Beneficial influence of an intercritically rolled recovered ferritic matrix on the mechanical properties of TRIP-assisted multiphase steels

The present study deals with the microstructure and mechanical properties of intercritically rolled TRIP-assisted multiphase steels. It is shown that the occurrence of the TRIP effect in a recovered ferritic matrix brings about an improved strength-ductility balance with respect to a fully recrystallised ferrite matrix. On the other hand, the intercritical deformation does not influence the austenite transformation rate during straining at room temperature. The improvement of the mechanical properties results from the interactions between the transformation strain and the recovered ferrite.