Steel Sheet Suitable For Impact Absorbing Member And Method For Its Manufacture
Abstract:
The steel sheet of the present invention being suitable as a raw material for an automobile impact absorbing member having high impact absorbing energy and not being resistant to cracking even when crushed has a chemical composition containing by mass% 0.08 0.30% C 1.5 3.5% Mn 0.50 3.0% Si + Al 0.10% or less P 0.010% or less S 0.010% or less N and also in some cases one or more species selected from 0.5% or less Cr 0.5% or less Mo 0.010% or less B less than 0.04% Ti less than 0.030% Nb less than 0.5% V 0.010% or less Ca 0.010% or less Mg 0.050% or less REM and 0.050% or less Bi. The steel sheet has a microstructure containing by area% more than 50% bainite 3 30% martensite and 3 15% residual austenite the remainder comprising ferrite having an average particle diameter of less than 5 µm. The steel sheet also has mechanical characteristics in which the product of the uniform elongation and the hole expansion ratio is at least 300% and the 5% effective flow stress is at least 900 MPa.
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Notices, Deadlines & Correspondence
c/o NIPPON STEEL & SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION 6 1 Marunouchi 2 chome Chiyoda ku Tokyo
1008071
2. KAWANO Kaori
c/o NIPPON STEEL & SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION 6 1 Marunouchi 2 chome Chiyoda ku Tokyo
1008071
3. TASAKA Masahito
c/o NIPPON STEEL & SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION 6 1 Marunouchi 2 chome Chiyoda ku Tokyo
1008071
4. NAKAZAWA Yoshiaki
c/o NIPPON STEEL & SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION 6 1 Marunouchi 2 chome Chiyoda ku Tokyo
1008071
5. NISHIO Takuya
c/o NIPPON STEEL & SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION 6 1 Marunouchi 2 chome Chiyoda ku Tokyo
1008071
6. WAKITA Masayuki
c/o NIPPON STEEL & SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION 6 1 Marunouchi 2 chome Chiyoda ku Tokyo
1008071
7. HAGA Jun
c/o NIPPON STEEL & SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION 6 1 Marunouchi 2 chome Chiyoda ku Tokyo
1008071
8. TOMIDA Toshiro
c/o NIPPON STEEL & SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION 6 1 Marunouchi 2 chome Chiyoda ku Tokyo
1008071
Specification
The present invention relates to a steel sheet and an impact absorbing
member, and to a method for its manufacture. More specifically, the present
invention relates to a steel sheet having a high effective flow stress and being
suitable as a starting material for an impact absorbing member in which occurrence
10 of cracking when subjected to an impact load is suppressed, a method for its
manufacture, and an impact absorbing member made of the steel sheet.
Background Art
In recent years, in order to protect global environmental, weight reduction of
15 automobile bodies is demanded as a measure to decrease the amount of COz
discharged from automobiles. For the purpose, increases in the strength of steel
sheets for automobiles are required. This is because increase in the strength of
steel sheet will allow decrease of the thickness of steel sheets for automobiles,
thereby decreasing the weight of automotive bodies.
20 On the other hand, there are increased demands by society for safety of
automobiles in collisions. Accordingly, there is a need for not only simply
increasing the strength of steel sheet, but also developing a steel sheet having
improved impact resistance upon collision during driving. Since each portion of a
member for an automobile is subjected to deformation at a high strain rate of
25 several 10s to 103/s in collision, a high strength steel sheet having improved
dynamic strength properties is required for automobile use.
As a high strength steel sheet having improved dynamic strength properties,
there are known high-strength multi-phase structure steel sheets including a lowalloy
TRIP steel sheet (strain induced transformation type high-strength steel sheet)
30 which has a high static-dynamic difference (difference between static strength and
dynamic strength) and a multi-phase structure steel sheet having a second phase
primarily including martensite.
Regarding the low-alloy TRIP steel sheet, for example, Patent Document 1
discloses a strain induced transformation-type high-strength steel sheet having
improved dynamic deformation properties and for absorbing automobile collision
energy.
5 Prior art examples relating to the high-strength multi-phase structure steel
sheet having a second phase primarily including martensite include the following
Patent Documents.
Patent Document 2 discloses a high-strength steel sheet having improved
balance of strength and ductility, and a static-dynamic difference of at least 170
10 MPa, and a method for its manufacture, wherein the steel sheet has a multi-phase
structure comprising a ferrite phase and a hard second phase dispersed therein, in
which the average grain diameter ds of nano crystal grains having a grain diameter
of at most 1.2 pm and an average grain diameter dL of micro crystal grains having a
grain diameter exceeding 1.2 pm in the ferrite phase satisfy a relationship of dL/ds
15 2 3 .
Patent Document 3 discloses a hot-rolled steel sheet having a high staticdynamic
ratio, and a method for producing the same, wherein the steel sheet has a
dual-phase structure of martensite having an average grain diameter of at most 3 pm
and ferrite having an average grain diameter of at most than 5 pm.
20 Patent Document 4 discloses a cold-rolled steel sheet having improving
impact absorbing properties, and a method for its manufacture, wherein the steel
sheet has a dual-phase structure, which contains at least 75% of ferrite phase having
an average grain diameter of at most 3.5 pm, the remainder being tempered
martensite.
2 5 Patent Document 5 discloses a cold-rolled steel sheet having a static-dynamic
difference of at least 60 MPa at a strain rate of 5 x 1 o2 to 5 x 1 03/s, and a method
for its manufacture, wherein the steel sheet is made to have a dual-phase structure of
ferrite and martensite by pre-straining.
Patent Document 6 discloses a high-strength hot-rolled steel sheet having
30 improved impact resistant properties, wherein the steel sheet has a dual-phase
structure of at least 85% of bainite and a hard phase such as martensite.
Citation List
Patent Document
Patent Document 1 : Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1 1-80879
Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.2006- 16 1077
5 Patent Document 3 : Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.2004-84074
Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.2004-27785 8
Patent Document 5 : Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.2000- 173 85
Patent Document 6: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1 1-269606
10 Summary of Invention
To improve impact absorbing properties of an impact absorbing member, it is
effective to increase the strength of the steel sheet of the starting material for the
impact absorbing member. That is, increasing the strength of steel sheet allows
not only the decrease of thickness (decrease of weight), but also the increase of
15 absorbed impact energy. This is because as the strength of the starting material for
the steel sheet increases, flow stress required for plastic deformation increases.
Since, an impact absorbing member generally absorbs energy produced by a
collision through its plastic deformation caused by the collision, increasing its
strength tends to increase the impact absorbing capability.
20 However, the impact energy which can be absorbed by an impact absorbing
member greatly depends on the thickness of the steel sheet of the starting material.
This is obvious, for example, from the fact that the following relationship about an
average load (Fave) that determines the absorption of impact energy of steel sheet
holds as shown in Journal of Japan Society for Technology of Plasticity, vol. 46,
25 N0.534, p.641-645.
Fave a (ayat2)/4
(Where, ay: effective flow stress, and t: sheet thickness.)
The effective flow stress means a flow stress at a particular value of strain.
That is, the average load (Fave) is in direct proportion to the square of the
30 sheet thickness t. Therefore, both a decreased thickness and a high impact
absorbing capability for an impact absorbing member only by increasing the
strength of steel sheet can be achieved only to some extent.
On the other hand, the absorption of impact energy of an impact absorbing
member also greatly depends on its shape. This is disclosed in, for example,
International Publication Nos. 20051010396,200510 10397, and 200510 10398.
Therefore, there is possibility to rapidly increase the absorption of impact
5 energy of an impact absorbing member to a level which cannot be achieved simply
by increasing the strength of steel sheet, by optimizing the shape of the impact
absorbing member so as to increase the plastic deformation work when subjected to
impact by collision.
However, even if the shape of the impact absorbing member is optimized so
10 as to increase the amount of plastic deformation work, a crack would have occurred
in the impact absorbing member in an early period before the desired plastic
deformation is completed upon collision of automobile unless the steel sheet has
deformation capability to be able to endure the amount of plastic deformation work.
As a result of that, it is not possible to increase the amount of plastic deformation
15 work of the impact absorbing member and therefore not possible to rapidly increase
the absorption of impact energy thereof. Moreover, if a crack occurs in the impact
absorbing member in an early period, an unexpected situation may be brought about
in which another member disposed adjacent to this impact absorbing member is
damaged.
20 As shown in the above described Patent Documents, conventionally, the
dynamic strength of steel sheet has been increased based on the technical concept
that the absorption of impact energy of the impact absorbing member depends on
the dynamic strength (the static-dynamic difference or static-dynamic ratio) of steel
sheet. However, simply increasing the dynamic strength of steel sheet may
25 significantly deteriorate deformation properties. For that reason, even if the shape
of the impact absorbing member is optimized so as to increase the amount of plastic
deformation work, it is not necessarily possible to dramatically increase the impact
energy absorbed by the impact absorbing member.
Further, since conventionally the shape of the impact absorbing member has
30 been studied on the assumption that the steel sheet manufactured based on the above
described technical concept is used, the optimization of the shape of the impact
absorbing member has been studied from the beginning on the assumption of
deformation capability of conventional steel sheets. For that reason, sufficient
study has not been done fiom the perspective of improving the deformation
capability of steel sheet as well as optimizing the shape of the impact absorbing
member so as to improve the amount of plastic deformation work.
As described above, to improve the absorption of impact energy of the
impact absorbing member, it is important to optimize the shape of the impact
absorbing member, in addition to increase the strength of steel sheet so as to
increase the amount of plastic deformation work.
Regarding steel sheet, it is important to increase an effective flow stress to
optimize the shape of the impact absorbing member, which can increase the amount
of plastic deformation work. Increasing the effective flow stress of steel sheet will
make it possible to increase the amount of plastic deformation work of steel sheet,
while suppressing the occurrence of cracking when subjected to an impact load.
In order to improve the absorption of impact energy of the impact absorbing
member, the present inventors have studied on steel sheet regarding the means of
suppressing the occurrence of cracking when subjected to an impact load, and
concurrently allowing the effective flow stress to be increased, and thus obtained
new findings listed below.
(A) To improve the absorption of impact energy of an impact absorbing
member, it is effective to increase the effective flow stress (hereafter, referred to as
"5% flow stress") when a true strain of 5% is applied to the steel sheet of the
starting material.
(B) To suppress the occurrence of cracking in the impact absorbing member
when subjected to an impact load, it is effective to improve uniform elongation and
local ductility of the steel sheet of the starting material.
(C) To increase the 5% flow stress of steel sheet, it is effective to increase
yield strength thereof and a work hardening coefficient in a low strain region.
@) To increase the yield strength and the work hardening coefficient in a
low strain region of steel sheet, it is necessary that the steel structure of steel sheet
has a multi-phase structure containing bainite as the main phase, and martensite
which is harder than bainite and retained austenite in a second phase.
(E) The martensite and retained austenite contained in the second phase of
the multi-phase structure contribute to increases of the work hardening coefficient
and uniform elongation in a low strain range of steel sheet. Therefore, it is
necessary to set lower limits for the area fractions of martensite and retained
austenite.
(F) On the other, excessive large area fractions of martensite and retained
austenite will lead to decrease of local ductility of steel sheet. Therefore, it is
necessary to set upper limits for the area fractions of martensite and retained
austenite.
(G) If the ferrite which is a retained structure is coarse, strain is likely to be
concentrated in soft ferrite, and thereby decreases the yield strength of steel sheet
and the local ductility thereof. Therefore, it is necessary to specify upper limit for
the average grain diameter of ferrite.
(H) As described above, to improve the absorption of impact energy of an
impact absorbing member, it is effective to increase the 5% flow stress of steel
sheet; and to suppress the occurrence of cracking of the member when subjected to
an impact load, it is effective to improve the uniform elongation and the local
ductility of steel sheet. To respond to severe needs in recent years, as an index to
realize these, it is necessary that the product of uniform elongation and hole
expansion ratio is at least 300%~a,n d the effective flow stress when applied with
5% true strain is at least 900 MPa in steel sheet.
(I) Appropriately suppressing the hardness ratio between the bainite which is
the main phase and the martensite contained in the second phase will suppress
mobile dislocation by plastic deformation, thus making it easy to achieve higher
yield strength. Therefore, it is preferable to set upper limit for the hardness ratio
between the bainite which is the main phase and the martensite.
(J) On the other hand, appropriately improving the hardness ratio between the
bainite which is the main phase and the martensite contained in the second phase
will make it easy to increase the work hardening coefficient and uniform elongation
in a low strain region by including martensite. Therefore it is preferable to set a
lower limit for the hardness ratio between the bainite which is the main phase and
the martensite.
(IS) Suppressing strain concentration by plastic deformation only in bainite
and work hardening in a multi-phase structure steel sheet containing bainite as the
main phase will suppress the occurrence of cracking along a shear band and a grain
boundary in the bainite, making it easy to improve the local ductility. On the other
5 hand, suppressing excessive hardening of the second phase caused by plastic
deformation makes it possible to avoid that the hardness difference between the
main phase and the second phase increases so that occurrence of cracking from an
interface therebetween is suppressed, thus making it easy to increase the local
ductility of steel sheet.
10 Therefore, to achieve even higher local ductility in a multi-phase structure
steel sheet containing bainite as the main phase, it is preferable to cause strain to be
appropriately distributed between bainite which is the main phase and the second
phase. That is, it is preferable that bainite which is the main phase and the second
phase are subjected to a same level of work hardening when plastically deformed.
15 As an index for this, it is appropriate to use a proportion of work hardening rates
after 10% tensile deformation. That is, in a multi-phase structure steel sheet
containing bainite as the main phase and martensite in a second phase, it is
preferable to set a lower limit and an upper limit for the ratio between the work
hardening rate of bainite after 10% tensile deformation and the work hardening rate
20 of martensite after 10% tensile deformation.
(L) A steel sheet having the above described microstructure can be obtained
by combining a specific chemical composition, a hot rolling condition, a cold
rolling condition and an annealing condition as will be described later in detail.
The present invention based on the above described new findings is a steel
25 sheet comprising: a chemical composition containing, by mass%, C: at least 0.08%
and at most 0.30%, Mn: at least 1.5% and at most 3.5%, Si + Al: at least 0.50% and
at most 3.0%, P: at most 0.10%, S: at most 0.010%, N: at most 0.010%, Cr: 0 to at
most 0.5%, Mo: 0 to at most 0.5%, B: 0 to at most 0.0 1 %, Ti: 0 to less than 0.04%,
Nb: 0 to less than 0.030%, V: 0 to less than 0.5%, Ca: 0 to at most 0.010%, Mg: 0 to
30 at most 0.010%, REM: 0 to at most 0.050%, and Bi: 0 to at most 0.050%, the
remainder being Fe and impurities; a microstructure containing, by area%, bainite:
more than 50%, martensite: at least 3% and at most 30%, and retained austenite: at
least 3% and at most 15%, the remainder consisting of ferrite having an average
grain diameter of less than 5 pm; and mechanical properties in which the product of
uniform elongation and hole expansion ratio is at least 300%~a, nd an effective flow
stress when 5% true strain is applied is at least 900 MPa.
Here, the "effective flow stress when 5% true strain is applied" means the
flow stress required to keep plastic deformation occurring when 5% true strain is
applied and then plastic deformation is started. This effective flow stress can be
determined fiom a true stress value at a true strain of 5% in a true stress-true strain
curve obtained by a simple tension test.
The microstructure preferably satisfies the following formulas (1) and (2):
1.2 5 HMo/HB5o 1.6 (1)
0.9 5 {(HMIo~Mo)/(HBIo5~ 1B.3o )) (2)
where,
HMOi:n itial average nano hardness of the martensite,
HBOi:n itial average nano hardness of the bainite,
HMlo: average nano hardness of the martensite after 10% tensile deformation,
HBIOa:v erage nano hardness of the bainite after 10% tensile deformation.
The average nano hardness can be determined by the method according to
Examples. The initial average nano hardness means a nano hardness before tensile
deformation is applied.
The chemical composition may contain one or more selected from by
mass%, Cr: at least 0.1% and at most 0.5%, Mo: at least 0.1% and at most 0.5%, B:
at least 0.0010% and at most 0.010%, Ti: at least 0.01% and less than 0.04%, Nb: at
least 0.005% and less than 0.030%, V: at least 0.010% and less than 0.5%, Ca: at
least 0.0008% and at most 0.010%, Mg: at least 0.0008% and at most 0.010%,
REM: at least 0.0008% and at most 0.050%, and Bi: at least 0.0010% and at most
0.050%.
In another aspect, the present invention is an impact absorbing member
having an impact absorbing portion, which absorbs impact energy by being axially
crashed and buckled, wherein the impact absorbing portion is made of any of the
above described steel sheets.
In a further aspect, the present invention is a method for manufacturing a
steel sheet, comprising following steps (A) to (c):
(A) a hot rolling step in which a slab having the above described chemical
composition is subjected to multi-pass hot rolling in which rolling is completed at a
5 temperature of at least AT3 point, the obtained steel sheet is cooled to a temperature '
range of at least 620°C and at most 720°C under a cooling condition in which
cooling is started within 0.4 seconds after completion of rolling, and an average
cooling rate is at least 600°C/sec, as well as a time required for cooling fiom
completion of rolling in a rolling pass which is two passes before the last rolling
10 pass to 720°C is at most 4 seconds, and the steel sheet is held in the temperature
range for at least 1 second and at most 10 seconds, thereafter being cooled to a
temperature range of at least 300°C and at most 610°C at an average cooling rate of
at least 10°C/sec and at most 100°C/sec, and being coiled to obtain a hot-rolled steel
sheet;
15 (B) a cold rolling step in which the hot-rolled steel sheet obtained by the hot
rolling step is subjected to cold rolling of a rolling reduction of at least 40% and at
most 70% to be formed into a cold-rolled steel sheet; and
(C) an annealing step in which the cold-rolled steel sheet obtained by the cold
rolling step is subjected to a heat treatment in which the steel sheet is held in a
20 temperature range of at least (Ac3 point - 30°C) and at most (Ac3 point + 100°C) for
at least 10 seconds and at most 300 seconds, and then is cooled at an average
cooling rate of at least 1 5"CIsec in a temperature range of at least 500°C and at most
650°C, thereafter being held in a temperature range of at least 300°C and at most
500°C for at least 30 seconds and at most 3000 seconds.
25 The steel sheet relating to the present invention is suitable as a starting
material of an impact absorbing portion in an impact absorbing member, the impact
absorbing portion absorbing impact energy by being axially crashed and buckled,
and especially suitable as a starting material for impact absorbing members of
automobile. To be specific, the present steel sheet is, for example, preferably used
30 as a starting material for a crash box of automobile, which has a tubular main body
having a closed section, (and which is mounted onto a body shell such as a side
member while supporting a bumper reinforcement, and is configured to be axially
crashed and plastically deformed into a bellows shape by an impact load applied
fkom the bumper reinforcement). The steel sheet can also be advantageously used
as a starting material for a side member, a fiont upper rail, a side sill, and a cross
member of automobile.
5 . Manufacturing an impact absorbing member fiom a steel sheet involving to
the present invention will make it possible to obtain an impact absorbing member
which can suppress or eliminate the occurrence of cracking when subjected to an
impact load, and which exhibits a high effective flow stress, thereby dramatically
improving the absorption of impact energy of the impact absorbing member.
10 Since applying such an impact absorbing member to a product such as an
automobile will allow further improvement of the collision safety of the product,
the present invention is highly beneficial industrially.
Brief Description of Drawings
15 Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram to show an example of regions where an
impact absorbing member is applied.
Figure 2 is a two-view diagram to show an example of the shape of an impact
absorbing portion.
Figure 3 is a two-view diagram to show an example of the shape of an impact
20 absorbing portion.
Description of Embodiments
Hereafter, the present invention will be described in more specifically. It is
noted that in the following description, "%" relating to the chemical composition of
25 steel all represents "mass%". The following description is for the purpose of
exemplifjing the present invention, and is not intended for limiting the present
invention.
1. Chemical composition
(1) C: at least 0.08% and at most 0.30%
30 C (carbon) has the function of promoting the formation of bainite which is
the main phase, and martensite and retained austenite which are contained in a
second phase. C also has the function of improving the tensile strength of steel
sheet as a result of increasing the strength of martensite. Further, C has the
function of strengthening steel through solid solution strengthening, thereby
improving the yield strength and tensile strength of steel sheet.
When C content is less than 0.08%, there may be cases where it is difficult to
5 achieve effects of the above described functions. Therefore, C content is at least
0.08%. It is preferably more than 0.12%, and more preferably more than 0.14%.
On the other hand, when C content exceeds 0.30%, there may be cases where
martensite and austenite are excessively formed, thereby causing a significant
decrease in the local ductility of steel sheet. Moreover, the weldability is
10 significantly deteriorated. Therefore, C content is at most 0.30%. It is preferably
less than 0.20%, and more preferably less than 0.19%.
(2) Mn: at least 1.5% and at most 3.5%
Mn (manganese) has the function of promoting the formation of bainite
which is the main phase, and martensite and retained austenite which are contained
15 in a second phase. Moreover, Mn has the function of strengthening steel through
solid solution strengthening, thereby improving the yield strength and tensile
strength of steel sheet. Further, since Mn improves the strength of bainite through
solid solution strengthening, it has the function of improving the local ductility of
steel sheet by improving the hardness of bainite under a high strain load condition.
20 When Mn content is less than 1.5%, there may be cases where it is difficult to
achieve effects of the above described functions. Therefore, Mn content is at least
1.5%. It is preferably more than 1.8%, more preferably more than 2.0%, and
further preferably more than 2.2%. On the other hand, when Mn content is more
than 3.5%, the bainite transformation is excessively delayed, and as a result of that,
25 the stabilization of retained austenite cannot be achieved, making it difficult to
achieve a predetermined amount of retained austenite. Therefore, Mn content is at
most 3.5%. It is preferably less than 3.1%, more preferably less than 2.8%, and
fkther preferably less than 2.5%.
(3) Si + Al: at least 0.50% and at most 3.0%
30 Si and A1 have the function of promoting the formation of retained austenite
through the suppression of the formation of carbides in bainite, thereby improving
the uniform ductility and the local ductility of steel sheet. Moreover they have the
function of strengthening steel through solid solution strengthening, and thereby
improving the yield strength and the tensile strength of steel sheet. Further, since
the strength of bainite is improved by solid solution strengthening, they also have
the function of improving the local ductility of steel sheet by improving the
5 hardness of bainite under a high strain load condition.
When the total content of Si and A1 (also referred to as "Si + Al" content) is
less than 0.50%, it is difficult to achieve effects of the above described functions.
Therefore, (Si + Al) content is at least 0.50%. It is preferably at least 1.0%, and
more preferably at least 1.3%. On the other hand, even when (Si + Al) content is
10 at least 3.0%, the effects of the above described functions reach a limit, which is
disadvantageous in respect of cost. This also leads to increase in the temperature
of transformation point, and thereby deteriorate the productivity. Therefore, (Si +
Al) content is at most 3.0%. It is preferably at most 2.5%, more preferably less
than 2.2%, and f.lurther preferably less than 2.0%.
15 Since Si has excellent solid solution strengthening capability, Si content is
preferably at least 0.50%, and more preferably at least 1.0%. On the other hand,
since Si has the function of reducing the chemical convertibility and weldability of
steel sheet, Si content is preferably less than 1.9%, more preferably less than 1.7%,
and further preferably less than 1.5%.
20 (4) P: at most 0.10%
P (phosphorus), which is generally contained as an impurity and segregates at
grain boundaries, has the function of embrittling the steel, and promoting the
occurrence of cracking when subjected to an impact load. When P content is more
than 0.10%, the embrittlement of steel due to the above described function becomes
25 significant, and it becomes difficult to suppress the occurrence of cracking when
subjected to an impact load. Therefore, P content is at most 0.10%. It is
preferably less than 0.020%, and more preferably less than 0.0 15%.
(5) S: at most 0.010%
S (sulfur), which is generally contained as an impurity, has the function of
30 forming sulfide-based- inclusions in steel and thereby deteriorating the formability
thereof. When S content is more than 0.010%, the effects of the above described
function becomes critical. Therefore, S content is at most 0.01 0%. It is
preferably at most 0.005%, more preferably less than 0.003%, and further
preferably at most 0.00 1 %.
(6) N: at most 0.0 10%
N (nitrogen), which is generally contained in steel as an impurity, has the
5 function of deteriorating the ductility of steel sheet. When N content is more than
0.010%, this ductility deterioration becomes significant. Therefore, N content is at
most 0.0 10%. It is preferably at most 0.0060%, and more preferably at most
0.0050%.
Elements to be described below are optional elements which can be
10 contained in steel as desired.
(7) One or more selected fiom Cr: at most 0.5%, Mo: at most 0.5%, and B: at
most 0.01%
Cr, Mo, and B have the function of improving the hardenability, and
promoting the formation of bainite. Moreover, they also have the function of
15 promoting formation of martensite and retained austenite. They further have the
function of strengthening steel through solid solution strengthening, thereby
improving the yield strength and the tensile strength of steel sheet. Therefore, one
or two selected fiom Cr, Mo, and B may be contained.
However, when Cr content exceeds 0.5%, Mo content exceeds 0.5%, or B
20 content exceeds 0.0 1%, there may be a case where the uniform elongation and the
local ductility of steel sheet are significantly deteriorated. Therefore, it is set such
that Cr content is at most 0.5%, Mo content is at most 0.5%, and B content is at
most 0.01 %. To more surely achieve effects of the above described functions, it is
preferable that any one of Cr: at least 0.1%, Mo: at least 0.1% and B: at least
25 0.0010% is satisfied.
(8) One or more selected fiom Ti: less than 0.04%, Nb: less than 0.030%, and
V: less than 0.5%
Ti, Nb and V have the function of suppressing the grain growth of austenite
being annealed such as by forming carbonitrides in steel, and thereby reducing
30 cracking sensitivity. Moreover, they also have the function of precipitating into
bainite and improving the yield strength of steel sheet by the effect of precipitation
strengthening. Therefore, one or more of Ti, Nb, and V may be contained.
However, even when Ti content is at least 0.04%, Nb content is at least
0.030%, and V content is at least 0.5%, effects of the above described functions
reach a limit, which is disadvantageous in respect to cost. Therefore, Ti content is
less than 0.04%, Nb content is less than 0.030%, and V content is less than 0.5%.
Ti content is preferably less than 0.020%. Nb content is preferably less than
0.020%, and more preferably at most 0.015%. V content is preferably at most
0.30%. To more surely achieve effects of the above described functions, it is
preferable that any one of Ti: at least 0.01%, Nb: at least 0.005% and V: at least
0.010% is satisfied. When Nb is contained, Nb content is more preferably at least
0.010%.
(9) One or more selected fiom Ca: at most 0.010%, Mg: at most 0.010%,
REM: at most 0.050%, and Bi: at most 0.050%
Ca, Mg, REM, and Bi all have the function of improving the local ductility of
steel sheet: by controlling the shape of inclusions regarding Ca, Mb, and REM, and
by making the solidification structure finer regarding Bi. Therefore, one or more
of these elements may be contained.
However, regarding Ca and Mg, when contained more than 0.010%, and
regarding REM, when contained more than 0.050%, a large number of coarse
oxides are produced in steel, and deteriorate the formability of steel sheet.
Regarding Bi, when contained more than 0.050%, it segregates at grain boundaries,
deteriorating the weldability. Therefore, the content of each element is specified
as described above. The contents of Ca, Mg, and REM are preferably at most
0.0020% for each, and the content of Bi is preferably at most 0.010%. To more
surely achieve effects of the above described functions, it is preferable to satisfy any
of the conditions: Ca: at least 0.0008%, Mg: at least 0.0008%, REM: at least
0.0008%, and Bi: 0.0010%.
Here, REM means 17 elements in total including Sc, Y, and lanthanoid, and
regarding lanthanoid, industrially it is added in the form of misch metal. It is
noted that in the present invention, the content of REM means a total content of
these elements.
2. Microstructure
(1) Multi-phase structure
The steel structure of the steel sheet according to the present invention is
configured to have a multi-phase structure containing bainite as the main phase, and
martensite and retained austenite in a second phase to improve the effective flow
stress by obtaining high yield strength and the high work hardening coefficient in a
5 low strain region. The remainder of the second phase is ferrite.
(2) Area fraction of bainite: more than 50%
In a multi-phase structure steel sheet having bainite as the main phase, the
bainite area fraction affects the yield strength of the steel sheet. That is, the yield
strength is improved by increasing the area fraction of bainite. When the area
10 fraction of bainite is less than 50%, it becomes difficult to obtain an impact
absorbing member having excellent impact absorbing capability due to deficiency
of yield strength. Therefore, the area fraction of bainite is more than 50%.
(3) Martensite area fraction: at least 3% and at most 30%
In the multi-phase structure steel sheet having bainite as the main phase,
15 martensite has the function of increasing 5% flow stress of steel sheet by improving
the yield strength of steel sheet and the work hardening rate thereof in a low strain
region. Moreover, it also has the function of improving the uniform elongation of
steel sheet. When the martensite area fraction is less than 3%, it becomes difficult
to obtain an impact absorbing member having excellent impact absorbing capability
20 due to deficiencies of 5% flow stress and uniform elongation. Therefore, the
martensite area fraction is at least 3%. It is preferably at least 5%. On the other
hand, when the martensite area fraction is more than 30%, the local ductility of steel
sheet decreases so that cracking due to unstable buckling becomes likely to occur.
Therefore, the area fraction of martensite is at most 30%. The area fraction of
25 martensite is preferably at most 25%, and more preferably at most 15%.
(4) Retained austenite area fraction: at least 3% and at most 15%
In the multi-phase structure steel sheet having bainite as the main phase,
retained austenite has the function of increasing 5% flow stress of steel sheet by
increasing the yield strength thereof and the work hardening rate in a low strain
30 region. Moreover, it also has the function of improving the uniform elongation of
steel sheet. When the retained austenite area fraction is less than 3%, it becomes
difficult to obtain an impact absorbing member having excellent impact absorbing
capability due to deficiencies of 5% flow stress and uniform elongation. Therefore,
the retained austenite area fiaction is at least 3%. On the other hand, when the
retained austenite area fiaction is more than 15%, the local ductility of steel sheet
decreases so that cracking due to unstable buckling becomes likely to occur.
5 Therefore, the area fiaction of retained austenite is at most 15%.
(5) Average grain diameter of ferrite which is remaining structure: less than 5
Pm
When the average grain diameter of ferrite which is the remaining structure is
at least 5 pm, strain becomes likely to concentrate in soft ferrite and yield strength
10 decreases so that it becomes difficult to increase 5% flow stress of steel sheet.
Moreover, the local ductility of steel sheet decreases and it becomes difficult to
suppress the occurrence of cracking when subjected to an impact load. Therefore,
the average grain diameter of ferrite is at most 5 ym. It is preferably less than 4.0
ym, and more preferably less than 3.0 p. There is no need to particularly specify
15 the lower limit of the average grain diameter of ferrite.
Although there is no need to particularly specify the area fiaction of ferrite,
the lower limit thereof is preferably at least 1 %, and more preferably at least 5%.
On the other hand, the upper limit is preferably at most 20%, more preferably at
most 15%, and Wher preferably at most 10%.
20 (6) Hardness ratio of bainite and martensite: 1.2 < HMo/HB