Effect of prior austenite characteristics on mechanical properties of thermomechanically processed multiphase TRIP assisted steels

AbstractTo develop any multiphase transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) assisted steel through thermomechanical processing routes, the effects of materials and process variables are to be thoroughly identified. Accordingly, the present work was programmed to study the influence of the state of prior austenite on the subsequent transformations and the related final phase combinations. In this framework, using a low carbon TRIP assisted multiphase steel, the compression specimens were subjected to different thermomechanical processing schedules to generate different prior austenite characteristics. The results indicated that the characteristics of martensite/austenite (M/A) microcomponent in the final microstructure were dictated by the state of prior austenite. In fact, increasing prior austenite grain size led to large decrease in the amount of M/A phase and this, in turn, resulted to higher strength without sacrificing the ductility. It was also found that static recrystallisation of austenite brings ...