Ductility and formability of newly developed high strength low alloy TRIP-aided sheet steels with annealed martensite matrix

Formable high-strength low-alloy TRIP-aided sheet steels with annealed martensite matrix or "TRIP-aided annealed martensitic steel" were developed for automotive applications. The steels possessed a large amount of plate-like retained austenite along annealed martensite lath boundary, whose stability against the strain-induced transformation was higher than that of the conventional "TRIP-aided dual-phase steel" with polygonal ferrite matrix. In a tensile strength range between 600 and 1000 MPa, the TRIP-aided annealed martensite steels exhibited a superior large elongation and reduction of area. In addition, they possessed the same excellent stretch-flangeability and bendability as "TRIP-aided bainitic steel" with bainitic ferrite matrix. These properties were discussed by matrix structure, a strength ratio of second phase to matrix, retained austenite stability, internal stress and so on.