Three generations of advanced high-strength steels for automotive applications, Part III The third generation Editor's This article is Part UL of a three-part series summariz~ ing the three generations of advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) used in automotive applications, Part I, whick ‘appeared in the November/December 2013 issue, discussed first-generation HSS, Part Il, which appeared in the January/February 2014 issue, dis- ‘cussed second-generation AHSS. irst-generation _advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) have very limited formability; second-generation AHSS have high strength and are more formable, Note: but they are relatively expensive because of their high-cost alloying, elements, As a result, demand has ‘grown for a new generation of steel that has high formability and high strength, but is available at a rea- sonable cost Several third-generation AHSS have been developed in the last few years, but only two classes cur- rently are in production: quenching. and partitioning (Q&=P) steels and transformation-induced _ plasticity (TRIP)-aided bainitic ferrite (TBF) steels (see Figure 1) Q&P Steels The Q&P steel grade comprises car- bon, manganese, silicon, nickel, and molybdenum alloying clements. Depending on the strength level alloying elements can be as high as 4 percent, which is much lower than that of second-generation AHSS, During heat treating of Q&=P steel, quenching is interrupted, and the steel is reheated for partitioning, ‘ola Elongation igure 1 This reales 3 19 12 pevoent stable ze See, «| 00800 3,000 1,200 1.400 1,600 1,900 2,000, ‘Strength (MPa) ‘This “banana curve” compares the three generations of AHSS. retained austenite, 20 to 40 percent ferrite, and 50 to 80 percent mar- Baosteel was the first company to commercialize Q&P steels, initially with 980 MPa (140 KSI) and later 1,180 MPa (175 KSI). The firm has demonstrated that a B-pillar reinforcement can be cold-formed using Q&P 1180. Auto/Steel Part- nership (A/SP) also has tested Q&xP 980 using GMS B-pillar die, prov- ing that the steel is more formable and less prone to edge cracking than DP 980. Several automakers int China have adopted Q&@P steels in ‘A-and B-pillar reinforcements. Researchers have developed steels up t0 2,100-MPa (305-KS1) tensile strength with 9 percent uni | © mia ste © Third Gonoration iss = Under development e140, MART 1200 «Fst oon Tee a aes ar 1100 g 133 anos Bb0 8S ta Sa on Lio § 2 ea rope 2 i = i & am oF an | lien ea atagecng ee Engineering Strain (%) Figure 2 ‘Several third-generation AHSS are compared here with first-generation AHSS at 980- (MPa (140-KSI) and 1,180-MPa (175-KSI) strength levets.Figure 3 ‘The 2014 Nissan Infinit O50 has coldformed TAF 1180 in is A- and B-pllars and rocker relnforements, form elongation and about 13 per cent total elongation. The elonga tUon level of this sie! is comparable {0 DP980, which isa cold-formable srade (see Figure 2) TBF Steels TBR, # low-alloy grade Uke Q&P, can be produced by existing heat- treatment facilities. Stable retained austenite is its key component Kobe Steel has developed TBF steels from 980 MPa (140 KSI) to 1,470 MPa (215 KSD. Nissan has developed cold-forming techniques to overcome springback and exces- sive necking, as well as spot weld ing techniques to help ensure the strength is not reduced around weld nuggets for TBF 1180 grade (175 KSD, TBF 1180 has been used in A: and B-pillars and rocker reinforee- ments for the 2014 Nissan Infinii® Q50 (see Figure 3). TBF currently is shout 4 percent of the body-n-white [Nissan is planning to increase the tse of cold-formed, ultrahigh-strength Is up to 25 percent by 2017, NanoSte A third class of third-generation AHSS, NanoSteel®, is still under development and riot yet commer- cially available, NanoSteel Co. was established in 2002 after six ‘of research at Idaho National Labo- ratory, In 2012 the company started mrs Reduction (6) 2011 Honda Accord 328 kg (725 Ibs.) 2 NATSA LW 255 kg (562 Ibs.) 2 Nanostee! BIW 228 kg (508 Io) 30 DAG compared a NanoSiee! body-in-white wth a Honda Accord benchmark and NHTSAS Lightweight Vehicle, made of conventional AHSS. production trials of this AHSS sheet which has a nanocrystalline struc- ture created by special chemistry and heat treatment. After casting, the steel is mainly austenitic with some borides. After heat treatment, austenite is refined to nanometer scale, During plastic deformation, stress-induced nanoscale phase for” ‘mation increases strain hardening. German company Engineering + Design AG (EDAG) recently pub- lished a design study in which the steel used in 2011 Honda Accord? ‘was replaced with NanoSteel prod- ucts. The results were compared to an earlier study funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that used Conventional AHSS, The results are summarized in Figure 4. ren Bil tcl manager ot Bur Maeve tn Anhra, Tk, erence ‘rmbt ond Tela Alo x pefenor ld dco of he Cntr for Preeson Forming (GPP) The Obi Sute Univers 239 Baker ‘Systems 1971 Nel Ave, Combs OF 43210, 14-252-5063, lian Teosu. cy, mercer Inge sowneroen on Resouces He G hg “Adel eh Seong Sc 1 Konura, “Formally of TP Type ani Ferrite Stel Shes” Kobe Tecnology Reve Frcsigs of Gre Desig Se Sent oe eerie cel see! Dore Tite Livni, Mi May 2012 ond 2013. Pcs of ition Sap cn New Developments in Advanced ighSteng Shea Stet sponsored by Asacaton for In tnd Se Teo Wl Cal, jume 2073 H._ Singh “Nana! te Wing and 1G; Sper, “Quenching a nat ee