Development of Low-Alloyed Low-Carbon Multiphase Steels under Conditions Similar to Those Used in Continuous Annealing and Galvanizing Lines

In the present work, a Cr+Mo+Si low-alloyed low-carbon steel was fabricated at laboratory scale and processed to produce multiphase advanced high-strength steels (AHSS), under thermal cycles similar to those used in a continuous annealing and galvanizing process. Cold-rolled steel samples with a microstructure constituted of pearlite, bainite, and martensite in a matrix ferrite, were subjected to an intercritical annealing (817.5 degrees C, 15 s) and further isothermal bainitic treatment (IBT) to investigate the effects of time (30 s, 60 s, and 120 s) and temperature (425 degrees C, 450 degrees C, and 475 degrees C) on the resulting microstructure and mechanical properties. Results of an in situ phase transformation analysis show that annealing in the two-phase region leads to a microstructure of ferrite + austenite; the latter transforms, on cooling to IBT, to pro-eutectoid ferrite and bainite, and the austenite-to-bainite transformation advanced during IBT holding. On final cooling to room temperature, austenite transforms to martensite, but a small amount is also retained in the microstructure. Samples with the lowest temperature and largest IBT time resulted in the highest ultimate tensile strength/ductility ratio (1230.6 MPa-16.0%), which allows to classify the steel within the third generation of AHSS. The results were related to the presence of retained austenite with appropriate stability against mechanically induced martensitic transformation.