Influence of Martensite Composition and

Content on the Properties of Dual

Phase Steels
R. G. DAVIES

A study has b e e n made of the m e c h a n i c a l p r o p e r t i e s of dual p h a s e ( m a r t e n s i t e plus f e r -

r i t e ) s t r u c t u r e s p r o d u c e d when F e - M n - C a l l o y s a r e quenched f r o m the a u s t e n i t e plus
f e r r i t e phase field, so as to give a s e r i e s of a l l o y s with constant f e r r i t e and m a r t e n s i t e
c o m p o s i t i o n s but v a r y i n g p e r c e n t m a r t e n s i t e s . It is found that the s t r e n g t h of a dual p h ase
s t r u c t u r e is dependent on the f e r r i t e g r a i n s i z e and the v o l u m e f r a c t i o n of m a r t e n s i t e ,
and is independent of the c o m p o s i t i o n and s t r e n g t h of the m a r t e n s i t e . In a g r e e m e n t with
p r e v i o u s w o r k the d u c t i l i t y of t h e s e s t e e l s is s u p e r i o r to that for s t a n d a r d HSLA s t e e l s at
the s a m e t e n s i l e s t r e n g t h . A s shown in a p r e v i o u s p a p e r the s t r e n g t h and d u c t i l i t y as a
function of p e r c e n t m a r t e n s i t e a r e in a g r e e m e n t with M i l e i k o ' s t h e o r y of c o m p o s i t e s of
two d u c t i l e p h a s e s . T h i s t h e o r y and the r e s u l t s indicate that the s u p e r i o r d u ct i l i t y of dual
p h as e s t e e l s is l a r g e l y a c o n s e q u e n c e of the high s t r e n g t h (fine g r ai n ed ) , highly d u ct i l e
(low i n t e r s t i t i a l content) f e r r i t e m a t r i x .

1. INTRODUCTION a p p r o x i m a t e l y 1.2 m m (0.050 in.);, the a n a l y z e d c o m -

p o s i t i o n s of t h e s e a l l o y s is shown in T a b l e I. A f e r -
S T E E L S whose s t r u c t u r e s c o n s i s t of m i x t u r e s of f e r - r i t e g r a i n s i z e of about 10 ~ m was obtained by a n n e a l -
r i t e and m a r t e n s i t e a r e often r e f e r r e d to as a dual ing f o r 5 min j u s t above the A3 t e m p e r a t u r e f or the
p h a s e s t e e l s . It has been shown 1-~ that when a c o m - al l o y and a i r cooling; the dual p h ase s t r u c t u r e was o b -
m e r c i a l 980 HSLA s t e e l is heat t r e a t e d so as to p r o - t a i n e d by holding f o r 10 rain at t e m p e r a t u r e s within
duce the dual phase s t r u c t u r e , its y ie ld point d e c r e a s e s l i m i t s shown by the shaded a r e a of the ~ + y p h a s e
f r o m 550 to 380 M P a (80 to 55 ksi), the t o t a l e l o n g a - field, F i g . 1, 6 and then q u e n c h i n g into a b r i n e s ol ut i on.
tion i n c r e a s e s f r o m about 18 to 27 pct while the t e n s i l e It is p o s s i b l e to c o n s i d e r t h e s e a l l o y s as p s e u d o b i -
s t r e n g t h r e m a i n s c o n s t a n t at a p p r o x i m a t e l y 690 M P a n a r i e s b e t w e e n F e - M n and C b e c a u s e Mn would not
(100 ksi). T h i s i n c r e a s e in d u c t i l i t y at constant t e n s i l e have t i m e to p a r t i t i o n to any s i g n i f i c a n t e x t e n t d u r i n g
s t r e n g t h leads to b e t t e r f o r m a b i l i t y and m a k e s t h e s e the i n t e r c r i t i c a l anneal; it can be c a l c u l a t e d that a f t e r
dual p h a s e s t e e l s v e r y a t t r a c t i v e f o r use in cold 10 min at 740~ Mn would diffuse l e s s than 0.03 p m
f o r m e d high s t r e n g t h c o m p o n e n t s . in a u s t e n i t e . 7 A l l heat t r e a t m e n t s w e r e c a r r i e d out in
T h e s t u d i e s of the dual p h a s e s t r u c t u r e u t i l i z i n g a a n e u t r a l salt bath. T e n s i l e s p e c i m e n s 50 m m (2 in.)
c o m m e r c i a l 980 s t e e l (Jones & L a u g h l i n VAN-80) gage length by 12.5 m m (1/2 in.) wide w e r e m a c h i n e d
found that the s t r e n g t h was a l i n e a r function of the p r i o r to heat t r e a t m e n t s and w e r e t e s t e d in an I n s t r o n
p e r c e n t m a r t e n s i t e ; 2,n this is s u r p r i s i n g s i n c e the m a c h i n e at r o o m t e m p e r a t u r e at a c r o s s h e a d r a t e of
m a r t e n s i t e content was v a r i e d by changing the q u en ch - a p p r o x i m a t e l y 2 • 10 -2 m m / s (0.05 in. p e r min).
ing t e m p e r a t u r e , and t h e r e f o r e the c a r b o n content of the
m a r t e n s i t e , and the s t r e n g t h of m a r t e n s i t e is v e r y c a r b o n
3. R E S U L T S AND DISCUSSION
dependent. 4'5 In addition it was shown that the d u c t i l i t y
at a g i v e n s t r e n g t h l e v e l is s t r o n g l y influenced by the 3.1. S t r e n g t h
p r o p e r t i e s of the f e r r i t e , 3 and it is not c l e a r w h e t h e r
a) V a r i a t i o n With M a r t e n s i t e Content. Th e flow
s t r o n g c a r b i d e f o r m i n g e l e m e n t s such as V, Nb and Mo
s t r e s s as a function of quench t e m p e r a t u r e and c a r b o n
a r e e s s e n t i a l to obtain the i m p r o v e d p r o p e r t i e s of dual
content of the al l o y is shown in F i g . 2. It can be s e e n
p h a s e s t e e l s . In an a t t e m p t to a n s w e r t h e s e q u e s t i o n s
that at a given quench t e m p e r a t u r e , the flow s t r e s s is
a s e r i e s of p l ai n c a r b o n s t e e l s with c a r b o n r a n g i n g
f r o m 0.06 to 0.52 pct have b e e n q u e n c h e d f r o m a
v a r i e t y of t e m p e r a t u r e s ; the a l l o y s when q u e n c h e d
f r o m one t e m p e r a t u r e will contain d i f f e r e n t a m o u n t s Table I, Composition (Wt Pct) of Alloys Studied, Balance Fe
of m a r t e n s i t e but with constant f e r r i t e and m a r t e n -
s i t e c o m p o s i t i o n s . T h e influence of g r a i n s i z e and No. C Mn Other* No. C Mn Other*
h a r d e n a b i l i t y upon the p r o p e r t i e s of dual phase s t e e l s 1 0,06 1.37 l1 0.31 1.34
was a l s o i n v e s t i g a t e d in a l l o y s containing Nb a n d / o r 2 0.10 1.36 - 12 0.36 1.45 -
Mo a d d i t i o n s . 3 0.15 1.37 - t3 036 1.30 -
4 0.16 1.30 - 14 0.42 1.25 -
5 0.20 1.30 - 15 0.47 1.30 -
2. E X P E R I M E N T A L P R O C E D U R E 6 0.20 1.38 16 0.52 1.25
7 0.22 1.20 - 17 0.14 1.47 0.25Mo, 0.06 Nb
A s e r i e s of v a c u u m c a s t a l l o y s w e r e , by a c o m b i n a - 8 0.27 1.40 18 0.14 0.72 0.26Mo, 0.05 Nb
tion of hot and cold r o l l i n g , r e d u c e d to a t h i c k n e s s of 9 0.28 1.38 - 19 0.14 0.72 0.28Mo
10 0.29 1,50 - 20 0.15 1.49 0.06Nb
R. G. DAVIES is Senior Staff Scientist, Ford Motor Company, *Allalloys contain approximately0.25 pct Si and 0.07 pct aluminumfor de-
Dearborn, MI 48121. oxidation.
Manuscript submitted September 8, 1977.
ISSN 0360-2133/78/0510-0671500.75/0
METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONSA 9 1978 AMERICANSOCIETY FOR METALSAND VOLUME 9A, MAY 1978-671
THE METALLURGICALSOCIETY OF AIME

Fig. 1--The derived equilibrium diagram for Fe-1 wt pct
M n - C a l l o y s ; the s h a d e d a r e a i n d i c a t e s the r e g i o n in w h i c h
alloys were heat treated.
l i n e a r l y dependent upon the c a r b o n content, and that at
a given c a r b o n level the higher the quench t e m p e r a t u r e
the l a r g e r is the flow s t r e s s . However the m a r t e n s i t e
~ontent of any alloy is a function of the c a r b o n content
and the quenching t e m p e r a t u r e . A t y p i c a l s e r i e s of
m i c r o g r a p h s for alloys quenched f r o m 740, is shown
in Fig. 3; the alloys were t e m p e r e d at 400~ for 1/2 h
p r i o r to p o l i s h i n g so as to e n h a n c e the c o n t r a s t b e t w e e n
the m a r t e n s i t e and f e r r i t e .
The flow s t r e s s at v a r i o u s s t r a i n levels as a func-
tion of p e r c e n t m a r t e n s i t e is p r e s e n t e d in F i g s . 4 and
5.* It is c l e a r that all the flow s t r e s s e s a r e solely a
*The percentage of martensite was determined by 1) metallographic examina-
tion of about a third of the samples, ~ d 2) application of the lever rule to the
phase diagram; there was good agreement between the measured and calculated
percentage martensites.
function of the p e r c e n t a g e of m a r t e n s i t e in the alloys
and do not depend upon the c a r b o n content of the m a r -
t e n s i l e . T h i s is an unexpected r e s u l t b e c a u s e a s i m -
ple m e c h a n i c a l m i x t u r e would p r e d i c t that the flow
s t r e s s e s of the alloys quenched f r o m 740~ ( c a r b o n
content in m a r t e n s i t e ~0.57 pct) should be m e a s u r a b l y
s t r o n g e r than alloys quenched f r o m 800~ (carbon
content 0.38); m a r t e n s i t e s t r e n g t h is v e r y s e n s i t i v e
to such changes in c a r b o n content. 4'5
E x t r a p o l a t i n g the 0.2 pct flow s t r e s s to 100 pct m a r -
t e n s i t e gives a s t r e n g t h i n d i c a t i v e of a 0.4 pct c a r b o n
m a r t e n s i t e t e s t e d in tension; 4 this s t r e n g t h is much
lower than expected e s p e c i a l l y for the alloys quenched
f r o m 740~ A s i m i l a r r e s u l t was found by T a m u r a e t
a l s who quenched a s e r i e s of F e - C alloys f r o m 785~
they found that the s t r e n g t h of the d u a l - p h a s e s t r u c -
t u r e s v a r i e d a p p r o x i m a t e l y l i n e a r l y with p e r c e n t m a r -
t e n s i t e , and that the s t r e n g t h for the 100 pct m a r t e n -
site s t r u c t u r e obtained by e x t r a p o l a t i o n was c o n s i d e r -
ably below the m e a s u r e d s t r e n g t h of a 100 pct m a r t e n -
site alloy. One p o s s i b i l i t y c o n s i d e r e d was a u t o t e m p e r -
ing in the higher c a r b o n m a r t e n s i t e s so only 0.4 pct
c a r b o n r e m a i n s in s o l u t i o n i n d e p e n d e n t of the i n i t i a l
c a r b o n content of the a u s t e n i t e . However an X - r a y
study of s a m p l e s quenched f r o m d i f f e r e n t t e m p e r a -
t u r e s was i n d i c a t i v e of an i n c r e a s i n g c a r b o n content
with d e c r e a s i n g t e m p e r a t u r e . F o r example, s p e c i m e n s
quenched f r o m 740~ had a double d i f f r a c t i o n peak
f r o m high c a r b o n t e t r a g o n a l m a r t e n s i t e while a f t e r
q u e n c h i n g f r o m 800~ only a s i n g l e d i f f r a c t i o n peak
6 7 2 - V O L U M E 9A, MAY 1978
f r o m lower c a r b o n and a p p a r e n t l y cubic m a r t e n s i t e
is o b s e r v e d .
The m a j o r q u e s t i o n r a i s e d by the flow s t r e s s r e -
s u i t s is why the higher c a r b o n c o n t a i n i n g dual phase
s t r u c t u r e s have the s a m e a p p a r e n t s t r e n g t h as the low
c a r b o n a l l o y s . Two of the f a c t o r s that could be con-
t r i b u t i n g to the l o w e r i n g of the flow s t r e s s at low
s t r a i n s a r e : 1) t h e r e a r e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s t r a i n s f r o m
the t r a n s f o r m a t i o n u n d e r s t r e s s of the r e t a i n e d a u s -
tenite in the higher c a r b o n m a r t e n s i t e s , %1~ and 2) a
l a r g e r B a u s c h i n g e r effect due to the lower t r a n s f o r -
m a t i o n t e m p e r a t u r e and l a r g e r t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s t r a i n s
in the higher c a r b o n m a r t e n s i t e s ; n a B a u s c h i n g e r ef-
fect was p r o p o s e d to explain the lower yield of a c i c u -
l a r f e r r i t i c pipe line s t e e l s . 12 T h e s e would not explain
the higher s t r a i n r e s u l t s , but in this case the independ-
ence of the t e n s i l e s t r e n g t h could be due to the f r a c -
t u r e of m a r t e n s i t e r e g i o n s p r i o r to r u p t u r e . It has
b e e n found 13 that m a r t e n s i t e c r a c k i n g is g r e a t e s t
when the c a r b o n content is high and when the volume
f r a c t i o n of m a r t e n s i t e is l a r g e enough to c r e a t e m a r -
t e n s i l e s t r i n g e r s . M a r t e n s i t e f r a c t u r e was not ob-
s e r v e d at s t r a i n s as low as 5 pct u n l e s s the volume
f r a c t i o n was g r e a t e r than about 40 pct. Thus in alloys
of c o m m e r c i a l i n t e r e s t , that is, those c o n t a i n i n g about
20 pct m a r t e n s i t e , c r a c k i n g a p p a r e n t l y does not influ-
ence the p r o p e r t i e s .
A n o t h e r p o s s i b i l i t y is that m a r t e n s i t e has a lower
s t r e n g t h when it is f o r m e d s u r r o u n d e d by a f e r r i t e
m a t r i x than when f o r m e d f r o m a fully a u s t e n i t i c s t e e l .
The t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s u b s t r u c t u r e and t h e r e f o r e
s t r e n g t h , of a m a r t e n s i t e i s l a n d f o r m e d in a soft f e r -
r i t e m a t r i x may be quite d i f f e r e n t f r o m the s u b s t r u c -
t u r e f o r m e d when a s t e e l is t r a n s f o r m i n g f r o m a u s -
tenite to 100 pct m a r t e n s i t e . A u s t e n i t e is g e n e r a l l y
s t r o n g e r than f e r r i t e and will t h e r e f o r e i m p o s e m o r e
s e v e r e c o n s t r a i n s on the f o r m i n g m a r t e n s i t e r e g i o n s .
A c a r e f u l t r a n s m i s s i o n e l e c t r o n m i c r o s c o p e study
should be able to c l a r i f y this s u g g e s t i o n .
It thus a p p e a r s that the flow s t r e s s b e i n g only de-
pendent upon the p e r c e n t a g e m a r t e n s i t e in the s t r u c -
t u r e is f o r t u i t o u s and caused by a c o m b i n a t i o n of e l -
O
o I I I I I
--- /
o. o
O
i! 04
I---
<'> iLr 0
I I/n~/AA quenchtemp. *C -
_1 a ~ IA A 740
9 800
n 820
o I I I I I o
0 0.1 0.2 0.:3 0.4 0.5
WT. % CARBON
F i g . 2 - - T h e flow s t r e s s at 1 p c t s t r a i n f o r d u a l p h a s e F e -
M n - C a l l o y s a s a f u n c t i o n of c a r b o n c o n t e n t and q u e n c h t e m -
perature.
METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS A