Effect of Aluminum and Silicon on Transformation Induced Plasticity of the TRIP Steel

With the sublattice model, equilibrium compositions of ferrite (α) and austenite (γ) phases, as well as the volume percent of austenite (γ) at 780℃ in different TRIP steels were calculated. Concentration profiles of carbon, Mn, Al and Si in the steels were also estimated under the lattice fixed frame of reference so as to understand the complex mechanical behavior of TRIP steels after different isothermal bainitic transformation treatments. The effect of Si and Mn on transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) was discussed according to thermodynamic and kinetic analyses. It is recognized that Al also induces phase transformation in the steels but its TRIP effect is not as strong as that of Si.