Effect of carbon content on microstructure and mechanical properties of dual phase steels

V. DE LA CONCEPCIÓN; H. LORUSSO; H. G. SVOBODA

Procedia Materials Science

Elsevier

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2015 vol. 8 p. 1047 - 1056

Dual-Phase steels (DP) are constituted by a ferrite matrix with a martensite fraction, giving a good combination ofstrength, ductility, capacity of energy absorption and strain hardening. Mechanical properties are controlled bymartensite and ferrite fractions, martensite carbon content, grain sizes and strength of both phases. The carboncontent affects the martensite hardness and the hardenability. This work studied the effect of carbon content onmicrostructure and mechanical properties of DP steels. Samples of steels with different carbon content were heattreated at different intercritical temperatures, obtaining DP steels with different fractions of martensite.Microstructural characterization, microhardness and tensile test were made for each condition. Increasing carboncontent and martensite fraction hardness and strength were increased. The best properties combination was reach forsteels with a carbon content of 0.1 to 0.15% and 50% of martensite. Stress relationships obtained were from 1.55 to2.25.