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.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations鈥揷itations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.