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Investigating the Tensile Properties of 22MnB5 After Austenitization and Quenching with Different Initial Microstructures
Luleå University of Technology, Department of Engineering Sciences and Mathematics, Solid Mechanics. Gestamp Hardtech AB, Technology and Innovation Office, Ektjärnsvägen 5, 973 45 Luleå, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0009-0008-4577-6626
Luleå University of Technology, Department of Engineering Sciences and Mathematics, Solid Mechanics.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5218-396X
Luleå University of Technology, Department of Engineering Sciences and Mathematics, Solid Mechanics. Gestamp Hardtech AB, Technology and Innovation Office, Ektjärnsvägen 5, 973 45 Luleå, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-3514-9441
2025 (English)In: Metals, E-ISSN 2075-4701, Vol. 15, no 6, article id 589Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

In the automotive industry, structural components are often produced via press hardening, enabling rapid production and the use of ultra-high-strength steels. In this process, steels are heated to an austenitic state and are then formed and quenched in rapid succession. The initial steel that enters the press-hardening production line varies, where the microstructure is a result of previous production steps. This work was performed to investigate the possible effects of the initial microstructure on the final mechanical properties for rapidly quenched samples. Although the initial microstructure is transformed during austenitization, the steel can still be affected by its prior history. Steels with three different initial microstructures were evaluated, with only minor variations in chemical composition and thicknesses. The Lankford coefficients and the failure strains were dependent on the orientation of the samples. However, for a given orientation, there were only minor variations between the different steels with respect to anisotropy, strength, and ductility. The anisotropy could be correlated with the microstructure through the calculation of Taylor factors based on measurements using electron backscatter diffraction. The minor influence from the initial steel microstructure on the final mechanical properties indicates robustness suitable for mass production.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
MDPI, 2025. Vol. 15, no 6, article id 589
Keywords [en]
press hardening, hot stamping, 22MnB5, Lankford coefficients, anisotropy
National Category
Metallurgy and Metallic Materials
Research subject
Solid Mechanics
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-113992DOI: 10.3390/met15060589ISI: 001516030300001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105009024154OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ltu-113992DiVA, id: diva2:1981124
Funder
Luleå University of Technology
Note

Validerad;2025;Nivå 2;2025 (u5);

Full text license: CC BY 4.0; 

Funder: Gestamp Hardtech AB;

Available from: 2025-07-03 Created: 2025-07-03 Last updated: 2026-05-20Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. A Modeling and Experimental Study of Microstructure Evolution and Mechanical Properties of Press Hardening Steels
Open this publication in new window or tab >>A Modeling and Experimental Study of Microstructure Evolution and Mechanical Properties of Press Hardening Steels
2026 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Within the automotive industry, the press hardening process has been increasingly used to manufacture components. The process allows for both ultra high strength as well as good design freedom of the components. The steel is first austenitized, followed by forming and cooling. The work within this thesis was aimed at modeling this process, where variations in the initial microstructure and austenitization parameters were introduced. The steel grade 22MnB5 was utilized throughout the work, with three different initial states being studied, hot rolled, cold rolled, and cold rolled which was soft annealed. Tensile testing was performed for rapidly quenched samples, as well as for samples cooled at lower rates, where mixtures of phases were present in the final microstructures. A phase transformation model was calibrated based on estimated final phase fractions, dilatometry, and EBSD reconstruction of the prior austenite. The effect of the austenitization parameters on grain growth was studied, where a grain growth model based on the average grain size and temperature was implemented. The relationship between the austenitization conditions and mechanical properties was evaluated with bending tests according to the standard VDA 238-100. To study the relationship between the microstructure evolution during cooling and the final tensile properties, 48 samples were heat treated with unique thermal histories. The temperature histories from the heat treatments were supplied to a phase transformation model, which in turn was coupled to a non-linear regression model that estimated the tensile properties. For a martensitic microstructure, there were minor differences in tensile properties for different initial states of the steel, with similar strength, ductility, and anisotropy. For lower cooling rates, the tensile properties and phase transformation kinetics displayed differences with respect to the initial steel. The grain growth was limited for samples heated up to 930 ˚C, and could be modeled based on the average grain size. For a higher austenitization temperature, there were instances of inhomogeneous grain growth. There were only minor effects of the austenitization conditions on the bending properties, with an average bending angle over 90 ˚C for all thermal histories. The estimations of the tensile properties displayed a minor effect of the split between the training and testing data, with an acceptable agreement with the measured properties. The work presented in this thesis can aid in the modeling of the press hardening process, giving insights into the effects of process variations.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Luleå University of Technology, 2026
Series
Doctoral thesis / Luleå University of Technology, ISSN 1402-1544
Keywords
Press hardening, Hot stamping, 22MnB5, Phase transformation modeling, Automotive steels
National Category
Solid and Structural Mechanics
Research subject
Solid Mechanics
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-117558 (URN)978-91-8142-079-1 (ISBN)978-91-8142-080-7 (ISBN)
Public defence
2026-09-04, E231, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, 09:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2026-05-21 Created: 2026-05-20 Last updated: 2026-08-14Bibliographically approved

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Lundholm, ErikKajberg, JörgenÅkerström, Paul

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