INTERSTITIAL FREE STEELS

POSTED BY SATYENDRA ON JUN 13, 2014 IN ISPAT DIGEST | 0 COMMENTS

Interstitial Free Steels

 The term ‘Interstitial Free steel or IF steel’ refers to the fact, that there are no interstitial solute atoms to
strain the solid iron lattice, resulting in very soft steel. IF steels have interstitial free body centered cubic
(bcc) ferrite matrix. These steels normally have low yield strength, high plastic strain ratio (r-value), high
strain rate sensitivity and good formability.
Conventional IF steels which were developed commercially in Japan during 1970s following the
introduction of vacuum degassing technology contained carbon (C) in the range of 40 – 70 ppm and
nitrogen (N) in the range of 30 -50 ppm. Later, niobium (Nb) and/or titanium (Ti) were added to these
steels to stabilize the interstitial C and N atoms.
IF steel is termed as ‘clean steel’ as the total volume fraction of precipitates is very less. In spite of this,
the precipitates appear to have a very significant effect on the properties of IF steels.
Liquid steel is processed to reduce C and N to levels low enough that the remainder can be ‘stabilized’ by
small additions of Ti and Nb. Ti and Nb are strong carbide/nitride formers, taking the remaining C and N
out of solution in liquid iron, after which these latter two elements are no longer available to reside in the
interstices between solidified iron atoms.
IF steel has ultra low carbon content, achieved by removing carbon monoxide, hydrogen, nitrogen, and
other gasses during steelmaking through a vacuum degassing process. Interstitial elements like nitrogen
or carbon are also in the form of nitrides and carbides due to the alloying elements such as Nb and/or Ti
used for the stabilization of the residual interstitials. Therefore, IF steels posses typically non aging
properties. Because of their non ageing properties, IF steels are the standard base for hot dipped
galvanized products.
In the past two decades, there has been a substantial growth in the production and demand for the IF
steels. Nowadays, in these steels, normally the content of interstitial elements (C, N) is kept below 30
ppm by using modern day vacuum degassers followed by addition of Ti and/or Nb. These micro alloying
additions form carbide and nitride precipitates and thus make the matrix almost ‘pure’, i.e. free from
interstitial elements. Without free interstitial elements, these steels are very ductile and soft, donot age or
bake harden, and do not form strain (Lüder’s) lines during forming due to the absence of yield point
elongation (YPE).
In these steels, if titanium is used alone as the stabilizing agent then the aim Ti content is calculated from
the formula: Ti = 4 × % C + 3.42 × % N + 1.5 × % S + 0.02. If niobium is also used then the aim Ti = 3.42
× % N + 1.5 × % S and Nb = 7.75 × % C. A typical IF steel composition is 0.002 % C, 0.01 % Si, 0.15 %
Mn, 0.01 % P, 0.01 % S, 0.0025 % N, 0.04 % Al, 0.016 % Nb, and 0.025 % Ti.
The lack of interstitial atoms in the atomic structure enables IF steel to have extremely high ductility, ideal
for deep-drawn products. In fact, IF steels are sometimes called extra deep drawing steels (EDDS). They
have relatively low strength (although they are sometimes strengthened by the reintroduction of nitrogen
or other elements), but high work hardening rates and excellent formability.
Stabilized, ultra low carbon (ULC), IF steel has the ability, during continuous annealing, to form crystal
orientations favorable to deep drawing. This is not possible with low carbon, unstabilized steel on
continuous annealing lines. The high r-values needed for good steel drawability require plentiful ‘cube-on-
corner’ crystal orientations to form during annealing. This becomes increasingly possible when the carbon
level is below 0.01 %, and is optimized at 0.001 % (10 ppm).
Typical micro structure of IF steel is shown in Fig 1.
 Fig 1 Micro structure of IF steel
 Texture and recrystallization of IF steel
 With modern steel making and continuous annealing, it is now possible to produce interstitial-free (IF)
cold rolled steels. After cold rolling with high level of deformation and annealing, this matrix transform in
structure with a strong recrystallization texture. This kind of texture is reason of high values of the average
r- value, which is associated with a good formability of ultra low carbon.
The rolling texture of body centered cubic (bcc) low carbon and IF steel consists of two crystallographic
fibers namely ? fiber and the ? fiber. Cells, sub grains, and micro bands, where these are not associated
with significant lattice curvature, provide the driving forces for recrystallization. However, when these
microstructures are associated with significant short range lattice curvature, as they are in deformation or
shear bands, they can provide the nucleation sites. The process of recrystallization in IF steel occurs in
two stages. The first stage is where the nuclei are contained in the original rolled out grains belonging to
the ? fiber, and where the essential lattice curvature is derived from shear and deformation bands. The
second stage involves the impingement/coalescence of several recrystallized grains in the as rolled
envelope of an original hot band grain which provides a super-nucleation event, in which the as rolled
boundaries bow out to give an equiaxed microstructure.
It has been seen that ? fiber texture components exhibit isotropic spring back behaviour in the plane of
the sheet on account of their high in plane elastic isotropy, whereas, ? fiber component exhibit highly
anisotropic spring back behaviour in plane strain bending operations. The presence of high volume
fractions of ? fiber components in IF steel sheets, provides an excellent deep drawing properties as well
as isotropic in plane spring back behaviour.
Properties of IF steel
Ultra low stabilized steel carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in sheet steel results in higher mechanical
properties, age hardening, and deterioration of the r-value (measure of resistance to thinning and
drawability. Non-ageing IF steel has no yield point elongation, which means fluting and stretcher strains
are never a problem.
IF steels made using only Ti are very common and are used to produce the best mechanical properties
for deep drawing. It is very reactive in a zinc bath and is usually coated only as galvanized steel (GI).
Another popular type of IF steel is that is stabilized with both Ti and Nb. The synergy of these two
elements allows complete stabilization to be achieved at lower levels of each element. Depending on the
relative amounts of Ti and Nb, the steel needs to be annealed at a higher temperature during galvanizing
and has slightly inferior mechanical properties to the Ti type. Ti-Nb type IF steel is also less reactive in a
zinc bath and is usually employed when producing galvannealed steel (GA).
 IF steels are ideal for directly producing deep drawing steels (DDS) and EDDS hot dip products by the
continuous annealing process. During the zinc coating and galvannealing steps the strip is reheated
above the over ageing temperature. If low carbon steels are being used, carbon would redissolve, and
could cause strain ageing.  With IF steels, cooling and reheating is irrelevant, since carbon (and nitrogen
if present) are not available to be re-dissolved and cause aging.
One type of EDDS made using stabilized steel is actually has a higher strength steel with minimum yield
strength of 205 MPa. IF steel made using phosphorous additions of up to 0.06 %, combines good
formability with high strength, producing good dent resistance on exterior panels
Most IF steels have manganese levels below 0.20 %, and the formability improves as the carbon level is
lowered. Manganese becomes more damaging to r-values as the carbon level increases.
These steels are hardened by adding manganese, silicon and phosphorous in solid solution to the ferrite.
The metallurgy of IF steels optimizes their drawability.
 Their low YS/UTS ratio and high strain hardening coefficient n ensure excellent deep-drawability
and good strain redistribution.
 Their high strain ratio r ensures good deformation behavior, making them suitable for deep-
drawing.
IF steels offer excellent drawability for their strength level as a result of their very good fracture
elongation, normal strain ratios and strain hardening coefficients. These steels can be readily welded by
all the welding processes.
Some advantages of IF steel include (i) superior stamping, forming, and drawing performance, (ii) the
ability to make more complex parts, perhaps using a fewer numbers of dies, (iii) age hardening resistance
(long shelf life for stored steel), and (iv) improved coating adhesion for galvanized products.
The main disadvantage of IF steel is that it can be very soft, resulting in shearing and punching
difficulties, and its use may result in parts that are not as ‘strong’, i.e., dent resistant, compared to parts
made from carbon steel.
Applications of IF steel
Applications for IF steel include elements of the body structure and closures. Nowadays, IF steel is widely
known as the best affordable material for deep drawing operations. It has been utilized for broad
applications ranging from automotive body to electronic components as well as from enamel wares to
house hold appliances. IF steel has low yield strength but a poor dent resistance which are undesirable
for certain automotive applications.
By 1975, the average vehicle contained 3.6 percent medium and high strength steels for a total vehicle
steel content of 61 percent, mostly mild steel. In the 1980s, the use of IF and galvanized steels grew for
complex parts, as styling, corrosion, and cost were key considerations.
IF steel was initially developed as a highly formable material, and used extensively for deep drawn
applications requiring high ductility and resistance to thinning. It also became the standard base for hot-
dipped galvanized steels, as the stabilizing alloy elements in IF prevent aging behavior. A third type of IF
steel, with nitrogen or other elements re-introduced, could be used to meet higher dent resistance and
strength requirements.
These steels have high strain hardening potential during forming, lending deep-drawn parts (trunks,
tailgates, doors, linings, wheel arches, etc.) good dent resistance.
With their high mechanical strength guaranteeing good fatigue and impact resistance, these steels are
intended for structural parts (longitudinal beams, cross members, B-pillars, etc. wheel arches, toe boards
as well as for skin parts, in which they provide good indentation resistance. In contrast to that of
conventional drawing quality steels, the weight reduction potential of these products increases with the
depth of the drawing.