Effect of Ti on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a hot rolled advanced high strength steel strip

The addition of titanium is a well-known microalloying concept for hot rolled structural steels. Concerning advanced high strength steels for the automotive sector, the use of Ti microalloying (usually with Nb-V) has been an active research area. However, Ti addition has not been explored in depth. For the current contribution, a laboratory hot rolled 0.2C-2.4Mn-1.5Si steel with and without Ti addition was studied. Mechanical testing of the hot strip revealed a very high UTS (1GPa) for the Ti added steel, whilst for the unalloyed chemistry the UTS was some 300 MPa lower. Observation of the hot rolled microstructures via optical microscopy showed a significantly higher hardenability for the Ti added steel. Moreover, X-ray diffraction analysis indicated a significant amount of retained austenite in the Ti added strip, which transformed completely to martensite after the tensile test. Further analysis via TEM and chemical extraction indicated that Ti was present both as Ti(C,N) precipitates and in solution. Finally, in light of these observations, the possible mechanisms leading to the enhanced hardenability observed for the Ti added hot rolled strip steel were discussed