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Aufgabenstellung: Aus einem Rohrstück des Materials P91 soll nach der Erarbeitung eines Probenplans zunächst das Gefüge in allen 3 Orientierungen metallographisch charakterisiert werden. Anschließend wird das Material mechanisch - technologisch sowie bruchmechanisch und fraktographisch untersucht. Die daraus erhaltenen Werkstoffkennwerte sollen mit dem Gefüge und dem fraktographischen Befund in Beziehung gesetzt werden.

The requirement for lighter, safer and fuel efficient cars has created a major stir in the steel research society to develop advanced automotive steels. Since there is a trade off between strength and ductility, most of the conventional high strength steels do not address the strength-formability combination. With the realization of the TRIP phenomenon first in austenitic stainless steels, a new generation of advanced steels called TRIP steels were realised with an inexpensive and easier to process C-Mn-Si chemistry. TRIP or TRransformation Induced Plasticity is a phenomenon where the timely strain induced transformation of Retained Austenite (RA) to Martensite locally strengthens the steel at the point of plastic instability, causing failure by necking to be postponed and shifted elsewhere along the steel. This phenomenon repeated over and over again allows increased levels of strength and ductility, prior to fracture. / In current TRIP grades, the retained austenite particles present have to posses certain characteristics such as, optimum carbon concentration, optimum grain size and morphology etc. in order to account toward mechanical properties. Such limiting characteristics in turn minimize the processing window and make TRIP processing expensive and difficult to control. In this work, it is suggested that Tempered Martensite Assisted Steels (TMAS) obtained from TRIP steels via subcritical annealing of cold rolled TRIP steels may potentially replace TRIP steels. Relationship between the retained austenite volume fractions and mechanical properties was developed for TRIP steels. The effect of variation of retained austenite on tempered martensite volume fraction in TMAS, which in turn affect the mechanical properties was also investigated in depth. Results indicate that tempered martensite particles in TMAS do not have any limiting factors as in the case of RA in TRIP steels, in order to contribute toward enhancement of mechanical properties. Results also indicate that TMAS offers better strength levels compared to TRIP steels for same the level of formability. / Retained austenite volume fractions in TRIP steels were measured through XRD. Cold rolling of the samples was done in a laboratory scale rolling machine. The microstructures were analysed using conventional and color etching techniques. A new color etching technique for viewing all the four major phases in TRIP steel was developed in this work. The mechanical properties of both TRIP and TMAS were assessed by shear punch testing. And finally, the relationship between tempered martensite volume fraction and TMAS properties was developed and was compared to TRIP properties.

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Dual-phase (DP) steels consisting of a ferrite matrix with dispersed martensite particles have attracted a significant interest due to their combination of high work hardening and ductility. A great deal of experimental work has been done to obtain a better comprehension of the relation of their mechanical behaviour to their microstructural characteristics. In the present work, a micromechanical study of ferrite-martensite DP steels is conducted. The deformation of ferrite is described by a rate-dependent crystal plasticity theory, which relates the stress-strain field equations on the grain level to the macroscopic behaviour of the material. The crystal plasticity theory assumes that slip is the only deformation mechanism. Martensite, on the other hand, is considered an elastic-plastic isotropic solid. The interfaces of the grains are taken into account through an idealized form of grain boundaries. A FORTRAN program was coupled with the finite element method to solve the stress equations of the crystal plasticity. Including the grain boundaries made it possible to examine the effect of ferrite grain size on the strength of the material. It is shown that by decreasing the grain size, the yield stress increases according to Hall-Petch equation. Additionally, the effects of the volume fraction of martensite (Vm) on the onset strain, i.e. the strain at which martensite deforms plastically, and of the distribution of martensite on the stress are studied. The former showed that the onset strain of the DP steel declines linearly with increasing Vm up to 36%, beyond which the onset strain becomes independent of V m. The latter revealed that when martensite particles are formed as islands in the ferrite grains, the material exhibits higher strength and hardening rate; compared to when martensite is distributed as large blocks among the ferrite grains.

The thesis deals with the influence of solidification conditions on structure and mechanical properties of austenitic stainless steels. The first part involves the distribution of stainless steels and a basic understanding of the issue of achieving the desired structure and mechanical properties. The second part is focused on austenitic steels and their basic characteristics. This section also describes the experiment and the results achieved. Finally, these results were evaluated and further research steps were recommended.

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The need to develop light-weight and high strength materials for car frames which improve fuel efficiency and provide increased passenger safety during dynamic events such as automobile crashes has been the focus of the steel and automobile industries for the past 30 years. In recent years, the development of high strength steels such as multi-phase TRIP (Transformation-Induced Plasticity)-aided steels have shown great promise due to their excellent combination of high strength and ductility. The savings in automobile weight is provided by the inherent strength of TRIP steels which allows for the use of thinner sections. The TRIP effect is characterized by the phenomenon known as strain-induced martensitic transformation (SIMT) which enhances the work hardenability of such steels as the austenite phase transforms to the much harder martensite phase during plastic straining. This results in a resistance to local necking which subsequently enhances the strength, ductility, and formability of such steels. However, various factors exist which affect the mechanical behaviour of TRIP steels. This study will aim, through the use of finite element models, to investigate the role and influence of each of these factors on the TRIP effect in type 304 austenitic and multi-phase TRIP steels. These factors include the rate at which the martensitic transformation proceeds, the state of stress to which the material is subjected to, the interaction between the surrounding matrix and embedded retained austenite islands in multi-phase TRIP steels, and the volume fraction and morphology of the retained austenite islands. Investigation of these factors will provide further insight on each of their contributions to the TRIP effect in order to exploit the potential benefits offered by these steels.

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