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MDPI, Materials, 8(14), p. 1962, 2021

DOI: 10.3390/ma14081962

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Copper-Induced Strengthening in 0.2 C Bainite Steel

Journal article published in 2021 by Jaromir Dlouhy, Pavel Podany ORCID, Jan Dzugan ORCID
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

Bainitic steels were the focus of this study. These steels have the potential to obtain a good combination of strength, ductility, and edge stretchability, which is a very desirable characteristic in the automotive industry. Cu precipitation potential was investigated during prolonged isothermal bainitization treatment. Precipitation strengthening and ductility were measured using a tensile test, and edge stretchability was measured using a hole expansion test. The microstructure was characterized by high-resolution scanning electron microscopy and an electron backscattered diffraction. Lower bainite was obtained by austenitization treatment and subsequent immersion into a salt bath at 400 °C. Cu precipitation occurred after 120 min of holding in the bath and enhanced the yield stress of the Cu-alloyed steel by 120 MPa as compared with a reference steel without Cu. The strengthening did not affect ductility and decreased the edge stretchability by 10%. Steels with different Mn contents were examined. It was found that the enhancement of Mn content from 1 to 2 wt.% did not boost Cu strengthening ability. This result showed that the presence of Mn did not cause an Mn-Cu precipitation strengthening synergy, observed previously during martensite tempering procedure.