High Resolution Digital Image Correlation Research Articles

Hydrogen assisted crack initiation in metals under monotonic loading: A new experimental approach

Hydrogen is foreseen as a promising energy carrier that can control global warming by reducing CO2 emissions. However, hydrogen is associated with an embrittlement phenomenon that imparts substantial damage to the infrastructure by reducing the ductility, fracture strength, strength bearing capacity, etc., of metallic components. Therefore, understanding hydrogen-induced crack initiation mechanisms in metals are of prime importance. Greater insights into this critical phenomenon are expected if the hydrogen-induced crack initiation can be correlated with the local microstructure and corresponding stress-strain state towards their propensity for hydrogen accumulation. With this motivation, in this work, crack initiation is studied for the uncharged and hydrogen charged nickel specimens during in-situ tensile loading under the scanning electron microscope. By assuming the material to be elastic at low strains, a novel approach is implemented for generating the microstructural stress maps through strain and stiffness tensor extracted at each point in the region of interest on the specimen surface using high-resolution digital image correlation (HR-DIC) and Euler angles (given by electron backscattered diffraction data), respectively. Based on this analysis at low strain, the crack initiation sites for uncharged and hydrogen charged nickel specimens are correlated with microstructural maps of maximum Schmid factor, elastic modulus in the loading direction, hydrostatic stress, von Mises stress, and triaxiality factor. The analysis highlighted two independent factors responsible for hydrogen enhanced decohesion (HEDE) based intergranular failure observed only at the random grain boundaries, (i) strain localization due to hydrogen enhanced localized plasticity (HELP) mechanism of hydrogen embrittlement, and (ii) hydrostatic stress-based hydrogen diffusion to the crack initiation sites. These critical insights thus can help to design hydrogen embrittlement resistant metals. In addition, the novel experimental approach can be used to calibrate advance micromechanical models while providing quantitative estimate of the hydrogen distribution in realistic metallic microstructure responsible for hydrogen-assisted crack initiation with deformation.

Orthotropic Behaviour of Magnesium AZ31 Sheet during Strain Localization

It is known that metallic materials are characterized by anisotropy of their mechanical properties, with this being attributed to the conditions during the manufacturing process. For sheet metals, this anisotropy occurs symmetrically to the three orthogonal axes of the rolling, transverse and normal direction. This characteristic is referred to as orthotropic behaviour and manifests itself, for example, in earing during cupping tests. Therefore, orthotropic yield criteria are highly relevant for the numerical simulation of sheet metal forming processes. The Lankford coefficient, also known as the r-value, is a good experimental measure for characterizing orthotropic ductile behaviour of sheets, and can easily aid in parameter identification for yield criteria such as the Hill approaches. In the present investigations, Lankford coefficients were determined as a function of local strain in uniaxial tensile tests through high-resolution digital image correlation. The sample direction was varied between 0°, 45° and 90° to the rolling direction and the test temperature varied from RT to 350 °C at three different strain rates (0.01-1 s-1). By means of a novel backward analysis, the measuring range for the Lankford coefficients was positioned exactly in the necking area. An increase in temperatures showed a decrease in the initial Lankford coefficient. The results showed non-constant Lankford coefficients and commence the course of a natural exponential function depending on the local strain. Regardless of strain rate, the results revealed that the Lankford coefficients (r-values) at 150 °C, 250 °C and 350 °C approaches a steady-state of r = 1.14 with strains greater than 50 %.

The influence of columnar to equiaxed transition on deformation behavior of FeCoCrNiMn high entropy alloy fabricated by laser-based directed energy deposition

Abstract This study investigates the columnar to equiaxed transition (CET) and deformation behavior of a FeCoCrNiMn high entropy alloy (HEA) fabricated by laser-based directed energy deposition (DED). The results show that two kinds of microstructure can be obtained in the as-built HEAs by changing laser scanning speed: one kind of microstructure is formed at a low scanning speed and composed of near fully equiaxed grains; the other is formed at a high scanning speed and composed of columnar grains. These two different microstructures are closely related to the CET, which is decided by the ratio of thermal gradient and solidification rate in the molten pool. Additionally, compared with traditional HEAs, as-built HEAs show a heterogeneous grain-size distribution and high dislocation density, as well as improved tensile properties, one of which (Yield strength = 330 MPa; Ultimate tensile strength = 630 MPa; Fracture elongation = 55%) is similar to the properties of wrought HEAs. Moreover, the as-built HEA with equiaxed grains shows a higher work hardening rate than the as-built HEA with columnar grains and the equiaxed microstructure has the characteristics of intergranular microcracks, the columnar microstructure shows the characteristics of intragranular microcracks. The deformation behavior was investigated using in-situ high-resolution digital image correlation methods, and the result shows that the difference in work hardening rate is closely related to the texture formed during deposition.

Nano-twinning enhanced room temperature fatigue crack growth in single crystalline CoCrFeMnNi high entropy alloy

The equiatomic high entropy alloy CoCrFeMnNi is known for its unique strain hardening behavior which extends to cryogenic temperatures and gives remarkable monotonic toughness. Studies show that activation of twinning at such low temperatures is the key factor for the exceptional mechanical properties of this alloy. However, room temperature deformation has been assumed to be slip dominated. If deformation twinning develops during room temperature fatigue crack growth (FCG) it could impart beneficial properties and the current paper focuses on single crystals exhibiting twinning at increasing crack lengths. The results are demonstrated for <001> single crystals and compared to the <111> single crystals. The various activated slip/twin systems influencing FCG were identified using high resolution digital image correlation (DIC) and electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD). Threshold stress intensity value for crack initiation and the Paris slope were unambiguously established. Kmax for <001> and <111> samples extracted from precise displacement measurements turn out to be as high as 230 MPa-m0.5 and 195 MPa-m0.5 respectively, which far exceeds most materials. Concurrently, high resolution EBSD revealed extensive nano-twinning at the crack tip for the <001> case. EBSD results also elucidate slip-twin interactions and dislocation induced lattice rotation inside twinned volumes. In conjunction, TEM images from the crack tip confirm the presence of deformation twins and additionally reveal twin-twin interactions. Moreover, the local crack tip R-ratio (Kmin/Kmax) turns out to be much higher (>0.6) than the global R-ratio (σmin/σmax) due to the accumulation of large crack tip strains (>20%). Synchronously, the crack tip displacement profiles from DIC point to the absence of crack closure. Thus, extensive strain hardening of the material ahead of the crack tip without the loss of ductility due to activation of twinning results in the remarkable intrinsic damage tolerance for CoCrFeMnNi high entropy alloys.

High-throughput measurement of coefficient of thermal expansion using a high-resolution digital single-lens reflex camera and digital image correlation.

High-throughput measurement of thermal deformation and determination of coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) using a high-resolution digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera and digital image correlation (DIC) is described. To mitigate the mosaic effect caused by the Bayer filter of DSLR cameras, a color image pre-processing method, which adjusts the brightness and equalizes the color channels of the raw image, is carried out. In addition, a Gaussian pre-filtering step is adopted for denoising the images captured with DSLR cameras to enhance the subpixel registration accuracy. Then, by processing the recorded images using the state-of-the-art DIC algorithm, full-field displacements and strains can be determined. Compared with conventional industrial cameras, a DSLR camera offers not only portability, compactness, and economy but also much higher resolution of recorded images, allowing CTE characterization with higher throughput. Real experiments, including a verification experiment of the color image pre-processing technique, a benchmark CTE determination of Al alloy, and a high-throughput CTE determination of 15 samples of three different metals, validated the feasibility and accuracy of the proposed technique. The proposed method is cost-effective and time-saving, showing great potential in the high-throughput CTE measurement and other high-throughput strain measurement scenarios.

Measurement of elastic and rotation fields during irreversible deformation using Heaviside-digital image correlation

The recent development of the high resolution and discontinuity-tolerant digital image correlation technique enables the extraction of discontinuities within a displacement field. The technique provides quantitative analysis of discontinuities arising from slip, shear bands, cracks, and grain boundary sliding in a variety of material systems, including polycrystalline metallic materials. The discontinuity-tolerant digital image correlation method can be implemented to retrieve not only quantitative discontinuity analysis but also the local strain and rotation fields that operate near these discontinuities. The present implementation includes high-resolution digital image correlation (HR-DIC) measurements collected in a scanning electron microscope for analysis of both the plastic and elastic fields that develop during deformation of polycrystalline metallic materials. The combination of the discontinuity-tolerant DIC technique with the computation of internal gradients enables extraction of non-localized strain and rotation fields during plastic deformation of a nickel-based superalloy. Therefore the lattice rotation/expansion and plastic localization that occur during deformation can be determined in a single experiment. This method is validated using synthetic images with preset deformation, and experimental measurements using the electron back scatter diffraction (EBSD) technique.

Measurement and prediction of the transformation strain that controls ductility and toughness in advanced steels

New-generation multi-phase martensitic steels derive their high strength from the body-centered cubic (BCC) phase and high toughness from transformation of the metastable face-centered cubic (FCC) austenite that transforms into martensite upon loading. In spite of its critical importance, the in-situ transformation strain (or “shape deformation” tensor), which controls ductility and toughness, has never been measured in any alloy where the BCC lath martensite forms and has never been connected to underlying material properties. Here, we measure the in-situ transformation strain in a classic Fe-Ni-Mn alloy using high-resolution digital image correlation (HR-DIC). The experimentally obtained results can only be interpreted using a recent theory of lath martensite crystallography. The predicted in-situ transformation strain agrees with the measurements, simultaneously demonstrating the method and validating the theory. Theory then predicts that increasing the FCC to BCC lattice parameter ratio substantially increases the in-situ transformation strain magnitude. This new correlation is demonstrated using data on existing steels. These results thus establish a new additional basic design principle for ductile and tough alloys: control of the lattice parameter ratio by alloying. This provides a new path for development of even tougher advanced high-strength steels.

High resolution digital image correlation mapping of strain localization upon room and high temperature, high cycle fatigue of a TiAl intermetallic alloy

Microplasticity in a lamellar TiAl alloy upon high cycle tensile fatigue was measured by high resolution digital image correlation strain mapping at several stress and cycle increments, at 25 °C and 670 °C, for two lamellar thicknesses. Plastic deformation occurred primarily in soft-mode colonies at both temperatures, operating by slip parallel to the lamellae, and near lamellar interfaces. Plastic strains generally decreased to zero by the colony boundary; strain transfer across such boundaries was rare at both temperatures. At 25 °C, the maximum applied stress influenced the number of slip bands more so than did the number of loading cycles.

Measurement of local plastic strain during uniaxial reversed loading of nickel alloy 625

The reverse loading behaviour of polycrystalline alloys is challenging to predict, as it depends on complex multi-scale interactions that are not well understood and difficult to study. We have used high resolution digital image correlation (HRDIC) to measure the local strain development during reversed loading of a nickel based superalloy with sub-micron spatial resolution. A specially designed rig ensured that deformation remained uni-axial during reversal, and measurements were made in-situ, with the sample under load. The deformation data was correlated with the underlying crystallographic microstructure using orientation maps from electron back-scatter diffraction (EBSD), which was transformed using an affine transformation, to account for measurement related distortion. The strain was found to be localised into crystallographic slip bands separated by regions with much lower, mostly elastic, strain. On unloading, no localised deformation reversal could be measured in slip bands or elsewhere, implying that most of the strain reversal is elastic and that any plasticity during unloading is small, evenly distributed, and could not be detected using HRDIC. These results imply that HRDIC studies on unloaded samples can provide representative measurements of the deformed state of the material during reversal. On reversal, deformation is accommodated primarily by slip on slip bands formed during forward loading. In some grains, however, the slip band patterns appear to change location and sharpen with further deformation. This suggests that slip extent of slip reversal at the scale of slip bands is limited and can be quantified, opening up a new way to study reverse loading in advanced alloys.

Microstructure effects on fatigue crack growth in additively manufactured Ti–6Al–4V

In this work we investigate the relationship between the different microstructural features in additively-manufactured (AM) Direct Metal Laser Deposited Ti–6Al–4V alloys and the observed fatigue and fracture behaviors, using high resolution Digital Image Correlation experiments and microstructural imaging. Fatigue cracks in the AM specimens were observed to periodically propagate parallel to the α' laths and deflect at prior β grain boundaries. Corresponding plastic strain distributions show needle-like regions of high strain that correlated to the α' laths, suggesting significant influence of the microstructure on the plastic zone. In many cases, the fatigue cracks also propagated towards voids from unsintered powder or gas entrapment in the vicinity. In several experiments, premature failure of the AM specimens occurred under monotonic fracture or cyclic fatigue loading, which we attribute to the presence of void clusters located near the crack-tip. These fatigue and fracture characteristics were similar for AM specimens of different build-orientations.

Mode-I behavior of adhesively bonded composite joints at high loading rates

This study investigates the high loading rate behavior of adhesively bonded carbon/epoxy composite joints under mode I loading. A computationally guided experimental setup is developed to study the mode-I behavior of composite joints in the range of quasi-static to high loading rates. A double cantilevered beam specimen with wedge insert type loading setup is used to conduct quasi-static and dynamic experiments. For the dynamic loading, a modified split Hopkinson bar is used to load the sample at high rates. The local deformation field is measured using high Spatio-temporal resolution digital image correlation (DIC). From the experiments, the mode-I energy release rate is calculated from the load, crack extension and crack root rotation data measured using load cell and DIC. A decrease in the initiation fracture toughness with increase in loading rate was observed which is attributed to the strain rate dependent behavior of the epoxy-based film adhesive. For both quasi-static and high loading rates, a mixed adhesive-cohesive failure is observed from the fracture surface analysis.

A statistical study of the relationship between plastic strain and lattice misorientation on the surface of a deformed Ni-based superalloy

Misorientation data from Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) is often used to identify strain localisation and quantify plastic strain at the microstructural scale. However, the exact relationship between local plastic strain and misorientation and how it changes at the grain and sub-grain level has not been studied in detail. We have used high resolution digital image correlation (HRDIC) to measure plastic strain at the sub-micron scale on the surface of a nickel superalloy strained to 2%. The strain values have been correlated to different misorientation measures at the grain and subgrain scale, over several hundreds of grains. We show that although the grain mean plastic strain is positively correlated to the lattice misorientation, there is a large scatter in the correlation, which depends on the misorientation measure used. There is also essentially no correlation between the magnitude of grain strain and grain orientation derived parameters like the Schmid factor and the Taylor factor, largely due to deformation bands at the mesoscale that are not crystallographic. At these strain levels, the relationship between misorientation and plastic strain is affected by the differences in how slip (discontinuous) and lattice rotation (continuous) develop, by local grain interactions and the development of transgranular strain localisation. It is therefore effectively not possible to quantify plastic strain within individual grains using EBSD derived misorientation values alone, although some measures of misorientation are more appropriate than others if there is an understanding of the underlying local plastic phenomena. Whereas slip is localised in slip bands, the misorientation varies smoothly in a manner that is only weakly spatially correlated to the slip. These findings have implications for the modelling of the deformed state of polycrystalline metals at the microstructural scale using continuum mechanics.

The effect of loading direction on strain localisation in wire arc additively manufactured Ti–6Al–4V

Ti–6Al–4V microstructures produced by high deposition rate Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) can be both heterogeneous and anisotropic. Key features of the as-built microstructures include; large columnar ß grains, an α transformation texture inherited from the β solidification texture, grain boundary (GB) α colonies, and Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) banding. The effect of this heterogeneity on the local strain distribution has been investigated using Digital Image Correlation (DIC) in samples loaded in tension; parallel (WD), perpendicular (ND) and at 45° (45ND) to the deposited layers. Full-field surface strain maps were correlated to the underlying local texture. It is shown that loading perpendicular to the columnar β grains leads to a diffuse heterogeneous deformation distribution, due to the presence of regions containing hard, and soft, α microtextures within different parent β grains. The ‘soft’ regions correlated to multi-variant α colonies that did not contain a hard α variant unfavourably orientated for basal or prismatic slip. Far more severe strain localisation was seen in 45° ND loading at ‘soft’ β grain boundaries, where single variant α GB colonies favourably orientated for slip had developed during transformation. In comparison, when loaded parallel to the columnar ß grains, the strain distribution was relatively homogeneous and the HAZ bands did not show any obvious influence on strain localisation at the deposit layer-scale. However, when using high-resolution DIC, as well as more intense shear bands being resolved at the β grain boundaries during 45° ND loading, microscale strain localisation was observed in HAZ bands below the yield point within the thin white-etching α colony layer.

The effect of solid solution and gamma prime on the deformation modes in Ni-based superalloys

Understanding the deformation, strengthening and failure mechanisms in polycrystalline nickel-base superalloys is necessary to develop next generation alloys for application in highly demanding environments. Here, the aim is to examine the various ways in which solution- and γ’ precipitation-strengthening affect the deformation behaviour of three Ni-based superalloys through deformation mapping and investigation at multiple length-scales. This is achieved using high-resolution digital image correlation to quantify local strain, electron backscattered diffraction for lattice rotations and electron channelling contrast imaging to investigate dislocation-mediated mechanisms of deformation. This approach bridges the gap between nano-scale microscopy of dislocation-γ’ interactions and macro-scale measurements of mechanical properties, such as yield stress, flow stress and the strain-hardening rate. Deformation in solution-strengthened alloys progresses by a slip band refinement mechanism, which results in low levels of dislocation pileup at grain boundaries and so better grain deformation compatibility with neighbours. Deformation in the γ’-strengthened alloys evolves through a glide plane softening mechanism and the resulting high strain localisation impinges on grain boundaries, creating diffuse strain regions at the boundary. In the coarse-γ’ variant there is more Orowan looping and cross slip around larger precipitates, more slip planes are active and more grain-scale cross slip takes place, resulting in greater local friction stresses and therefore greater macroscopic flow stresses and strain-hardening rates. We provide evidence of greater interaction between intersecting non co-planar slip bands in the γ’-strengthened alloys, which contributes to the strain-hardening by progressively decreasing the slip distance. This mechanism is not observed in the solution-strengthened alloy.

High resolution digital image correlation for microstructural strain analysis of a stainless steel repaired by Directed Energy Deposition

Deformations within a microstructural gradient zone of stainless steel repaired specimens are investigated. The repair, added material by Directed Energy Deposition over a hot rolled sheet substrate, was tested in monotonic tensile experiments. In situ tests, scanning electron microscope images combined with high resolution digital image correlation and electron backscatter diffraction maps, permitted to monitor the local strain distribution. The strain distribution is homogeneous in the substrate and exhibits a heterogeneous pattern in the printed part with localization correlating spatially with the position of interlayers. The vicinity of the interface has smaller strains and exhibits larger hardness.

Automated and quantitative analysis of plastic strain localization via multi-modal data recombination

A multi-modal data recombination method that enables the automated, quantitative and statistical assessment of strain localization as a function of the microstructure is presented. It consists of merging high resolution digital image correlation (HR-DIC) datasets collected in a scanning electron microscope (SEM), with crystallographic data obtained from electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD). As the data is typically gathered over large areas (about 1 mm2), this method enables the quantitative assessment of plastic strain localization over hundreds to thousands of grains, yet with a spatial resolution of tens of nanometers. The data is treated in a hierarchical manner so that strain localization phenomena can be studied as a function of phases, texture and grain orientation. The use of discontinuity tolerant DIC codes, such as Heaviside DIC (H-DIC) in the present case, enables identification the active slip system associated with slip band discontinuities. Analyses conducted over thousands of bands in thousands of grains enable the quantitative assessment of fundamental plasticity laws. The capabilities of this method are shown through application to Ti-6Al-4V and Inconel 718 alloys.

Deformation mechanisms in a superelastic NiTi alloy: An in-situ high resolution digital image correlation study

An in-situ high resolution digital image correlation investigation during uniaxial tensile deformation reveals the recoverable and the non-recoverable strain mechanisms in a Ni51Ti49 alloy with a mean grain size of 35 μm. Recoverable strain is due to the martensitic transformation, for which more than one variant per grain can be activated. The majority of the activated variants exhibit high Schmid factor. The variant selection can be influenced by shear transmission across grain boundaries, when the geometrical compatibility between the neighboring habit plane variants is favourable; in these cases variants that do not have the highest Schmid factor, with respect to the macroscopically applied load, are activated. The experimentally determined transformation strains agree well with theoretical calculations for single crystals. The non-recoverable strain is due to deformation slip in austenite, twinning in martensite and residual martensite. The results are discussed in view of possible twinning modes that can occur in austenite resulting in significant non-recoverable strain.

High-resolution monitoring of the initial development of cracks in experimental masonry shear walls and their reproduction in finite element models

Induced seismicity in the north of the Netherlands has recently exposed unprepared, unreinforced masonry structures to considerable earthquake hazard. While the ultimate-limit state capacity of the structures is vital to assess the individual’s risk, their behaviour during more frequent, lighter earthquakes leading to ‘light damage’, has shown to be strongly linked to economical losses and societal unrest. To study the effect of these repeated light earthquakes, the behaviour of masonry structures, typical of the region, needs to be investigated when subjected to multiple small cycles. In particular, insight into the potential aggravation of the light damage is sought. Hence, shear walls of replicated clay brick masonry have been tested in the laboratory and exposed to a high number of low in-plane drift cycles. The experiments show, under inspection with high-resolution Digital Image Correlation, how stair-case, diagonal cracks initially distribute in multiple cracks running in joints at the centre of the walls, but later localise into a single, visible, wider crack. The tests are used to establish an interval over which light damage can be expected for these types of walls.Furthermore, this initial distribution of strains in ‘bands’ and subsequent localisation, previously observed only with computational finite element models and which could not be verified experimentally, is compared and reproduced with improved models both at the composite continuum scale (macro-model) and the brick-to-brick micro scale. The models are calibrated based on the quasi-static, cyclic experimental results and later used for extrapolation in dynamic nonlinear settings to assess the influence of natural ground motion excitations.

Calcium silicate against clay brick masonry: an experimental comparison of the in-plane behaviour during light damage

The north of the Netherlands is prone to frequent, light earthquakes linked to economical losses and societal unrest due to the induced seismicity in the region. These light earthquakes produce correspondingly low values of in-plane drift on the typical masonry structures of the region, many of which are built with cavity walls composed of an inner, load-bearing calcium-silicate masonry leaf, and an outer, exposed fired-clay masonry veneer. To assess the resulting damage from the lighter earthquakes, it is thus necessary to understand the difference in behaviour of the inner and the outer masonry leaves when exposed to the same drift values. Experimental tests of replicated, full-scale calcium-silicate brick walls and spandrels are detailed herein and compared to previously tested clay masonry samples. A purposely developed, scalar damage parameter is used to assess the width, number and length of the cracks to objectively quantify damage. High resolution digital image correlation is used to accurately monitor the initiation and propagation of cracks. The experiments reveal that calcium-silicate samples exhibit slightly greater damage than clay samples when subjected to the same in-plane drift. From the tests, drift values for light damage or ‘damage state one’ are set between 0.15 and 0.65‰ for the type of wall tested. Moreover, in these tests, cracks in calcium-silicate samples were significantly more likely to split brick units, whereas cracks in the type of clay samples employed, always followed the masonry joints. This fundamental difference in the light-damage behaviour between the two materials is of importance when considering the perception of damage, the strategies and cost of the repairs, and the strategies for strengthening of masonry structures with cavity walls resembling the type of masonry tested herein.

Joint investigation of strain partitioning and chemical partitioning in ferrite-containing TRIP-assisted steels

We applied two types of hot-rolling direct quenching and partitioning (HDQ&P) schemes to a low-C low-Si Al-added steel and obtained two ferrite-containing TRIP-assisted steels with different hard matrix structures, viz, martensite or bainite. Using quasi in-situ tensile tests combined with high-resolution electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) and microscopic digital image correlation (µ-DIC) analysis, we quantitatively investigated the TRIP effect and strain partitioning in the two steels and explored the influence of the strain partitioning between the soft and hard matrix structures on the TRIP effect. We also performed an atomic-scale analysis of the carbon partitioning among the different phases using atom probe tomography (APT). The results show that the strain mainly localizes in the ferrite in both types of materials. For the steel with a martensitic hard-matrix, a strong strain contrast exists between ferrite and martensite, with the local strain difference reaching up to about 75% at a global strain of 12.5%. Strain localization bands initiated in the ferrite rarely cross the ferrite/martensite interfaces. The low local strain (2%–10%) in the martensite regions leads to a slight TRIP effect with a transformation ratio of the retained austenite of about 7.5%. However, for the steel with bainitic matrix, the ferrite and bainite undergo more homogeneous strain partitioning, with an average local strain in ferrite and bainite of 15% and 8%, respectively, at a global strain of 12.5%. The strain localization bands originating in the ferrite can cross the ferrite/bainite (F/B) interfaces and increase the local strain in the bainite regions, resulting in an efficient TRIP effect. In that case the transformation ratio of the retained austenite is about 41%. The lower hardness difference between the ferrite and bainite of about 178 HV, compared with that between the ferrite and martensite of about 256 HV, leads to a lower strain contrast at the ferrite/bainite interfaces, thus retarding interfacial fracture. Further microstructure design for TRIP effect optimization should particularly focus on adjusting the strength contrast among the matrix structures and tuning strain partitioning to enhance the local strain partitioning into the retained austenite.