Modified Law of Mixture to Describe the Tensile Deformation Behavior of Thermomechanically Processed Dual-Phase Steel

Abstract

Low alloy steel containing 0.09 wt.% C was thermomechanically processed with various rolling reductions at intercritical temperature of 790 °C, followed by quenching in the iced brine solution. The flow of the material due to this plastic deformation increased the aspect ratio of the microstructure (α + γ) in the rolling than in the transverse directions. The strengths, both in the longitudinal and transverse directions of rolling were increased because of the development of substructure in ferrite, observed previously. The fibrous microstructure formed after rolling increased the surface area of contact of ferrite and martensite. During tensile deformation the fibrous dual-phase composite had positioned itself for better stress transfer from soft ferrite to hard martensite particles. These microstructural changes associated with hot deformation of the material were accommodated in current modifications in the law of mixture applied to dual-phase steel. A computer simulation was developed to present the deformation behavior of ferrite, martensite, and composite from the experimental tensile data (loads and strain). Different variables were introduced in the simulation for allowing the composite curves to pass through the experimental data points to demonstrate the tensile deformation behavior of ferrite and martensite. The systematic changes in these variables with degree of hot rolling in the intercritical region clearly described the deformation behaviour of ferrite and martensite individually.