Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science 8 (2004) 285–303

Structure–properties relationship in TRIP steels

containing carbide-free bainite
B.C. De Cooman *

Laboratory for Iron and Steelmaking, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Technologiepark 903, BE-9052, Ghent, Belgium

Abstract

The purpose of the present contribution is to review the current knowledge about the relationship between the micro-structure of
cold rolled intercritically annealed low alloy TRIP-aided sheet steels and their mechanical properties from a materials engineering
point of view. The focus is on their production in existing industrial lines and on their application in the manufacture of passenger
cars with a body-in-white which offers an improved passive safety. The review aims to make clear that although low alloy TRIP-
aided sheet steel is by now starting to be an established structural material in BIW manufacturing, there is still room for the further
optimization of the composition and the processing. In addition, there are still a number of problems related to their physical met-
allurgy that require a better fundamental understanding.
Ó 2004 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Keywords: TRIP steel; Strain-induced transformation; Transformation kinetics; Ms; Md, Md 30

1. Introduction The trend towards an increased use of AHSS is dri-

The three principal reasons for the current trend to
use more advanced high strength sheet steel (AHSS) in
automotive applications are:
1. The reduction of passenger car weight by the
increased use of high strength thinner gauge sheet
steel, leading to reduced fuel consumption and
emissions.
2. The improvement of the passive safety of vehicles,
which leads to a better passenger safety by an
improved crash-worthiness.
3. The strong competition from the light-weight materi-
als, in particular Al and Mg alloys, and plastics.
*
Tel.: +32 9 264 57 73; fax: +32 9 264 58 33.
E-mail address: bruno.decooman@ugent.be
ven by both regulatory pressures and customer expecta-
tions. The most recent test protocols of automotive
vehicle regulatory organizations, both the European
NCAP (New Car Assessment Program) and the North
American NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration) regulations increasingly put a strong
emphasis on passenger safety by means of enhanced
frontal offset and side impact crash tests. As a large
mass-fraction of the BIW (Body-In-White) currently
contains relatively soft steel grades with only an ade-
quate safety-related performance, new AHSS, with
superior dynamic behavior have been developed to ad-
dress these stringent passive safety requirements. The
nomenclature ‘‘AHSS’’ refers to dual phase (DP), trans-
formation induced plasticity (TRIP), complex phase
(CP) and martensitic (M) steels which, considering the
current absence of a clear classification scheme for these
steels, might be characterized as steels with a yield
strength >300 MPa and a tensile strength >600 MPa.
Despite their strength, most AHSS, with the exception

1359-0286/$ - see front matter Ó 2004 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

doi:10.1016/j.cossms.2004.10.002
286 B.C. De Cooman / Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science 8 (2004) 285–303
of the martensitic steels, have a superior formability
resulting from a high work hardening rate.
Fig. 1 illustrates the recent evolution in automotive
AHSS sheet selection. Safety-based car body design re-
quires the intensive use of two main types of high-
strength steels:
1. High strength steel grades with a high energy absorp-
tion potential, typically DP and TRIP steel grades
with tensile strengths <1000 MPa, for dynamic load-
ing occurring during car crashes or collisions and
2. Very high-strength steels, typically martensitic steel
grades with exceptional tensile strengths
(>1200 MPa), which provide high-stiffness, anti-
intrusion, load-transferring barriers for the protec-
tion of automotive passengers.
Conventional high strength steels have an inferior
ductility, which decreases almost linearly with increasing
strength. AHSS are characterized by a combination of
strength and formability. This property has made it pos-
sible to use high strength steels in a much larger range of
applications. In contrast to conventional high strength
steels, such as CMn steels, high strength interstitial-free
(HS-IF) steels, bake-hardenable (BH) steels and High
Strength Low Alloy (HSLA) steels, AHSS derived much
of their properties from their dispersed multi-phase
micro-structure. This feature of AHSS also means that
it is now possible to tailor the properties of high strength
steels over a much larger strength-ductility range.
The original observation of transformation-induced
plasticity (TRIP) in highly-alloyed homogeneous meta-
stable austenitic steels by Wassermann [1] and Zackay
et al. [2] was used by researchers at Nippon Steel Corpo-
ration to show that austenite stabilization also occurred
during an isothermal bainitic transformation, a process
Closures-Doors
45
HSS-IF
40
Bake Hardenable
35
Elongation A80, %
30
25
20 DDQ IF
DDQ ELC
15 Solid Solution Strengthened
C-Mn
Nb-HSLA
10 Bainitic, Martensitic Steels
HR TRIP
5 CR TRIP
HR DP
0
300 400 500 600
Tensile Strength, MPa
Fig. 1. Elongation vs. strength diagram for conventional steels
showing the fact that the multiphase DP and TRIP AHSS have a
much improved strength-ductility balance. The current trend in
automotive steel selection is also indicated.
often referred to as ‘‘austempering’’, which followed
the intercritical a + c annealing of low alloy Si-bearing
medium-C (0.12–0.55%) CMn steel [3–14]. In this new
class of low alloy TRIP steels the austenite is present
as a dispersed phase. This very original concept, which
was shown to be applicable in continuous sheet steel
annealing lines, opened the way to the development of
a new class of low alloy TRIP-aided high strength form-
able steel sheet products. These TRIP-aided steels are
particularly suitable for demanding automotive applica-
tions, which require the combination of high strength
(TS: 500–1000 MPa), high formability (A80: 20–40%)
and high dynamic energy absorption during high strain
rate deformation. In recent years, various European re-
search institutions have been improving the original
NSC-concept [15–20]. The processing of cold rolled
and intercritically annealed TRIP-aided steel is schemat-
ically shown in Fig. 2. In industrial lines both the inter-
critical annealing temperature and time are limited,
which means that the equilibrium phase fractions and
the equilibrium content of substitutional solutes in the
different phases, are never achieved. During the inter-
critical annealing the austenite C content is raised to

0.3–0.4 wt.% as a result of the C-partitioning between
ferrite and austenite. After the intercritical annealing,
the steel is quenched to a temperature in the bainitic
transformation range and isothermally held for several
minutes. A high cooling rate (>30 °C/s) between the
two annealing stages is needed to avoid the formation
of ‘‘new’’ ferrite or pearlite. The initial cooling rate
may be lower when the temperature is still higher than
the Ar1 temperature, in order to further enrich the
austenite with C. The cooling rate and bainite transfor-
mation time and temperature are limited by the charac-
teristic ‘‘process windows’’ of the industrial continuous
annealing lines or continuous galvanizing lines. At the
bainite transformation temperature the remaining
austenite particles decrease in size and become further
enriched with C (
1–1.5 wt.%). The bainite transforma-
Energy tion takes place at a temperature below the T0 tempera-
Absorption
TRIP
ture. The T0 temperature is the temperature at which
Ga = Gc, with Ga and Gc, the free energy of ferrite and
austenite of identical composition, respectively. The
condition, when it is reported in a temperature vs. C
content plane, is called the T0 line. For an isothermal
holding at a temperature in the bainite transformation
Anti-Intrusion range, the free energy of ferrite is lower than the free en-
Q&T
DP C-Mn-B ergy of the austenite at the start of the transformation
Q&P
and this provides the driving force for the diffusion-less
bainitic transformation. As the bainite transformation
700 800 900 1000 proceeds, the C is expelled from the bainite into the aus-
tenite. Due to the Si, Al and or P alloying, the C content
of the remaining austenite can be increased and eventu-
ally the bainite transformation stops when the austenite
C content has reached the T0 line, as beyond this point
Gc < Ga. Experiments show that for TRIP steel compo-
 B.C. De Cooman / Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science 8 (2004) 285–303 287

1000 Intercritical
annealing 1250
α γ γ γ G -24
ini γ
800
α +γ G
γ -26
Ae3 1000

Free Energy, kJ/mole

Temperature, °C

-28
600
α αΒ -30
γ => γret+α B 750
γ ret T0
400 -32
Ae3
500
T -34
200
Isothermal bainitic transformation
Ms 0
-36
Ctot Cγ CT Acm
ini 0
0 250 -38
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5
Time, s C, w-% C, w-%

Fig. 2. Schematic of a continuous annealing cycle for cold rolled, intercritically annealed TRIP-aided steel (left). Pseudo-binary Fe–C diagram for
Fe–1.5% Mn, showing the changes in the C content of the austenite (middle) and the corresponding phase diagram indicating the position of the T0-
line which indicates the end-point for the bainitic transformation during austempering (right).

sitions, the C is enriched in the range of 1.5–2.0% C in cient of C in ferrite and austenite and increases the C
the retained austenite after isothermal bainitic transfor- solubility in ferrite. Mn is soluble in cementite. High
mations in the 400 °C–500 °C temperature range. Long Mn contents (
2.5 wt.%) are not favorable as they lead
isothermal bainitic transformation times result in the to banding in the micro-structure and excessively stabi-
decomposition of the austenite into ferrite and carbides. lized retained austenite [21]. Si significantly increases the
C activity coefficient in both ferrite and austenite and re-
duces the C solubility in ferrite. Si also increases the tem-
2. Composition perature at which the cementite starts to precipitate in
ferrite at a given aging time. Si inhibits the formation
Current low alloy TRIP-aided steels are characterized of cementite during the austempering stage. This is usu-
by a very low content of alloying elements, e.g. in cur- ally explained by the fact that Si has an extremely low
rent 800 MPa TRIP steel, the total content of alloying solubility in cementite. As the bainitic transformation
elements, including residuals, is about 3.5 wt.%. The takes place in para-equilibrium conditions, it is unlikely
selection of alloying addition and the determination of that the long range diffusion of Si away from cementite
the minimum concentration required to achieve the re- could play a significant role, i.e. Si is not expected to
quired properties, are therefore very critical in the alloy influence the growth rate of carbides during the bainitic
design process. Conventional TRIP steel compositions transformation. The effect of Si must therefore be lim-
are usually based on the original 0.12–0.55 wt.% C ited to its influence on the nucleation of cementite, the
0.2–2.5 wt.% Mn 0.4–1.8 wt.% Si concept proposed by driving force for transformation and the activity coeffi-
Matsumura et al. [3–14]. The C content plays a key role cient of C in ferrite, austenite and cementite. A buildup
in the composition. Its distribution between the main of Si around a cementite nucleus could considerably in-
micro-structural constituents is fundamental to the crease the C activity locally and prevent C diffusion to
properties of the material: it should be enriched as much the nucleus [22]. From an industrial point of view, it is
as possible in the retained austenite in order to have the important to realize that Si reduces the kinetics of the
M rs temperature of the retained austenite 15 °C–25 °C bainitic transformation considerably; this implies that
below room temperature to obtain the best mechanical cold rolled CMnSi type TRIP steel can only be produced
properties. Whereas original laboratory TRIP steels on a line with a long ‘‘over-aging section’’, in which a
could have a C content as high as 0.4 wt.%, current long austempering stage can be carried out. The evolu-
TRIP steels contain typically 0.20–0.25 wt.% C or less tion away from the conventional CMnSi composition
for reasons of weldability. The typical Mn content in is mainly driven by the requirement for continuous gal-
low alloy TRIP steel is
1.5% Mn, which is required vanizing of AHSS sheet steel for automotive applica-
to achieve hardenability. Mn, being an austenite stabi- tions: the high Si content results in film-forming
lizer, lowers the temperature at which the cementite surface oxides which prevent the formation of the inhi-
starts to precipitate. Mn also lowers the activity coeffi- bition layer during hot dip galvanizing [19,23]. This
288 B.C. De Cooman / Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science 8 (2004) 285–303
prevents the wetting of the sheet by the liquid Zn. In
addition, there is an economic advantage in avoiding
electro-galvanizing TRIP steel: in continuous hot dip
galvanizing both the final micro-structure and the corro-
sion-preventing Zn-coating are obtained in the same
production line. The minimum level of Si needed to
effectively suppress cementite formation is probably

0.8 wt.%.
Although low-Si and even Si-free compositions have
been proposed, there is at least one very good reason
not to remove Si altogether and have at least 0.3–0.8%
Si in TRIP steels. Si seems to prevent the most effectively
the formation of cementite during the austempering
stage. Ideally there should therefore only be a partial
replacement of
1 wt.% Si by
1 wt.% Al [20,24–27].
CMnAl TRIP steels have also received much atten-
tion. The high Al content in CMnAl TRIP steels results
in a high C content in the retained austenite [28–30].
Both Si and Al are insoluble in cementite. Both greatly
retard cementite formation. Al decreases the C activity
coefficient in ferrite and increases the solubility of C in
ferrite. Al increases the temperature for the initiation
of cementite. More importantly, Al accelerates the bai-
nite formation [19,31]. The increased bainitic transfor-
mation kinetics, which according to Mertens [18] are
due to a higher nucleation rate, are very relevant to
industrial production as many continuous galvanizing
lines for automotive sheet products, which were often
designed with IF steels in mind, do not have long
over-ageing sections where the austempering process
can be carried out. The disadvantages of the use of Al
are the lower solid solution hardening [25] and the fact
that Al increases the Ms temperature considerably [23],
i.e. Al destabilizes the austenite and moves the start tem-
perature and moves the Ms–Mf range partly above room
temperature.
The recent CMnSiAlP TRIP steel concept is based on
the following concept:
1. The partial replacement of Si by a limited amount of
Al.
2. The optimization of the properties with P additions;
Al-alloying leads to lower Si contents, which makes
the steel galvanizable. P is the element of choice in
order to limit the use of Al, if the full replacement
of Si is restricted. P suppresses the formation of
cementite. It is also a very effective solid solution
hardening element and, in the presence of a low Si
content, it has been shown to increase the amount
of retained austenite [32]. P also significantly
increases the C activity coefficient in ferrite.
3. Only small amounts of P are required (0.05–0.1 wt.%)
to achieve significant improvements.
This TRIP alloying concept is shown schematically in
Fig. 3. The reportedly negative effects of P alloying to
TRIP steel, such e.g. the formation of Fe3 P phosphide,
only occur at excessively high P contents, i.e. >0.25%
[33,34].
Whereas Al is required to enhance the kinetics of the
bainite transformation in continuous galvanizing lines,
the addition of 0.2 wt.% of Mo is needed for galvan-
nealed TRIP steel. Galvannealing, i.e. the formation of
a Zn–Fe coating, requires the in-line annealing of the
strip in the temperature range of 500 °C–520 °C, directly
after hot dip galvanizing. Mo is known to slow down the
bainite transformation but suppresses ferrite and pearl-
ite formation more effectively, making it possible to ob-
tain a TRIP micro-structure despite the additional
annealing at a temperature close to Bs, the bainite start
temperature.
Currently the development of TRIP steel is focused
on steel with strengths ranging from 500 MPa to
800 MPa. In order to achieve a strength level of 1 GPa
or more, micro-alloying concepts have been proposed.
Nb, Ti and V, alone or in combination, have been used
as micro-alloying additions to refine the micro-structure
and form carbide or carbo-nitride precipitates. Note
that the alloying concept used for HSLA steel must be
reviewed in detail before applying them to AHSS. The
main reason being that TRIP steels have a compara-
tively high C content (
0.2 wt.% C in TRIP steel com-
pared to <0.1 wt.% C in HSLA steel), which makes e.g.
the re-dissolution of the carbo-nitrides of the micro-
alloying elements difficult. It is important to realize that
the composition and temperature influence the thermo-
dynamic stability, the transformation kinetics and the
intrinsic stacking fault energy (ISFE) of the retained
austenite. Al is known to increase the ISFE, whereas
Si decreases the ISFE. This implies that Si will facilitate
the transformation compared to Al. The ISFE is also
temperature-dependent: a temperature rise is expected
to decrease the ISFE en therefore also the transforma-
tion kinetics.
3. Micro-structure
Ideally low-alloy TRIP steels should contain only
three phases: ferrite, bainite and retained austenite.
The micro-structure will however often contain minor
amounts of carbides and, depending on the chemical
composition, martensite. This illustrated in Fig. 4.
The presence of carbides is of major importance as it
implies the following:
1. The cementite may not be fully dissolved during the
intercritical annealing in industrial conditions.
2. The available C does not fully participate in the C-
enrichment of the austenite during the bainitic
transformation.
 B.C. De Cooman / Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science 8 (2004) 285–303
Remove Al
Add ~0.1%P
1. ∆YS, ∆TS~ +(50-125)MPa
2. More residual γ
0.05
P Al
0.1
0.15
0 0.5
Fig. 3. Schematic composition diagram for low alloy TRIP steel, showing the main reasons leading to the development of alternative compositions.
The presence of athermal martensite and carbides in
the micro-structure also imply that it is difficult to deter-
mine the exact C content of each phase. This is however
of fundamental importance as most properties of TRIP
steel depend critically on the C content of each phase.
Most recent TEM observations have shown that the
bainitic ferrite phase is indeed carbide-free. This is illus-
trated in Fig. 5, which compares typical TEM micro-
graphs of conventional bainite and the bainitic phase
in TRIP steels. One of the most challenging aspects of
TRIP steel research is still the exact quantification of
the phases, the C distribution and the properties of the
different phases. The distinction between ferrite and
bainitic ferrite is very difficult to make, and has yet to
be done experimentally. The problem is usually avoided
by assuming equilibrium phase distribution during inter-
critical annealing and ignoring the formation of ‘‘new’’
ferrite in the fast cooling stage.
The C content of the bainitic ferrite is still being
argued about. Finally, even the determination of both
0,9% Al TRIP
(211)α
IBT: 450°C
Intensity, A.U.
carbide (220)γ
(211)α '
(112)α '
1,34% Cγ 0,7% Cα '
31.0 31.5 32.0 32.5 33.0 33.5 34.0 34.5 35.0 35.5 36.0
2θ, degrees
Fig. 4. X-ray diffractogram of a CMnAl TRIP steel which clearly
shows the presence of small amounts of carbides and martensite in the
micro-structure. Note the fact that the martensite has a lower C
content than the retained austenite.
289
CMnAl TRIP
0 1.5 Remove ~1,5% Si
Add ~1,5% Al
1. ∆YS,∆ TS~ -(90-150)MPa
2. Faster bainitic reaction
3. α ’ in microstructure
CM
Low TS 1
nS
iA
lT
RI
P
CMnSiAlP TRIP 0.5
Poor HDG
0
1 1.5
Si CMnSi TRIP
Conventional 0.15%C1.5%Mn1.5%Si
Poor galvanising properties
the retained austenite phase fraction and its C content
by X-ray diffraction require a considerable extrapolation
of the available equations, relating the lattice parameter
to the C content of the austenite, outside their domain of
applicability both in terms of composition and in terms
of temperature. In addition effects due to crystallo-
graphic texturing, variant selection,. . . make the analysis
even more challenging [35].
Recently, De et al. [36] have developed an elegant
step-etching procedure which can be used to identify
the constituent phases very clearly (Fig. 6). This etching
procedure used in combination with image processing
should perhaps be attempted.
An interesting alternative approach is the use of ori-
entation imaging microscopy (OIM), which uses elec-
tron back-scattering patterns (EBSD). There have
recently been a number of interesting publications on
the orientation relationships between the different
phases present in multiphase AHSS, which clearly show
that the method could also be used to quantify reliably
the different phase fractions. The method could also be
used to analyze the way in which the micro-structure
is formed during the intercritical annealing. These exper-
imental techniques have now reached the resolution nec-
essary to analyze dispersed phase AHSS containing
bainite in great detail [37–39].
4. Transformations during processing
Cold rolled intercritically annealed TRIP steels are
usually processed using a thermal cycle such as the
one shown schematically in Fig. 7. It consists of five dis-
tinct stages, which up to now have only been treated sep-
arately in the literature due to the obvious complexity of
the problems. Note that, in contrast to the situation
encountered for standard formable low carbon and
IF steels for automotive applications, a phase transfor-
mation occurs in each of the five stages, making the
290 B.C. De Cooman / Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science 8 (2004) 285–303

Fig. 5. TEM micrograph showing the difference between the standard lower bainite micro-structure, with inter-lath carbides (left) and the carbide-
free bainite present in TRIP steels.

2. Intercritical annealing:
- Form γ with sufficient hardenability

~ -5 C/s
time: 2-4 min
3. Rapid cooling:
temperature: 750-800°C - Avoid formation of « new» α
- Avoid formation of pearlite
Temperature

1. Heating:
-Recrystallisation of
-Dissolution of cementite
-Formation of γ (T>Ac1)
~ -10-50 C/s
4. Isothermal Bainitic Transformation:
- Enrichment of retained γ with carbon
time: 4-8 min
temperature: 350-490°C

~ +5-20 C/s ~ -1-10 C/s

5. Final cooling:
-Martensite formation (Ms>RT)

Time

Fig. 6. Light optical micrographs of a color-etched TRIP steel micro- Fig. 7. Schematic of the intercritical processing for cold rolled low
structure showing a clear difference between the micro-structural alloy TRIP steel: the main features of the five processing stages are
constituents (Micrograph courtesy of Dr. A.K. De, Colorado School indicated.
of Mines).

ogy of the cementite (blocky or pearlitic), (b) the fact

comprehensive description of the intercritical processing
of TRIP steel particularly challenging.
4.1. Stage 1: Rapid heating
During the initial rapid heating the cold rolled ferrite
recrystallizes and the cementite starts to dissolve first in
the ferrite and, once the temperature is above the Ac1
temperature, in the austenite. This process is believed
to be very rapid only if the cementite is present in
pearlite, which results in short diffusion distances. It is
important to realize that in the case of cold rolled inter-
critically annealed TRIP steel, the kinetics of the partial
re-austenitisation will depend strongly on the initial mi-
cro-structure. Most models do not take the following as-
pects, which are highly relevant to the industrial
processing of TRIP steel, into account: (a) the morphol-
that the austenite inherits the Mn content of the pearlite
and (c) the overheating with respect to the Ac1 temper-
ature [40]. Both (a) and (b) depend on the hot strip run-
out table processing and coiling conditions and the sub-
sequent cold rolling. As the cementite must be fully dis-
solved during intercritical annealing, lower rolling
temperatures and a higher degree of cold rolling are ex-
pected to be more beneficial. A detailed study of these
parameters may enable the production of TRIP steel
with a reduced variability of mechanical properties.
4.2. Stage 2: Intercritical annealing
The initial intercritical austenite contains more C
than the equilibrium C content of austenite in the inter-
critical range. The C reaches equilibrium partitioning
between the ferrite and the austenite even for relatively
 B.C. De Cooman / Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science 8 (2004) 285–303 291

short annealing times. The early stages of intercritical
austenite formation are controlled by C diffusion, which
is followed by the much slower process of Mn and Si dif-
fusion. In industrial continuous annealing lines and in
galvanizing lines, the partitioning of the substitutional
elements Mn, Si, will never reach the equilibrium
[41,42] as the homogenization of the austenite and fer-
rite is controlled by sluggish substitutional diffusion pro-
cesses. The ferrite/austenite phase boundary, however,
may have a pronounced ‘‘rim’’ of ferrite-stabilizer on
the ferrite-side and a ‘‘rim’’ of austenite-stabilizer on
the austenite side (Fig. 8), depending on the temperature
and time of the intercritical anneal. In practice, it is also
important that none of the original cementite remains
undissolved.
4.3. Stage 3: Fast cooling
The fast cooling to the austempering temperature re-
sults in the formation of ‘‘new’’ ferrite which grows on
the existing intercritical ferrite phase. Ghosh and Olson
[43] have described the growth of this ‘‘epitaxial’’ ferrite
as the para-equilibrium growth of ferrite. Their model
leads to a considerable increase of the ferrite volume
fraction and the presence of a C enrichment on the aus-
tenite side of the phase boundary. Avoiding the forma-
tion of pearlite is apparently never an issue in practice.
4.4. Stage 4: Austempering
This stage is in many ways the most critical stage as it
defines three crucial parameters: the C content, the vol-
ume fraction and the size of the retained austenite re-
gions in the micro-structure. Recent modeling work on
the formation of carbide-free bainite use the Purdy
et al. model [44] or the Bhadeshia–Rees model [45–47]
as a starting point. Quidort et al. [48–50] showed that
the transformation could be modeled by a model for
growth in paraequilibrium conditions, controlled by
the C diffusion in austenite. In contrast to Quidort,
who used the formation of a thin ferrite layer to bypass
the nucleation stage and was thus able to focus on the
bainite growth, Van Dooren et al. [51] have proposed
a new thermo-dynamical re-nucleation criterion, which
takes into account the local carbon concentration and
the local stress state of the austenite. The calculation
of this driving force for re-nucleation shows that the lo-
cal stress state of the austenite, induced by the presence
of a previously formed subunit, favors re-nucleation of a
new subunit of the same crystallographic variant and

0.40 2.00 2.00

21s 21s 21s
0.35
1.75
0.30 1.75
1.50
0.25
wt% C

wt% Mn

wt% Si

0.20 1.25 1.50

0.15 γ α 1.00
γ α
0.10 1.25 γ α
0.75
0.05

0.00 0.50 1.00

0 1 2 3 4 5 2.0 2.5 3.0 2.0 2.5 3.0
Distance, µm Distance, µm Distance, µm

0.40 2.00 2.00

300s 300s 300s
0.35
1.75
0.30 1.75
1.50
0.25 γ α
wt% Mn
wt% C

wt% Si

0.20 1.25 1.50

0.15 γ α 1.00
0.10 1.25 γ α
0.75
0.05

0.00 0.50 1.00

2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0
Distance, µm Distance, µm Distance, µm

Fig. 8. DICTRA calculation showing the C, Mn and Si profiles across the austenite-ferrite phase boundary during intercritical annealing after 21 s
(top) and 300 s (below). The arrow indicates the direction of movement of the phase boundary during intercritical annealing. Whereas the C is
expected to reach equilibrium composition, the substitutional solutes are not.
292 B.C. De Cooman / Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science 8 (2004) 285–303

5. Transformation during deformation

The TRIP effect is the main reason for the improved

Fig. 9. TEM micrograph of retained austenite in a CMnAl TRIP steel.
The partial transformation of the austenite to athermal martensite is
common in high-Al TRIP steels. Twinned martensite embedded in
retained austenite can be clearly observed by means of TEM (inset).
demonstrates that the origin of the autocatalytic effect
during the bainitic transformation, which is mentioned
in the model of Bhadeshia, results from a mechanical
effect.
4.5. Stage 5: Final cooling
In the final, relatively slow, cooling stage some of the
austenite may transform to martensite. This is often the
case for Si-free TRIP steels which have a high Al content
(Fig. 9).
Due to the lack of a comprehensive model for the
micro-structure development during the continuous
intercritical processing of cold rolled TRIP steels, empir-
ical approaches have been proposed [52,53]. These mod-
els may be weaker on fundamentals; they do however
give process engineers a useful insight in the kinetics
of the various transformations.
ductility and toughness. The TRIP mechanism in steels
with dispersed austenite is shown schematically in Fig.
10. In optimum room temperature conditions for the
stability of the dispersed retained austenite, the improve-
ment of the rate of strain hardening resulting from the
contribution of its strain-induced transformation to
martensite, should be such that the uniform deformation
is maximized. The ‘‘stability’’ of retained austenite in
low alloy multi-phase TRIP steel is often mentioned in
the literature, but it is never clearly defined: does it
e.g. refer to the Ms temperature being low enough or
is the Md temperature a better measure of stability? It
is probably better to focus on an ‘‘optimal stability’’,
which should necessarily be related to the automotive
BIW-applications in the present case. This optimal sta-
bility could be defined as follows: ‘‘The optimal retained
austenite for safety-related automotive TRIP sheet steel
should have its M rs temperature lower than the ambient
temperature and an Md temperature close to the maxi-
mum temperature reached in the BIW crush zone during
collisions’’.
This optimal retained austenite stability is controlled
by the C content, the size of the austenite particles, the
stress state and the strength of the retained austenite
[54]. In terms of transformation plasticity of TRIP
steels, three temperature ranges are of importance
(Fig. 11):
1. M s –M rs range: Yielding of the austenite is by stress-
induced transformation of austenite to martensite
at pre-existing nucleation sites. At M rs the stress
needed to initiate the martensitic transformation of
the retained austenite equals the yield strength of
the parent c phase. Below this temperature the

Fig. 10. Schematic of the TRIP-aided plasticity mechanism in low alloy TRIP steels. During straining the retained austenite transforms to
martensite. The austenite is replaced by a high strength high C martensite, and the transformation is associated with a volume expansion. Both effect
suppress plastic instability and extend the range of uniform elongation. The retained austenite, which is closely associated with the bainite, is present
as small austenite islands, the diameter of which is typically in the range of 0.1–1.0 lm. Note that the retained austenite has an elongated shape.
 B.C. De Cooman / Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science 8 (2004) 285–303
σ σ σ perature range. Ohlert [55] and Sakuma et al. [56] have
α α α
στ
γ α’ γ be slightly less than 100 °C, as the temperature increase
α ’γ
αb αb αb
σ σ σ
σ
Ms Ms Md
Fig. 11. Schematic illustrating the dominant deformation mechanisms
in different temperature ranges in the retained austenite in TRIP steel:
(from left to right) stress-induced plasticity, strain-induced plasticity
and dislocation glide plasticity.
retained austenite transforms to martensite via pre-
existing nucleation sites. As the temperature is
increased, the stress needed for the martensitic trans-
formation increases since the chemical driving force
decreases.
2. M rs –M d range: Above the M rs temperature, the austen-
ite is strained. The martensite is now predominantly
nucleated at new nucleation sites produced by slip.
Note that this martensite is not of the high-C plate
type and will not have the brittleness associated with
plate type martensite. Yielding of the austenite is by
glide. The transformation is mainly strain-induced.
Additional nucleation occurs at the intersection of
strain-induced deformation bands.
3. T > Md: The Md temperature is the temperature
above which no martensite transformation occurs.
The higher temperature results in a higher stacking
fault energy and a lower driving force for transforma-
tion; no transformation occurs as a result of
straining.
From a fundamental point of view these three tem-
peratures need to be determined precisely in order to
be able to describe fully the structure–properties rela-
tionships of TRIP steels in a fundamental manner. This
may also require studying the dependence of these tem-
peratures on the stress state of the material. In order to
develop automotive AHSS materials, a more pragmatic
approach must however be used to design TRIP sheet
steel: one should concentrate on the determination on
the M rs and M 30
d temperatures of the steel tested in uni-
axial tensile conditions. The M 30
d temperature is the tem-
perature at which 50% of the austenite is transformed to
martensite at a strain of 30%. It is used in practice be-
cause it is easier to determine experimentally than the
Md temperature. The TRIP steel should be designed in
such a manner that room temperature is in the M rs and
M 30
d temperature range. This guarantees that the opti-
mum use of the TRIP-effect at ambient temperature,
as the uniform elongation of has a maximum in this tem-
293
reported that the maximum uniform elongation for
TRIP steel containing
10 vol% retained austenite is
in the range of 20 °C–70 °C. Similarly for reasons of
passenger safety, the M 30 d temperature should ideally
as a result of the adiabatic heating due to the high strain
rate deformation during passenger car collisions is typi-
cally 80 °C to 100 °C. Table 1 reviews M 30d temperatures
for four different types of TRIP steels. As expected,
these temperatures are composition-dependent. The
retained austenite in CMnSi type TRIP steels has
the widest M rs –M 30
d temperature range: +10 °C–95 °C.
Replacement of the Si by Al and/or P, in CMnAl and
CMnSiAl(P) type TRIP steels, results in a reduction of
the M rs –M 30
d temperature range. This reflects the fact
that the higher C content in the retained austenite of
these TRIP steels expands the stability domain of the
retained austenite.
The flow stress of the austenite undergoing stress-in-
duced transformation undergoes a softening process due
to the strain resulting from the transformation dilata-
tion and the hardening mechanism due to the formation
of the hard high-C martensite phase at the intersection
of shear bands created during the straining.
Olson et al. [57] have described the strain-induced
transformation by means of a probabilistic model,
which has the advantage of having parameters which
are physically meaningful. In this model, fSB, the volume
fraction of shear bands to the strain the volume of frac-
tion is given by:
fSB ¼ 1  eae
where, a is a dimensionless temperature-dependent
parameter, related to the ISFE. The ISFE is related to
the f.c.c.–h.c.p. free energy difference. The ISFE is influ-
enced by composition and its value increases with
increasing temperature. The volume fraction of strain-
induced martensite fa0 is related to fSB by the Olsen–
Cohen equation:
n
fa0 ¼ 1  ebfSB ¼ 1  ebð1e
ae Þn
where, b is related to the probability that an intersection
of shear bands, consisting of twins and/or stacking-
faults. b is temperature-dependent via the temperature-
dependence of the thermodynamic driving force for
the transformation of austenite to martensite. n is a
Table 1
M 30
d temperature for CMnSi, CMnSiAl, CMnAl and CMnSiAlP TRIP
steel
Type of TRIP steel M 30
d (°C)
CMnSi-TRIP 95
CMnSiAl-TRIP 83
CMnAl-TRIP 59
CMnSiAlP-TRIP 60
294 B.C. De Cooman / Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science 8 (2004) 285–303

90 Stress-induced Strain-induced
25 transformation transformation
80 CMnSi-TRIP

70 CMnSiAl-TRIP
20
60
fα' ,%
50 15

α,β
40
30 CMnAl-TRIP 10 α

20 CMnSiAlP-TRIP
5 β
10 20°C
0 0 σ
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 -40 -20 0 Ms 20 40 60 80 100 120
ε true Temperature, °C

Fig. 12. Fit of experimental strain-induced transformation data to the Olson–Cohen equation with n = 2, for retained austenite in CMnSi, CMnAl,
CMnSiAl and CMnSiAlP TRIP steel (left). Example of the temperature dependence of a and b for CMnAl TRIP steel; a has a strong temperature-
dependence, the temperature-dependence of b is limited.

constant. Fig. 12 shows the fit of experimental strain- 675

-20°C
induced transformation data for the retained austenite -10°C
0°C
in a CMnAl TRIP steel to the Olson–Cohen equation 650 10°C
for n = 2. The temperature dependence of a and b is 20°C
shown in Fig. 10. Whereas a has a strong temperature- σeng, MPa 625
30°C
dependence the temperature-dependence of b is rela-
tively limited: the temperature dependence of the ISFE 600
must therefore be the main cause of the temperature 30°C

dependence of the martensite nucleation kinetics. There 575

is also a pronounced composition-dependence of the
transformation rate: the retained austenite in a CMnSi
type TRIP steel transforms almost entirely at lower
strains. The replacement of Si by Al and P leads to a
much lower rate of transformation with strain. This is
very likely due to the composition-dependence of the
ISFE, as Si is known to decrease the ISFE, whereas Al
additions increase the ISFE.
The M rs temperature can be experimentally deter-
mined by means of the single specimen temperature var-
iable tensile test (SS-TV-TT) by the transition from
smooth yielding to discontinuous yielding at decreasing
temperature (Fig. 13). The M rs temperature of most low
alloy TRIP steels is typically in the range of 10 °C to
+10 °C [58]. Whereas the M rs temperature does not
appear to be very sensitive to composition, the M 30d tem-
perature is clearly composition-dependent. The M 30 d tem-
perature is a measure of the stability of the retained
austenite: the lower its value, the higher the stability of
the austenite. Most of the retained austenite in low alloy
CMnSi, CMnAl and CMnSiAl(P) TRIP steels remains
meta-stable at room temperature. As the Ms tempera-
ture of these compositions is usually close to room tem-
perature, the main reason for the austenite stability has
been reported to be its size: the stabilizing effect of the
hydrostatic residual stress state is usually ignored. Note
that the Ms temperature is also not a static property. As
the retained austenite transforms, the size of the remain-
ing austenite regions becomes gradually smaller and the
retained austenite is continuously further stabilized by
550
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
εeng, %
Fig. 13. M rs temperature determination. As the test temperature is
lowered, a drop in the yield point is usually observed at 10 °C for most
low alloy TRIP steels. It yield point drop is caused by the shape
deformation accompanying the martensitic transformation.
its ever smaller size. In addition, during crash tests, the
adiabatic heating of the sample results in a gradual tem-
perature increase, which in turn reduces the transforma-
tion rate. The dynamic transformation behavior of the
retained austenite is still in need of a comprehensive
analysis. Fig. 14 reviews the currently available informa-
tion on the Ms, M rs and M 30
d temperatures. The influence
of austenite particle size is based on the work of Wang
et al. [59].
6. Mechanical properties
The static properties of low alloy TRIP steel have
already been the subject of many publications in past
conferences proceedings focusing on AHSS, such as
the ones organized in 2002 in Ghent, Belgium [60] and
in 2004 in Winter Park, Colorado [61]. The present sec-
tion will therefore focus mainly on the dynamic, safety-
related properties of automotive TRIP steel.
 B.C. De Cooman / Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science 8 (2004) 285–303
120
Fe-C-1.5%Mn-1.5%Al
100 Md30
Ms Temperature, °C
80
Md30
60
40 d γ :0.1m
20
Fe-C-1.5%Mn-1.5%Si d γ :0.05m
0 A precise understanding of the excellent high strain
Msσ
-20
Cγ ret -range in TRIP steel
0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8
Carbon, w-%
Fig. 14. Diagram showing the approximate position of the three
critical temperatures for martensitic transformation (Ms, M rs and M 30
d )
in low alloy TRIP steeps as a function of the C content of the retained
austenite. Note that the stabilizing effect of the small size of the
retained austenite was obtained using data published by Wang et al.
[57].
In the automotive industry, AHSS are being used
mainly in structural, passenger safety-related, parts of
the body-in-white (BIW):
1. In the engine area, AHSS can be used in the front
structure to absorb frontal impacts, which are trans-
ferred by the bumper to longitudinal members. These
should lead to an axial collapse, resulting in a long
crush length and a long duration of the crash pulse.
2. In the side structure, the AHSS can be used for the B-
pillar, A-pillar, and reinforcements to these pillars,
rocker rails and cross-members. These parts are crit-
ical in preventing intrusion during side-impact
collisions.
3. In the rear, AHSS longitudinal rails should absorb
the impact energy, in a manner similar to the front
structure in the engine area.
During a Euro-NCAP test the strain rates are usually
high, varying between 10 s1 and 30 s1 during frontal
impact tests to 60–200 s1 during side impact tests.
From a mechanical point of view, TRIP steels are com-
posite materials and their behavior can only be well
understood if this composite behavior is taken into ac-
count. On the fundamental level, the deformation of
multiphase TRIP steel at high strain rates is the result
of two interacting processes: work-hardening processes
and temperature-related softening effects, resulting from
adiabatic heating. The dynamical mechanical properties
of low alloy TRIP-aided steels are related to dynamic
behavior of the three phases within the micro-structure.
In TRIP steels ferrite forms the soft matrix phase. It has
a high ISFE, which results in a low strain hardening.
The mechanical properties of ferrite have a high temper-
ature and strain-rate dependence. Bainite is the strongest
295
phase as a result of a very small lath size, a high disloca-
tion density and a high C-supersaturation. The retained
austenite is FCC and is expected to be a low ISFE
phase. This results in a high strain hardening. In addi-
tion, the FCC phase tends to have a much smaller tem-
perature and strain-rate dependence of the mechanical
Fe-C
dγ >1m properties. As the retained austenite transforms to a 0
martensite, the temperature-dependence of the transfor-
mation rate will play a role.
rate behavior of TRIP-aided steels can only be achieved
in the following conditions:
2.0
1. The understanding of the properties of each individ-
ual phase.
2. The synergistic ‘‘composite’’ interaction between the
phases.
3. In addition, these properties must be determined in
the pre-strained and aged conditions as these are
the material conditions during collisions.
The dynamic testing of high strength automotive steel
grades is therefore of great practical importance. During
forming operations, steels are processed in a controlled
dynamic manner. In collisions, the deformation is quite
different in the sense that (a) the steel is both in a pre-
strained and an aged condition, the latter as a conse-
quence of e.g. a low-temperature paint baking
treatment and (b) the deformation is not controlled,
i.e. both strain and strain rate are not pre-determined.
As no standard testing procedures are currently avail-
able to evaluate steels dynamically, it is important to
note the fact that the following testing parameters may
play an important role (Fig. 15):
1. The dynamic stress–strain curves are influenced by
the sample geometry; the test specimen geometry
should be one that avoids localized stress concentra-
tions. In practice, the sample geometry mainly influ-
ences the total elongation.
2. The initial strain rate is time-dependent; most
dynamic experiments are carried out with equipment
giving transient strain rates of various duration.
3. The initial stress and strain states may be non-homo-
geneous and time-dependent.
4. The adiabatic heating of the sample and, therefore,
the thermal softening effect it causes are time-depen-
dent. The increase in temperature is gradual and the
final sample temperature can reach 100 °C–120 °C.
5. Most testing procedures used in the literature ignore
the fact that the conditioning of the samples is very
important in the case of materials used for crash-sen-
sitive automotive parts. The amount of pre-strain
and the ageing are particularly important for TRIP-
aided steels. The BH2-value, the bake-hardening
effect for a 2%-prestrained TRIP-aided steel, is
296 B.C. De Cooman / Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science 8 (2004) 285–303

tively. Whereas equations of this type may be useful

900 Strain rate, s-1
120 for e.g. FE calculations, they do not give much insight
800
in the multiphase material behavior [63,64].
700 Temperature
100 A clearer insight in the behavior of the materials can
Stress, MPa
be gained by testing the individual phase separately.

Temperature, °C
600
Stress, MPa

80
500 The ferrite phase can easily be made as a bulk phase.
400
gauge length: 3mm
width: 4mm
This is also the case for the bainite. The bainite phase
60
300
radius: 2mm
will however always contain retained austenite (Fig.
gauge length: 10mm
width: 4mm 40 16). Note that the retained austenite present in low alloy
200 radius: 2mm
gauge length: 5mm
TRIP steel cannot be made as a bulk phase: when this is
100 width: 4mm
radius: 1mm
20 attempted the grain size and the absence of hydrostatic
0 stresses are such that a considerable volume fraction
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Strain, % spontaneously transforms to martensite, as the Ms tem-
perature of this phase is above room temperature. The
Fig. 15. Evolution of stress, strain rate and temperature during the static and dynamic stress–strain curves for the ferrite
high strain rate testing of low alloy TRIP steel. Note the typical
adiabatic temperature rise to 120 °C and the strong dependence of the
and bainite phases are shown in Fig. 17 and Fig. 18.
total elongation on the sample geometry. In both cases the ferrite phase is characterized by a clear
yield plateau or an upper yield point, and a low strain
hardening. The carbide-free bainite is characterized by
typically
100 MPa. This implies that the actual yield continuous yielding and very high work-hardening.
strength is higher than the reported as-produced yield The thermal softening starts to play an important role
strength. only after a strain of
20%.
There are different ways for determining the crash-
In laboratory tests, the split Hopkinson bar method resistance performance of TRIP steel: The energy ab-
or crash tests using hat- or box-shaped beams are often sorbed during the entire test can be calculated as the area
used to reach high strain rates. Both DP and TRIP steels below the entire stress–strain curve. The resulting energy,
have been shown in these laboratory tests to possess expressed in units of MJ/m3, can then be plotted as a
superior energy absorption at high strain rates. Total function of strain rate to evaluate the effectiveness of
absorbed energy values of 200–400 MJ/m3 at 1000 s1 the TRIP steels in absorbing energy during dynamic
are typically mentioned. In the split Hopkinson bar tests. It must be noted that there is currently no standard-
method small samples (e.g. gauge length: 5 mm, radius: ized method to measure the absorbed energy. It may be
1 mm, width: 4 mm) must be used to avoid inertia e.g. more appropriate to use the dynamic absorbed en-
effects. The test conditions and the sample dimen- ergy up to a strain of 10% to compare different steel
sions are not standardized and results may differ grades, as the strains involved during a collision is usu-
between laboratories. Most studies on the evaluation ally much smaller than the fracture stress. The dynamic
of crash-worthiness improvements have published com- absorbed energy data, shown in Fig. 19, shows the effect
parisons between different conventional high strength
steels and AHSS. In most of these studies, both DP
and TRIP steels always yield the best energy absorption
results.
The Johnson–Cook [62] constitutive relation is often
used to describe the stress–strain properties of materials
obtained during high strain rate tests. Within the strain
rate range used, this empirical relation was found to give
a good fit between experimental results and simulations:


m 
e_ T  Tr
r ¼ ½r0 þ Ben  1 þ C ln 1
e_0 Tm  Tr
with r, the effective flow stress, r0, the yield strength,
,
the strain, e_ =e_0 , the normalized strain rate, T, the tem-
perature, Tr, the room temperature and Tm, the melting
temperature of the alloy. B, n, C and m are fitting
Fig. 16. SEM micrograph of the bulk CMnSiAl bainite phase
parameters. For CMnAl TRIP steel, the equation
(0.39 wt.% C, 1.72 wt.% Mn, 0.53 wt.% Si, 1.02 wt.%, Al, 0.011 wt.%
parameters were found to have the following values: P), which contains
15 vol% retained austenite with 1.9 wt.% C. The
r0 = 394 MPa, B = 1115, n = 0.746, C = 0.037 and retained austenite is present both as film between bainite laths and as a
m = 0.741. Tr and Tm were 20 °C and 1540 °C, respec- larger blocky phase.
 B.C. De Cooman / Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science 8 (2004) 285–303 297

1000 leads to a more continuously increasing strain hardening

CMnSiAl -Bainite
CMnSiAl-Bainite
900 as the TRIP-effect is spread out over a larger strain
CMnSi -Bainite
CMnSi-Bainite range. This effect is illustrated in Fig. 20.
800
700
Eng.Stress, MPa

CMnAl -Bainite
CMnAl-Bainite
600 380

Energy dissipation, MJ/m3

500 370
400 360 CMnAl-TRIP
CMnSi -Ferrite
CMnSi-Ferrite 10% of deformation
300 CMnSiAl-Ferrite
CMnSiAl -Ferrite 350 As Received
CMnAl -Ferrite
CMnAl-Ferrite BH0
200 340 15% of deformation

100 130 As Received

120 BH0
110 Stress maximum
0 100 As Received
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 90 BH0

Eng. Strain, % 80
70
60
Fig. 17. Stress–strain curves for the isolated ferrite and bainite phase, 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000
both which are normally present as matrix and dispersed phase in low Rate of deformation, s-1
alloy TRIP steel, respectively. Note the relatively large Lüders strain
associated with the ferrite. The bainite is associated with the absence or Fig. 19. Influence of the integrationRrange on the energy absorption,
e
a very limited Lüders strain, a pronounced work-hardening and a very calculated by means of the formula: 0 rðeÞ  de of a CMnAl (0.22% C,
low yield-to-tensile strength ratio. 1.7% Mn, 1.5% Al) TRIP steel. BH0 refers to a static strain aging
treatment (Bake Hardening) of 20 min at 170 °C.

of the choice of method of impact resistance assessment.

Note that the dynamic absorbed energy is only weakly 800 1.0
σ−ε δ ε / δ t : 1252s -1
strain rate dependent. Fig. 19 also includes data for 700
0.8
bake-hardened TRIP steels: the static strain ageing has
Eng. Stress, MPa

600
no influence on the dynamic absorbed energy. 500 fα ' isothermal 20°C
0.6
The excellent performance of TRIP steels during

fα'
400
crash test seems at first to be counterintuitive: if the steel
300 0.4
is adiabatically heated, this should suppress the TRIP-
effect and lead to a poor performance. This is not the 200
0.2
case because (a) the heating is gradual and (b) the final 100
fα ' non-isothermal 20°C δε / δ t : 1252s -1

temperature of the material is still relatively low. Be- 0 0.0

cause of the pronounced decrease of the a parameter 0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30
with temperature, the rate of transformation is slowed Eng. Strain
down significantly compared to the isothermal situation. Fig. 20. Stress–strain curve for CMnAl TRIP steel tested at a strain
The gradual increase of temperature however makes the rate of 1252 s1. The evolution of the fraction of martensite during
strain-induced transformation more progressive, and straining is indicated for the isothermal and the adiabatic case.

1000 1000
CMnAl-Ferrite CMnAl-Bainite
900 900

800 1012 s -1 800

532 s -1
1355 s -1
700 700
Eng. Stress, MPa

Eng. Stress, MPa

633 s -1 1251 s -1
600 600

500 500
888 s -1
400 400

300 300
5.6*10 -4 / 10 -3 s -1
A80 Specimen
200 200
-4 -3 -1
100 5.6*10 /10 s 100
A80Specimen

0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
Eng. Strain, % Eng. Strain, %

Fig. 18. High strain rate stress–strain curves for isolated ferrite (left) and bainite (right) in low alloy TRIP steel. Note the clear upper yield point
associated with the ferrite.
298 B.C. De Cooman / Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science 8 (2004) 285–303

7. Application properties is due to a combination of low strain rate sensitivity

Automotive sheet thickness reductions of 10–15%
and 20% can be achieved without loss in performance
by the use of DP and TRIP steels, respectively. Whereas
their deep drawability and stretch formability are excel-
lent and comparable to those of low carbon steels [65],
AHSS may still require some attention to specific man-
ufacturing issues. In press forming, elastic recovery,
‘‘springback’’, and sidewall curling may result in the
use of higher blank holder forces or the use of new die
processes which emphasize stretching. This phenomenon
is however not specific to AHSS; it is a characteristic of
all materials with a high yield strength.
Although not a critical point in most applications, the
stretch-flangeability of TRIP steels is rather poor (Fig.
21). The standard measure of stretch-flangeability is
the hole expansion ratio (HER). For TRIP steels, the
HER is generally <50%. The low HER of TRIP steels
(Fig. 22) and the large difference in strength between
the ferrite matrix and a 0 phase present in the strained
micro-structure. Note however that the cret phase itself
is tough and it has a very high resistance to void
formation.
Due to the higher C and alloying content of TRIP
steel, welding was originally considered to require
appropriate welding procedures. The reason for this is
illustrated in the well-known Granville weldability
graph (Fig. 23): the composition of TRIP steels is such
that adequate, yet relatively simple, welding procedures
may be needed to avoid cold cracks. Note that many
HSLA and standard C steels belong to this of type of
higher carbon equivalent (CE) steels, which are not con-
sidered difficult to weld but require a more careful weld-
ing procedure. In the case of the resistance spot welding
of TRIP steels, Cretteur et al. [66] have shown that
excessive weld nugget hardness and cold cracks could

Fig. 21. Hole expansion test on AHSS: from left to right cold rolled TRIP (HER: 40%), hot rolled DP (HER: 47%) and hot rolled bainitic steel
(HER: 77%).

620

0.6
610

0.5
Generally Weldable
Carbon content, w-%

600
m=0.0025 (Special procedures may be required)
0.4
590 CMnSi TRIP
Stress, MPa

Difficult to Weld
0.3 (Special procedures always required)
580
rate: 5.6 ×10 -4s-1 rate: 5.6 ×10 -3s -1
0.2
290
0.1
280
m=0.01 Readily Weldable
0.0
270 LC Steel 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
Carbon equivalent
260
3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 Fig. 23. Steel weldability diagram showing the position of the C
Strain (%) content and CE range for current industrial TRIP steel. TRIP steels
are mostly in the segment corresponding to steels with an adequate
Fig. 22. Comparison of the strain rate sensitivity of a CMnSi TRIP weldability requiring special welding procedures such as weld pre- and/
steel and a low C steel by means of the rate-jump method. or post-treatment.
 B.C. De Cooman / Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science 8 (2004) 285–303
easily be avoided by in situ short pre- and post-weld heat
treatments for relatively high C TRIP sheet steel. This
procedure can easily be carried out on conventional
welding equipment. There have been no reports of crit-
ical difficulties encountered during the welding of TRIP
steels; in fact even, the welding of TRIP sheet steel to
non-TRIP sheet steel does not require any special
precaution.
The combination of large work hardening and strong
BH-effect are additional reasons to use TRIP steel in
automotive applications. This effect is very pronounced
in TRIP steel, for which it routinely exceeds 100 MPa.
This pronounced BH-effect is only observed after pre-
straining. Experimental static strain ageing data of
CMnSiAl and CMnAl TRIP steels unstrained and pre-
strained to elongations of 2%, 5% and 10% is shown
in Fig. 24. The same tests were also carried out on the
bulk ferrite and bainite phases. The large BH-effect in
TRIP steels can be seen to result from the pronounced
BH-effect in bainite. In order to understand the high
BH-value of TRIP steels, one must again consider its
composite nature; the static strain ageing of the ferrite
and the bainite constituents is very different, both in
magnitude and in strain-dependence. The fact that the
BH-kinetics of the bainite are faster than the ferrite is
very likely due to the fact that the C content in the bai-
nite is much larger and the micro-structure much finer,
making diffusion distances for dislocation locking and
transition carbide formation small. The role of internal
stresses in the pronounced BH-response has been dis-
cussed for DP steels [67–70]. The situation has not yet
been analyzed in detail for low alloy TRIP steel. Furn-
mont [71], Sugimoto et al. [72,73], and Streicher [74]
have used diffraction techniques to study strains parti-
tioning during and after straining of TRIP steels. The
interpretation of diffraction data obtained for the aus-
tenite phase may be difficult as a result of peak shifts
due to deformation-induced planar defects and phase
transformation. After deformation, in the absence of
external stresses, the ferrite is found to be in compres-
Bake-Hardening Index, MPa
125
CMnSiAl-Bainite
100
75
50
25
0 0
BH0 BH2
Fig. 24. Experimental static strain ageing data of CMnSiAl and CMnAl TRIP steels unstrained and prestrained to elongations of 2%, 5% and 10%.
The large BH-effect in TRIP steels can be seen to result from a pronounced BH-effect in bainite.
299
sion and the austenite phase in tension. The explanation
for the pronounced BH-effect in prestrained TRIP steels
should therefore take into account not only the forma-
tion of mobile, transformation-induced dislocations
but also the presence of a locally compressed ferrite
phase. This compression should reduce the yield
strength and result in a Bauschinger-type effect. This ef-
fect would be very sensitive to ageing time and temper-
ature, and to the amount of pre-strain. Very long ageing
times, high ageing temperatures and high strains are ex-
pected to reduce the BH-effect considerably.
Finally, there have been concerns that the presence of
retained austenite might lead to H-related embrittle-
ment. It has been argued that due to a higher H-solubil-
ity in that phase, hydrogen uptake could occur during
intercritical annealing or during Zn electro-plating of
the TRIP steel strip, in the intercritical austenite or in
the retained austenite, respectively. In use the retained
austenite would transform in a H-containing untem-
pered martensite, a phase which is known to be particu-
larly sensitive to H-cracking. Even in the absence of
hydrogen, the strain-induced transformation leads to
the formation of a very high C martensite. Conventional
high C martensite is indeed a very brittle phase and it is
known to be particularly sensitive to H-embrittlement.
The micro-structure of high C strain-induced martensite
in low alloy TRIP steel however has been shown to be
very different from that of athermal martensite [75].
The only reports of H-sensitivity of TRIP steels are lab-
oratory test during which the material was intentionally
H-charged [76] to high H levels, a situation which is very
unlikely to occur in practice. In fact, in normal condi-
tions of Zn electro-galvanizing, H-induced cracking of
the transformed austenite phase in TRIP steel was not
observed [77].
Unpublished research at Ghent University has fo-
cused on the possible influence of the presence of H2
in the furnace atmosphere during the simulation of a
galvanizing cycle on the yield stress, tensile strength,
uniform elongation, total elongation and H content of
125
Bake-Hardening Index, MPa
100
CMnSi-Bainite
CMnSiAl-TRIP
75
CMnSiAl-Ferrite
50
25 CMnSi-TRIP
CMnSi-Ferrite
BH5 BH10 BH0 BH2 BH5 BH10
Prestrain, % Prestrain, %
300 B.C. De Cooman / Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science 8 (2004) 285–303

Fig. 25. Influence of presence of hydrogen in the annealing gas atmosphere during continuous annealing on the total elongation (Atot), uniform
elongation (Au), yield stress (Re) and tensile strength (Rm) of various types of TRIP steels.

the material. Six different cold rolled TRIP steels, fracture surface is compared to that of the sample an-
including Ti, Nb and V micro-alloyed TRIP steels, were nealed without H2.
selected for a continuous test in which a galvanizing sim- From these preliminary results, it would seem that
ulation in a N2–5%H2 atmosphere with a dew point of there is definitely no influence of the H2 gas present in
30 °C, a tensile test and the measurement of the hydro- the N2–H2 furnace gas mixture of continuous galvaniz-
gen content were carried out in sequence according to a ing lines or continuous annealing lines on both the
strict time schedule, since H is know to diffuse out of mechanical properties and the H content of the different
steel at room temperature (Fig. 25). The TRIP steels TRIP steels.
were intercritically annealed, but not Zn-coated. For
each material two galvanizing annealing simulations
were carried out: in a N2–5%H2 atmosphere and in a 6
pure N2 atmosphere. Fig. 25 shows the results for the with H2 without H 2
Hydrogen content, ppm

yield stress and tensile strength, and total and uniform 5

elongation for all 6 materials and for both annealing

4
conditions: it is obvious that there is no influence of
the presence of H2 in the furnace atmosphere. In addi- 3
tion, there is no clear increase of the H content during
intercritical annealing, certainly if the measurement pre- 2
cision is taken into account (Fig. 26). All fracture sur-
1
faces had a ductile aspect with pronounced dimples
and no distinction could be made between the samples 0
CMnSi CMnSiAlP CMnSiAlP
annealed with H2 and without H2 in the furnace atmo- CMnAl CMnSiAlP Nb CMnSiAlP
sphere. Two SEM micrographs of the fracture surface Ti V

of the CMnSiAlP type TRIP steel are shown in Fig. Fig. 26. Influence of the presence of hydrogen in the annealing
27: the sample annealed with H2 contained the highest atmosphere on the hydrogen content of TRIP steels after a continuous
H content, but there is clearly no difference when the annealing simulation.
 B.C. De Cooman / Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science 8 (2004) 285–303
Fig. 27. Fracture surfaces of CMnSiAlP type TRIP steels intercritically annealed in a N2–5 vol% H2 atmosphere (left) and in a pure N2 atmosphere.
8. Conclusions
Multiphase TRIP sheet steel can now be produced on
an industrial scale with micro-structures and mechanical
properties, which have the potential of improving dra-
matically the automotive passenger safety. Current cold
rolled intercritically annealed low-alloy TRIP steels with
lean CMn-based composition contain generally less than
3.5 wt.% of alloying additions. Zn-coated cold rolled
TRIP steels with tensile strengths in the range of
600 MPa–800 MPa have been extensively tested and
are currently being used by the automotive industry
for B-pillars and A-pillars [78]. Higher strength micro-
alloyed TRIP steels will certainly become available in
the near future. The particularly favorable transforma-
tion-aided strain-hardening leads not only to a large uni-
form deformation, but it is also the reason of a large
BH-effect. The rate of transformation of the retained
austenite during high strain rate deformation makes
TRIP-type AHSS particularly attractive for use in
safety-related structural parts of passenger cars with
an improved crash-resistance BIW.
There are however surprisingly strong geographic dif-
ferences in the use and production of TRIP-type AHSS:
whereas both the industrial development of TRIP steels
and their use in the automotive industry has proceeded
rapidly in Europe, the future for TRIP steels remains
cloudy in North-America, where both steelmakers and
car manufacturers strongly promote the use of DP
steels. In Europe the main development emphasis has
been on the CMnAl and CMnSiAl(P) hot dip galvanized
TRIP steel or the CMnSi electro-galvanized TRIP steel
with a tensile strength of 590 MPa, 690 MPa and
780 MPa.
Higher strengths require the use of micro-alloying
concepts using Nb, Ti and/or V. These grades are cur-
rently under industrial development. Alternatively, the
bainite phase fraction in the micro-structure of TRIP
steel could simply be increased: the compositional
requirements would be only minor and, based on recent
publications on TRIP-type bainitic steels [79,80], the
mechanical properties of Higher Bainite Fraction TRIP
steels (HBF-TRIP) are expected to be excellent. The
301
potentials offered by the multiphase low alloy are con-
tinuously being underlined by innovative steel designs:
the recent development of Quenching and Partitioning
(Q&P) process is an example worth mentioning
[81,82]. This process, which makes use of C partitioning
between quenched martensite and retained austenite, in
the absence of carbide formation, extends the strength
range of current TRIP steels.
Acknowledgments
This review paper owes much to the work of
researchers from the Laboratory of Iron and Steelmak-
ing at Ghent University. I wish to acknowledge the fol-
lowing persons, who have been involved in TRIP steel
research in recent years: Dr. M. De Meyer (ARCELOR
Group), Dr. J. Mahieu (ARCELOR Group), Dr.J.
Maki (Nippon Steel Corporation), Dr. A.K. De (Colo-
rado School of Mines), Ms. L. Barbé, Mr. D. Krizan,
Mr. L. Samek, Ms. I. Tolleneer and Mr. E. De Moor.
I am also grateful for the collaboration on high strain
rate deformation of TRIP steels with Professors J. De-
grieck and P. Verleysen.
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