Ultrafine Grained HSLA Steels for Cold Forming

The industrial level production of ultrafine grained (or ultrafine ferrite) ferrous alloys was investigated through three examples of steels that complied with the EN 10149-2 Euronorm and were produced by advanced controlled hot rolling techniques. The steel samples were tension tested and chemically analyzed, and the microstructure was evaluated through quantitative metallographic techniques to determine parameters such as yield stress, amount of microalloying elements, strain hardening coefficient, grain size, and grain size distribution. These steels were micro-alloyed with Ti, Nb, and Mn with ASTM grain sizes of approximately 13-15. The careful control of chemical composition and deformation during production, giving a specific attention to the deformation sequences, austenite non-recrystallization temperatures and allotropic transformations during cooling, are indispensable to obtain steels with an adequate strain hardening coefficient that allows cold working operations such as bending, stretching or drawing.