A Strain-Induced Martensite Transformation Model for TRIP Steels in Cyclic Loading Condition

Abstract

TRIP-assisted steels are ideal for lightweight automotive applications due to not only its high strength and ductility but also the fatigue resistance, which result from the special strengthening mechanism of phase transformation in deformation processes. In this paper, a kinematic transformation model is developed, based on shear-band intersections, to reasonably evaluate the transformation from austenite into martensite with cyclic loading. The transformation process is controlled by parameters, such as, increase temperature, transformation driving force, shear-band formation rate and shear-band intersection volume fraction, by which the influences of cyclic loading variables (such as, number of cycles, strain amplitude and frequency) on transformation from austenite into martensite are predicted. The microstructure volume fraction is tested by X-Ray to verify the model.