Advance Structures
Advance Structures
Advance Structures
High-Strength
Steels New Types
on the Block
The world’s steel companies
have worked with customers
to create new alloys with
mechanical properties and
performance characteristics ome 40 years ago, the steel industry embarked on intensive research and devel-
New Swedish Steels Strain versus n-Value for U.S. Steel’s Dual-Phase AHSS Alloys
Include Rollforming Alloys
Swedish steelmaker SSAB offers a 0.30
Instantaneous n-value
and HSLA 340, the dual-phase steel Phase 780, NuPhase 800 (offered in 1500 offers a tensile strength to 1500
exhibited nearly a 20-percent increase in thicknesses of 0.8 to 2.0 mm) has a MPA. The firm recommends Usibor
draw-depth capability (using a T-chan- slightly different microstructure, says a 1500 as a replacement for many auto-
nel test). www.uss.com Nucor official. It’s recommended for motive components currently formed of
applications where other AHSS of dual-phase steels, including front- and
Nucor Increasing its Capacity comparable strength would not pro- rear-end rail extensions, A-, B- and
to Supply Galvanized AHSS vide adequate formability. Its mechan- hinge pillars and B-pillar reinforce-
Nucor entered the AHSS arena in ical properties: 800 to 980 MPa tensile ments, and door and bumper beams. It’s
2006 with the introduction of DP 590— strength; 680 to 850 MPa yield offered cold- or hot-rolled, and joins the
hot- and cold-rolled, galvanized and strength; 10 percent elongation. firm’s long list of AHSS steels, including
galvannealed products (the firm does www.nucor.com multiphase alloys (ferrite plus bainite
not produce an uncoated cold-rolled plus pearlite, with maximum 0.15 C) to
dual-phase steel). ArcelorMittal Creates 1200-MPa tensile strength, dual-phase
Nucor’s Dual Phase 590 is produced New R & D Entity steels, and TRIP steels to 980 MPa. In
at its CSP (compact strip production) When Arcelor and Mittal merged fact, just entering the testing phase late
facility in Berkeley, SC, in hot-rolled several months ago, the company quick- in 2007 was the firm’s newest TRIP
form from 2.5 to 6.5 mm thick, and ly formed its Automotive Worldwide steel, TRIP-Dual 1200, an advanced
cold-rolled hot-dip galvanized or gal- Business Unit, marrying the firm’s two ultra-high-strength bainitic steel.
vannealed sheet from 0.8 to 2.0 mm research and development groups. The Also, last spring ArcelorMittal, at a
thick. Compared to other DP590 grades new unit, stocked with more than 400 pair of European automotive confer-
available, Nucor officials claim that its engineers and technicians devoted to ences, reported results of its MARS
process yields improved mechanical automotive-related R & D projects, aims (mass-saving approach to rear suspen-
properties—elongation, formability, to develop breakthrough steel products sion) project, led by its automotive-
impact toughness and weldability to with quick speed to market, in addition applications research center in France,
name a few. For example, its hot-rolled to offer technical support. to study the impact of ultra-high-
DP 590 offers an impact energy of 100 New from ArcelorMittal Automo- strength steels in multi-link rear-sus-
ft.-lb., reportedly more than twice that tive is the press-hardened boron steel pension systems. Replacing high-
of other DP 590 steels the company has Usibor 1500 (maximum 0.25 C, 0.35 Si, strength and very-high-strength steels
tested. Dual Phase 590 has a tensile 1.4 Mn, 0.30 Cr and 0.005o B. Similar to with the firm’s multiphase steels
strength of 620 MPa, yield strength of SSAB’s Docol Boron 2/Domex 024 B (MP800 and MP800 HY), as well as a
380 MPa, total elongation of 25 percent and Boron 04/Domex 044 B, Usibor dual-phase steel (DP 980 HY, 675 MPa
and an n-value of 0.168.
Building on its success with Dual
Phase 590, Nucor recently launched
Dual Phase 780 (780 MPa minimum
tensile strength), also available hot- or
cold-rolled, galvanized or galvannealed.
Although the company can only pro-
duce hot-rolled dual-phase steels down
to 2.5 mm thick, it’s pursuing continu-
ous improvement at its mills so that it
will soon be able to produce lighter-
gauge hot-rolled products. And, later
this year Nucor will commission a new
galvanizing line at its facility in Decatur,
AL, to increase production capacity for
galvanized and galvannealed Dual Phase
590 and 780 in a variety of gauges and
widths.
Lastly, in its effort to provide metal-
formers with dual-phase steels with
optimum formability, specifically for
stretch-flange applications, Nucor
recently introduced NuPhase 800 steels. This ArcelorMittal cold-rolling mill in Brazil reduces the thickness of flat steel
A multi-phase steel similar to Dual products by rolling at room temperature.
yield strength, 1010 MPa tensile Japanese-Made Alloy High hole-expanding ratio (HER)—
strength), sliced the weight of the axle by Offers Improved this DP steel combines elongation and
21 percent, with a negligible cost Stretch-Flange Formability stretch-flange formability and has a
increase. www.arcelormittal.com Japan’s JFE Steel Corp. has offered medium yield point, medium elonga-
dual-phase cold-rolled advanced-high- tion and medium HER, recommended
strength sheet steels in the 780 to 1470- for bumper reinforcements, seat frames
SAE Publishes MPa tensile-strength range for several and seat rails.
years, offering good press formability, Extra-high HER—this steel has a
AHSS Sheet Steel spot weldability and stable mechanical high yield point, low elongation and
Specification properties, to improve vehicle crashwor- high HER, offering stretch-flange
Surface Vehicle Recommended thiness and fuel efficiency. In 2004 the formability equal to that of the 590-
Practice, document SAE J2745, issued last firm introduced a type with 980-MPa MPa-tensile-strength material. JFE says
July, categorizes and provides mechanical
properties of advanced high-strength auto-
tensile strength, in three variations, that that the steel allows designers to reduce
motive sheet steels. It incorporates dual- reportedly offers improved elongation the weight of seat frames while also
phase, martensitic types and TRIP steels. and stretch-flange formability, due to reducing part-manufacturing costs by
better control of microscopic-crack eliminating the welding of multiple
AHSS Grades—Cold-Rolled propagation during forming. parts. www.jfe-steel.co.jp/en
Min. tensile Min. yield JFE manufactures AHSS steels using
strength, MPa strength, MPa its continuous annealing process with Germans Develop
Dual-phase water quenching (it refers to the process Air-Hardening Steels
440 250 as CAL-WQ). The steels, particularly Salzgitter, Germany, is home to
490 290 the 980 type, have found wide acceptance Salzgitter Flachstahl, the largest steel
590 340
690 550 in seat-frame parts, to allow designers of subsidiary in the Salzgitter Group. In
780 420 seat structures to use the seat itself to 2006, the plant’s 4500 employees pro-
980 550 support impact during collisions. duced some 4.6 million tons of steel.
TRIP steels The JFE line of AHSS steels features The mill works closely with the firm’s
590 380 five products, with tensile strengths of technical customer-support partner,
690 400
780 420 780, 980, 1180, 1370 and 1470 MPa, Salzgitter Mannesmann Forschung, to
Martensitic steels with yield strengths from 430 to 1200 develop target-oriented solutions for
900 700 MPa and a carbon equivalent from 0.09 product and process optimization in
1100 860 to 0.23. The three new 980 types: cooperation with users and customers.
1300 1030 Low yield ratio—a high-ductility This close cooperation, according to
1500 1200
DP steel for stretch-formed parts that company officials, yields customer-ori-
features a low yield point, high elonga- ented and application-related product
AHSS Grades—Hot-Rolled tion and low hole-expanding ratio, rec- development.
Min. tensile Min. yield
strength, MPa strength, MPa ommended for body-in-white struc- An example of this comes with
Dual-phase
tural components such as pillars. Salzgitter’s recent release of two new
590 300
780 380
TRIP steels
590 400
780 450
HHE grades (high hole-expansion—
excellent edge-stretching behavior)
440 310
590 440
780 600
for A- and B-pillars, frame components cooling in the press, and a coating on
and cross members. Stampers can use the steel sheet to avoid oxidation and
existing tooling, says Salzgitter, with scaling of the sheet.
only minimal modifications. One caveat As an application example of the
to using these materials: They cannot be ability of its new steels to be formed,
delivered in galvanized form, since the Salzgitter cites testing performed at a
zinc coating would be compromised Magna facility where center pillars were
during heattreating. Rather, parts must deep-drawn from 1.8-mm-thick LH900
be batch-galvanized after treatment. sheet. Yield strength of the steel averaged
In addition to its new PFHT steels, 400 MPa after forming, 700 MPa after
Salzgitter recently introduced press- hardening and 750 MPa after temper-
hardening (PH) steel 22MnB5, a boron- ing. Tensile strength averaged 550 MPa
alloyed tempered steel that can achieve after forming, 1000 MPa after harden-
tensile strengths to 1300 to 1800 MPa ing and 950 MPa after tempering.
(190 to 260 ksi) after hot forming with Coming down the pike from Salzgit-
controlled in-die quenching (press ter: high-strength and -ductility (HSD)
hardening). These steels also get noto- steels under development for the last
riety for their high yield strength, based few years through a partnership with
on manganese (1.2 to 1.4 weight per- Corus. HSD steels contain high levels of
cent) and boron (0.0020 to 0.0035 manganese, and offer strength levels of
weight percent) content. Also recom- 600-1400 MPa with elongations of 70 to
mended for A- and B-pillars, frame 20 percent, respectively. To produce these
components and cross members, steels, Salzgitter is erecting a new pro-
22MnB5 also would prove ideal for duction line that will include electric-
penetration protection—sills, bumpers arc-furnace steelmaking and strip casting
and bumper mounts, and roof frames. using its BeST (belt-strip casting) tech-
Boron-alloyed tempered steels such nology. www.salzgitter-ag.de/en
as 22MnB5 can be formed in one or two MF
steps, depending on the complexity of Seminar: Higher-Strength Steel—
the component. As-delivered, stampers Solving the Problems
can cold-form the sheet, offered by Learn all about the properties of AHSS and
the techniques used to form and fabricate them at
Salzgitter in thicknesses from 1 to 3 this PMA-sponsored seminar May 22 in Cleveland,
mm and in widths from 900 to 1500 OH. Seminar topics include stretchability and
mm, and then harden in a separate bendability, springback, punch and blankholder
loads, tool temperature and wear, press loads and
process. Or, as an added step, stampers energy requirements, blanking damage and case
can hot-form the previously cold- studies. For more information, please contact
formed parts, with subsequent press Michelle Underwood: munderwood@pma.org,
216/901-8800 ext. 163.
hardening in the die. This requires water
www.metalformingmagazine.com