Effect of short duration tempering on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a continuously annealed dual phase steel

Abstract

The effect of short duration tempering on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a continuously annealed dual phase steel was investigated using techniques like electron microscopy, dilatometry and thermodynamic calculations. It was found that a complex interplay of phenomena like tempering of martensite, quench aging of ferrite and recovery of the overall structure was responsible for the change in mechanical properties recorded.

Keywords:

• DP steel
• Tempering
• Martensite
• Aging
• Mechanical properties

The authors are grateful to the management of Tata Steel for allowing this work to be carried out. We would also like to thank Dr. M. Ghosh of NML, Jamshedpur, for performing the TEM. Special thanks are due to Ms I. Mukherjee, Masters Student at Bengal Engineering and Science University for preparing the optical microstructure.