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Enhancement of Impact Toughness Via Tailoring Deformation Compatibility of Constituent Phases in Duplex Q&P Steel with Excellent Strength and Ductility

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Abstract

Q&P steels possessing a combination of ultra-high product of strength and tensile elongation (PSE) and superior impact toughness was obtained by tailoring the micromechanical deformation ability of retained austenite (RA) and martensite via low-temperature partitioning. Our results indicate that impact toughness is more susceptible to the heterogeneity of mechanical properties of constituent phases than its tensile mechanical properties. Through optimizing the difference between the constituent phases, the impact toughness can be improved significantly by the enhancement of micromechanical deformation ability of tempered martensite (TM) and corresponding alleviation of deformation incompatibility. Simultaneously, high PSE was preserved by using the deformation potential of RA and its transformation-induced plasticity effect. Load–unload–reload (LUR) tests were carried out to characterize the evolution of flow stress components and the influence of partitioning temperatures on the degree of deformation inhomogeneity between constituent phases during plastic deformation. Furthermore, the mechanical properties and micromechanical deformation ability of the constituent phases were quantitatively characterized using the nanoindentation technique, which indicates that degree of incompatible deformation is alleviated for steels partitioned at relatively high temperatures due to the enhancement of the deformation ability of TM. The underlying relationship between the dynamic transformation of metastable austenite based on the Olson and Cohen model, and high PSE was elucidated. As the partitioning temperature increases, the mechanical stability of RA increases, which is attributed to the synergistic effect of carbon partitioning and the improvement of compatible deformation capability of TM and RA, resulting in an excellent combination of concurrent ductility and impact toughness. Based on the above characterization and analysis, further investigation into the fractured morphology of impact and edge notched specimens was carried out to provide a comprehensive understanding of the damage and fracture mechanism, and to reveal the reasons for the improvement of mechanical properties. The nucleation position and propagation path of microvoids and microcracks depend on the deformation compatibility of constituent phases and the morphology of cementite in tempered martensite. The nucleation sites of microcracks and microvoids at the phase interface, due to stress concentration and dislocation pile-ups for incompatibility deformation of constituent phases, are substituted with nucleation sites at fractured cementite in TM with the increasing partitioning temperature.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to the financial support of the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2017YFB0304401), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51901128, 51831002, 51201105 and 51601113), and the Startup Fund for Youngman Research at SJTU (SFYR at SJTU). Qiaoshi Zeng acknowledges the financial support from NSFC (Grant No. 51871054). The authors also gratefully acknowledge the support provided by the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Materials Laser Processing and Modification, Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

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  1. Shanghai Key Laboratory of Material Laser Processing and Modification, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, 200240, P.R. China

    Hao Du, Yu Gong, Yuantao Xu, Xianwen Lu & Xuejun Jin

  2. Institute of Advanced Steels and Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, P.R. China

    Hao Du, Yu Gong, Yuantao Xu, Xianwen Lu & Xuejun Jin

  3. Shanghai Innovation Institute for Materials, Shanghai, 200444, P.R. China

    Hao Du, Yu Gong, Yuantao Xu, Xianwen Lu & Xuejun Jin

  4. Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research, Pudong, Shanghai, 201203, P.R. China

    Tao Liang & Qiaoshi Zeng

  5. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Metallic Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 211189, P.R. China

    Tao Liang & Qiaoshi Zeng

  6. School of Material Science and Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai, 201499, P.R. China

    Yu Li

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Du, H., Gong, Y., Liang, T. et al. Enhancement of Impact Toughness Via Tailoring Deformation Compatibility of Constituent Phases in Duplex Q&P Steel with Excellent Strength and Ductility. Metall Mater Trans A 51, 2097–2117 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-020-05701-8

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