Microstructure evolutions during hot rolling of low carbon microalloyed steels ; Evolutions microstructurales au cours du laminage à chaud d’aciers bas carbone microalliés

There are nowadays major driving forces for the development of Advanced High Strength steels presenting enhanced formability properties for automotive applications. This PhD-work is part of a research project that aims at producing complex phase (CP) steels by hot rolling, seeking for an enhanced combination of strength and stretch flangeability. Thus, this PhD-work focused on the description and the understanding of the microstructural evolutions during the various steps of the hot rolling process of low carbon microalloyed steels. First, the evolution of the precipitation state and austenite grain sizes during the reheating stage of hot rolling were studied. A precipitation model was developed and coupled to a simple grain growth model based on Zener pinning to describe microstructural evolutions that occurs during reheating. Then, the microstructural evolutions occurring after the hot rolling deformation passes were analyzed. The kinetics of austenite recrystallization and strain-induced precipitation were determined by stress relaxation and direct microstructural observations. Models were also developed for describing these microstructural evolutions. A final chapter focused on establishing the relationships between the hot rolling parameters, the microstructures, and the mechanical properties obtained. The phase transformation during continuous cooling was established, including the effect of austenite deformation. Then, six different hot rolling processes were applied, and the resulting microstructures and mechanical properties were extensively characterized. This PhD-work provided a better understanding of the microstructural evolutions taking place during hot rolling and of the resulting microstructures and mechanical properties. The modeling work presented could extended to the study of other alloys. Several strategies for improving the combination of strength and stretch flangeability were proposed. ; Il existe actuellement une dynamique de développement d’aciers à très haute résistance, destinés à ...