Role of Mn and P in Texture of Bake Hardening Steel during Heat Treatment

Samples of three ultra-low carbon bake hardening (ULC-BH) steels (BH-0, BH-Mn, and BH-P) were prepared by two annealing processes followed by water quenching and overaging. The texture evolution in the as-treated steels was explored via EBSD and ODE, and the roles of Mn and P elements as well as heat treatment processes in the texture orientation and intensity were investigated. It is found that overaging significantly increases texture intensity of BH-0 and BH-Mn steel, while markedly hinders the texture development in BH-P steel. Based on the microstructure analysis, it can be deduced that the texture variations in BH-0 and BH-Mn steels mainly contribute to carbide (in BH-0 and BH-Mn steels) and manganese containing compound (in BH-Mn steel) or partially to C segregation to dislocation, while the texture variation in BH-P steel is mainly caused by the P and C co-segregation formed during quenching.