Study of Deformation Behavior and Microstructural Evolution in Multiphase Steel

In the present work, the tensile deformation characteristics of the high performance multiphase steel with complex microstructures are investigated. A mixture of ferrite, bainite, and 14.4 vol% retained austenite (RA) with an average grain size of less than 3 μm of the matrix is obtained after specific heat treatment. Tensile tests are performed with increasing strain, i.e., 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%. Then X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscope and electron backscatter diffraction are utilized to analyze the deformation-transformation behaviors of the complex microstructures. Phase transformation of the RA, which is controlled by its morphology and distribution, contributes to high strain hardening capacity of the steel. The blocky-type RA that locates in ferrite grain boundaries shows less stability and transforms easily at early deformation stage, while the film-like RA that distributes between bainitic ferrite shows higher stability and transforms continuously throughout plastic deformation. Moreover, the substructure formation by dislocation configuration in ferrite grains begins with randomly distributed dislocations and ends up with cellular structures, resulting in ferrite subdivision during deformation and also grain refinement strengthening. As a result, the experimental steel is reinforced not only by the martensite transformation of RA, but also ferrite refinement.