utilized where retained austenite in ferrite-bainite matrix can be transformed to martensite post forming resulting in higher strength and improved stretch formability. However, the optimum deployment of said TRIP steel can only be achieved by right combination of retained austenite, bainite and martensite phase fractions and their distribution. In order to achieve the said TRIP phenomenon, Si and Al are added to get the desired amount of retained austenite at room temperature but the surface properties deteriorates appreciably.
To avoid crack generation during press forming, the high strength steel sheet having strength >1000 MPa must also exhibit a good strain hardening coefficient (n-value) of atleast 0.16 along with total elongation of no less than 18 %and preferred ODFrandom intensity of ?-fiber texture of (111)[1-23] and (111)[1-32] more than 3. At the same time, the yield ratio must be below 0.6 for better stretch formability.
As a part of prior art , the chinese patent application number CN102471849A discloses method of manufacturing a cold rolled steel sheet with minimum UTS of 980 MPa and its process for automotive structural component. A high strength automotive steel sheet is disclosed, obtained by balancing bainite and martensite volume fraction percentage. However, the method disclosed in prior art fall short in getting good total elongation and n value due to higher amount of 50% or more martensite phase fraction as strengthening phase.
Japanese patent application number JP20063274417A discloses a High strength cold rolled sheet steel having excellent balance of strength and workability, and metal plated steel strip method comprising Bainitic ferrite 70% or more,
Residual austenite is 5% to 20%. A good combination of strength and workability has been claimed as a part of invention. However, due to presence of high proportion of bainite, strength deteriorates. However, CO2 emissions regulations in recent years have become increasingly stringent, weight reduction of the vehicle body is further demanded , in automotive component like cross member and pillars, workability with low strength of 780MPa will not result in weight reduction and hence inorder to doso, strength needs to be increased to actively reduce the weight.
The present invention thus attempts to overcome the above mentioned problems and limitations of the prior art by way of providing a high-strength cold-rolled steel sheet with minimum strength of 980 MPa, and total elongation more than 18% having improved strain hardening properties along with excellent surface properties and a process for its manufacture.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The basic object of the present invention is directed to provide cold rolled ultra high strength steel sheet having excellent strain hardening property, surface quality and method of manufacturing the same.
A still further object of the present invention is directed to providecold rolled high strength steel sheetinvolving selective composition to achieve the desired microstructure and the stretch formability property.
A still further object of the present invention is directed to providecold rolled high strength steel sheet having strength 1000 MPa or more, a good strain hardening coefficient (n-value) of atleast 0.16 along with high total elongation of no less than 18 %,and preferred ODF random intensity of ?-fiber texture of (111)[1-23] and (111)[1-32] more than 3 for excellent stretch formability to suit automobile application.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The basic aspect of the present invention is directed to providecold rolled high strength steel sheets having tensile strength atleast1000 MPa with composition in terms of weight % comprising:
C: 0.18-0.25 %;
Mn: 2.0-3.0 %;
Si: 1.3–2.0%;
Al: 0.3-0.5%
S: 0.005 % or less;
N: 0.005 % or less
Ti: 0.005-0.05%;
Nb: 0.051-0.08%;
Ca: 0.001-0.003%;
and the balance being Fe and other unavoidable impurities; wherein [Al] / [Ca] ratio is in a range of 100 to 400 and [Ti] /[N] ratio is in the range of 3 to 50 and having selective steel microstructure constituents including atleast 10% retained austenite phase in ferrite-bainite matrix for formability induced transformation to martensite post forming for required stretch formability.
A further aspect of the present invention is directed to saidcold rolled high strength steel sheets wherein said microstructure constituents comprise 20 % or more of bainite, 12 % or less of martensite phase, 8 % or more of retained austenite phase and balance being ferrite phase along with carbide, nitride and sulphide precipitates favouring Transformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) phenomenon whereby retained austenite in ferrite-bainite matrix is transformed to martensite post forming resulting better formability and having preferred ODF random intensity of ?-fiber texture of (111)[1-23] and (111)[1-32] more than 3 for excellent stretch formability and crash resistance.
A still further aspect of the present invention is directed to saidcold rolled high strength steel sheets wherein said steel microstructure constituentscomprise 20 % to 40 % of bainite, 5 % to 12 % of martensite phase, 8 % to 18% of retained austenite phase and balance ferrite phase along with carbide, nitride and sulphide precipitates.
A still further aspect of the present invention is directed to said cold rolled high strength steel sheet comprising atleast one type of element selected from the group of elements consisting of V, Zr, Hf, W and Cr in amount less than 0.04 wt%.
A still further aspect of the present invention is directed to said cold rolled high strength steel sheet additionally comprising in terms of weight % atleast one element selected from the group consisting of 0.002 % to 0.2 % Cu, 0.002 % to 0.2 % Ni and 0.002 to 0.3 % Mo.
Another aspect of the present invention is directed to saidcold rolled high strength steel sheets having Yield strength of 500 MPa or more, Tensile strength of 1000 MPa or more, total elongation of 18% or more, strain hardening coefficient of 0.16 or more and bake hardening index of 40 MPa or more.
Yet anotheraspect of the present invention is directed to saidcold rolled high strength steel sheets having good phosphatability property with average coating weight after zinc phosphate chemical conversion coating of 1.5-3 g/m2 having average phosphate crystal size < 6 µm.
A further aspect of the present invention is directed to aprocess for manufacturing the cold rolled high strength steel sheets as described abovehaving tensile strength of atleast1000 MPa comprising the steps of:
a) providing steel having composition comprising
C: 0.18-0.25 %;
Mn: 2.0-3.0 %;
Si: 1.3–2.0%;
Al: 0.3-0.5%
S: 0.005 % or less;
N: 0.005 % or less
Ti: 0.005-0.05%;
Nb: 0.051-0.08%;
Ca: 0.001-0.003%;
and the balance being Fe and other unavoidable impurities;
involving processing through Heat from basic oxygen furnace (BOF) and RH degasser and subsequently continuously casting into slab having casting speed (m/min) following :
01000 MPa, minimum amount of Mn must be atleast 2%. However, an increase in manganese concentration restricts the fraction of bainite that can form. Higher Mn weight percent may also lead to higher martensite fraction resulting in lower strain hardening effect. Hence, the upper limit of Mn is 3.0 %.
Silicon (Si: 1.30–2.0wt %) –Si suppresses precipitation of cementite, therefore, it helps in enrichment of carbon in austenite and make it more stable. Si as a solid solution strengthening element strengthens the ferrite, matrix. To attain that effect and to get minimum UTS>1000 MPa, minimum amount of Si must be atleast 1.3 wt%. However, increasing Si level more than 2.0% does not cause any significant effect to inhibit cementite formation. In addition, adding excess Si deteriorates the phosphatability and strainhardenability. Hence, the upper Sicontent must not be more than 2.0 %.
Aluminium (Al: 0.3-0.5wt%)-Like Si, Al also suppresses the cementite precipitation and in this way it can be used as a replacement for Si. However, Al does not strengthen the ferrite matrix, hence more Mn need to be added to achieve the desired strength level. Al also acts as a deoxidizer during steel making process to kill dissolved oxygen. To achieve adequate deoxidation, the soluble aluminum (Al Sol.) preferably be at least 0.02 %. Al also adds on to fix harmful dissolve N to form AlN. Increasing Al level above 0.5 wt% to replace Si causes clogging at sub-entry nozzle problems during continuous casting. Accordingly, upper limit is set to 0.5%.
Niobium (Nb: 0.051-0.08 wt %) – Nb as carbide former strengthens the ferrite matrix by formation of nano sized NbC precipitates. For achieving the said benefits, minimum amount of Nb must be above 0.05 %. Nb also refines the grain size and improves the strength. However, excess addition of Nb results in coarse carbide formation which reduces the elongation. Also, excessive Nb addition result in lower carbon fraction in austenite and reduces its stability. Accordingly, upper limit of Nb is set 0.08 %.
Nitrogen (N: 0.005 wt% or less) – N is present in steel as an impurity and should be present at minimum amount to avoid aging. Excessive dissolve nitrogen needs additional Ti to be added to fix it as TiN and cost of production increases. In addition, to achieve good aging resistance, upper limit of N must be 0.005 wt % or less.
Titanium (Ti: 0.005-0.05 wt %)- Ti acts as a nitride forming element to fix solute N in steel thus helps in getting aging resistance. Formability of steel sheet improves by reducing solute N in solution with Ti instead of Al. And so, amount of Ti preferably added should be 0.005 wt% or more. However, when Ti contents exceeds 0.05 wt%, the effects are saturated, therefore the amount of Ti is made to be 0.05% or less. In addition, when Ti is added in excess of the amount required for reducing solid solution N, Ti may formTiN, which inhibits the bake hardening properties and stable formation of austenite, which is not preferable.
V, Zr, Hf, W (collectively <0.04 wt%): V, Zr, Hf, W forms carbide and impart precipitation strengthening to the steel. However as Ti and Nb are already added, any additional content more than 0.04 of each element will add up to cost of production. Moreover, higher addition of this element will form coarser carbides, reducing elongation. Formation of excess carbide also leads to lower carbon fraction in austenite and reduces its stability. Accordingly, upper limit of at least one of the element selecting from V, Zr, Hf, W must be less than 0.04 wt%.
Description of the process of manufacturing:
To achieve Slab chemistry as described in scope of the invention, Heat from basic oxygen furnace (BOF) is processed through RH degasser and subsequently continuously casted.Where in casting process to avoid longitudinal crack, casting speed and super heat is restricted such thatit satisfyCasting Speed <2-8/300*superheat, where as superheat vary from 20-60 °C.Special measures are taken to hot roll resulted slabs by keeping slab reheating temperature in the range of 1190°C to 1250°C intended to control roughing mill delivery temperature under 1080°C and finishing mill entry temperature under 1080°C to check surface defects like rolled in scale. During hot rolling, finishing mill temperature is varied in the range from Ac3 °C to Ac3+100 °C. After finish rolling, Run out table cooling rate from finishing mill to coiler of more than 9 0C/sec was maintained to achieve coiling temperature range of 530 to 630 °C, to avoid ID collapse after coil winding, it is held for 120sec at mandrel. Hot rolled coils were subsequently processed through pickling coupled with tandem cold rolling mill to remove the oxide surface present in the surface and to provide a cold reduction of 35% or more.
Subsequent to pickling and cold rolling to desired thickness, cold rolled steel strip are processed through continuous annealing line where electrolytic cleaning removes rolling emulsion present on the surface. Cleaned surface passes through the preheating and heating section where the strip is heated at the rate of 0.5-5 0C/sec up to soaking section temperature. Soaking section temperature was maintained in the range from 800 °C to 850 °C to achieve retained austenite in final microstructure. Annealing time is kept in the range from 70 to 150 seconds to allow sufficient time for annealed and homogenization of austenite microstructure. After soaking section steel strip passes through slow cooling section at cooling rate in the rage from 0.2 to 3 °C/sec. Slow cooling section temperature is kept in the range from 680 to 720 °C to avoid any pearlite formation during cooling. Following slow cooling section, annealed strip sheet passes through rapid cooling section at cooling rate of 40°Cor less and cooled up to rapid cooling section temperature of T1 °C or more. This is to keep martensite area fraction in microstructure less than 2 %. Subsequent to RCS, annealed strip passes through over aging section(OAS) where rapid cooled steel strip is over aged keeping the over aging section temperature in between of T2to T1°C to allow bainite transformationwhere T1= 550 – 324 [C%] - 32.4 [Mn%] - 10.8 [Si%]-10.8 [Mo%] and T2 = 555 – 70 [C%] - 35 [Mn%] – 75 [Si%] – 40 [Mo%];where [%X] denotes weight % of element X in said steel sheet. Over aged steel sheet is then provided with skin-pass elongation in the range from 0.20 to 1 % to avoid yield point elongation.
Furthermore, Cold rolled high strength steel sheet described in present invention can be processed through continuous galvanizing route for zinc coating to produce GA/GI steel sheets and used as coated product for similar applications.
Method of evaluating phosphatability:
Phosphating process provides a hard, non-conducting surface coating of insoluble phosphate to metal surface. The adherent and contagious coating layer provides excellent paint ability and corrosion resistance to steel surface.
To evaluate phosphatability firstly alkali degreasing was performed on steel sheet at 400C for 120 sec using FC-E2032 chemical manufactured by NIHON PARKERIZING India Pvt Ltd to the obtained cold rolled steel sheet without any oil/grease on surface. Degreasing was followed by water rinsing and then surface conditioning at room temperature for 30 seconds using PL-Z chemical manufactured by NIHON PARKERIZING India Pvt Ltd. Phosphate treatment using PB-L3020 chemical, manufactured by NIHON PARKERIZING India Pvt was done at 400 C for 90 seconds. Subsequently, the surface after phosphate treatment was observed under a Scanning electron microscope using Secondary Electron image mode. Average grain size was measured assuming circular phosphate crystals. Crystal size < 6 µm is considered as excellent for phosphatability. The phosphate coating weight was measured using the XRF method and steel sheet with average coating weight after zinc phosphate chemical conversion coating of 1.5-3 g/m2 is considered having excellent phosphatability.
Method of evaluating bake hardening in a tensile test:
Tensile test specimen as per JIS Z2241 No.5 with 50mm gauge length 25mm width was and prepared across the rolling direction of steel sheet. Tensile test specimen was then strained to 2% at strain rate of about 0.008/second and then heated at 1700C for 20 minutes. Heated sample was then subjected to tensile test. Bake hardening index was then evaluated by measuring the difference between the initial strength at 2% strain before bake hardening and final yield strength (at lower yield point) after heating at 1700C for 20 minutes.
Complete description of steel according to the present advancement and comparative steel grades are illustrated in following table 1 to table 4 and the weight percent range of constituents and the selective process parameters according to the invention are validated through following examples 1 & 2:
Table 1: Elemental Compositions in weight % of the inventive steel sheets along with comparative example.
Table 2: Hot rolling, cold rolling, annealing parameters of inventive and comparative steel sheets having chemical compositions as per Table 1.
Table 3:Mechanical properties, surface phosphatability properties and micro structural phase fractions of inventive and comparative steels having chemical composition as per table 1 and being processed as per Table 2.
Table 1
*I - Present inventive example, C- Comparative Examples
Where,
* T1=550 - 324[C%] - 32.4 [Mn%] - 10.8[Si%]-10.8[Mo%]
T2=555 - 70[C%] - 35 [Mn%] - 75[Si%] - 40[Mo%]
** Shaded and underline boxes indicates “outside the appropriate range”
Example 1
It can be appreciated from Table 1 to Table 3 that steel sheets remarked as “I” are satisfying all the scopes of present invention and exhibits excellent strain hardening property and phosphatability. These steels exhibits improved n value>0.16, phosphate crystal size =6µm and phosphate coats weight 1.5-3 g/m2 post zinc phosphate chemical conversion coating ,yield ratio of =0.6 , BH index =40MPa and UTS =1000 MPa. Whereas, Steel remarked as “1b and 1c” from Table 1 to Table 3 doesn’t comply with atleast one of the scope of the present invention and does not conform with minimum one or more of the end product attributes as mentioned in the scope of the present invention. For example steel no. 3 to 5 in table 1 has the less carbon % than the scope and does not comply with required ratio of Al/Ca ratio and has poor stretch formability and less n value.
Table 2
*I - Present inventive example, C- Comparative Examples
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201721043947-STATEMENT OF UNDERTAKING (FORM 3) [07-12-2017(online)].pdf