In this study, the effect of tempering on the stretch-flangeability is investigated in 980 MPa grade dual-phase steel consisting of ferrite and martensite phases. During tempering at 300 oC, the strength of ferrite increases due to the pinning of dislocations by carbon atoms released from martensite, while martensite is softened as a consequence of a reduction in its carbon super-saturation. This strength variation results in a considerable increase in yield strength of the steel, without loss of tensile strength. The hole expansion test shows that steel tempered for 20 min (T20 steel) exhibits a higher hole expansion ratio than that of steel without tempering (T0 steel). In T0 steel, severe plastic localization in ferrite causes easy pore formation at the ferrite-martensite interface and subsequent brittle crack propagation through the highly deformed ferrite area during hole expansion testing; this propagation is mainly attributed to the large difference in hardness between ferrite and martensite. When the difference in hardness is not so large (T20 steel), on the other hand, tempered martensite can be considerably deformed together with ferrite, thereby delaying pore formation and hindering crack propagation by crack blunting. Eventually, these different deformation and fracture behaviors contribute to the superior stretch-flangeability of T20 steel.

Harmonic structure materials are materials with a core–shell structure having a shell with a small grain size and a core with a relatively large grain size. They are in the spotlight because their mechanical properties reportedly feature strength similar to that of a sintered powder with a fine grain size and elongation similar to that of a sintered powder with a coarse grain size at the same time. In this study, the tensile properties, microstructure, and stretchflangeability of harmonic structure SUS304L made using powder metallurgy are investigated to check its suitability for automotive applications. The harmonic powders are made by mechanical milling and sintered using a spark plasma sintering method at 1173 K and a pressure of 50 MPa in a cylindrical die. The sintered powders of SUS304L having harmonic structure (harmonic SUS304L) exhibit excellent tensile properties compared with sintered powders of SUS304L having homogeneous microstructure. In addition, the harmonic SUS304L has excellent stretch-flangeability compared with commercial advanced high-strength steels (AHSSs) at a similar strength grade. Thus, the harmonic SUS304L is more suitable for automotive applications than conventional AHSSs because it exhibits both excellent tensile properties and stretch-flangeability.

Research into the development of high strength (1 GPa) and superior formability, such as total elongation (10%), and stretch-flangeability (50%) in hot-rolled steel was conducted with a thermomechanically controlled hot-rolling process. To improve the overall mechanical properties simultaneously, low-carbon steel using precipitation hardening of Ti-Nb-V multimicroalloying elements was employed. And, ideal microstructural characteristics for the realization of balanced mechanical properties were determined using SEM, EBSD, and TEM analyses. The developed steel, 0.06C-2.0Mn-0.5Cr-0.2(Ti + Nb + V), consisted of ferrite as the matrix phase and second phase of granular bainite with fine carbides (20-50 nm) in both phases. The significant factor of the microstructural characteristics that affect stretch-flangeability was found to be the microstructural homogeneity. The microstructural homogeneity, manifest in such characteristics as low localization of plastic strain and internally stored energy, was identified by grain average misorientation method, analyzed by electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) and hardness deviation between the phases. In summar, a hot-rolled steel having a composition 0.06C-2.0Mn-0.5Cr-0.2(Ti + Nb + V) demonstrated a tensile strength of 998 MPa, a total elongation of 19%, and a hole expansion ratio of 65%. The most important factors to satisfy the mechanical property were the presence of fine carbides and the microstructural homogeneity, which provided low hardness deviation between the phases.

자동차 휠, 멤버 등의 소재로 사용되는 인장강도 580MPa급 열연강판의 버링성형성을 향상시키기 위하여 강판의 신장 플랜지성(stretch-flangeability)에 대한 미세조직 및 열간압연후 냉각인자의 영향에 대하여 검토하였다. 열간압연후 3단 냉각제어 및 권취온도의 극저온화에 의하여 신장플랜지성이 우수한 페라이트-베이나이트 복합조직강의 제조가 가능하며, 3단 제어냉각에서 강판의 온도를 Ar3 직하의 페라이트변태역에서 일정 시간 유지하면 페라이트 변태 및 NbC의 석출이 조장됨을 확인하였다. 페라이트-베이나이트 복합조직 열연강판의 우수한 신장플랜지성은 3단 냉각 및 극저온 권취에 의한 등축 페라이트 분율의 증가, 입계 세멘타이트의 미세화 및 구성 상간의 경도차 저하에 의하여 타발공정에서의 미소균열 생성 및 전파가 억제되기 때문인 것으로 판단되었다. 아울러 0.08wt%C-1.5wt%Mn-0.04wt%Nb 성분계를 이용하여 제조된 인장강도 580MPa급 페라이트-베이나이트 복합조직 열연강판은 연신율 22% 이상, 구멍확장율 (신장플랜지성) 90% 이상의 재질특성을 가지며, 버링비 60% 이상의 자동차 휠 디스크에 적용 가능한 것으로 판명되었다.