PNNL

At this year’s American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) 2018 General Meeting, a research team featuring members from industry and Argonne, Oak Ridge, and Pacific Northwest national laboratories was awarded the American Iron and Steel Institute Medal for their work featured in “Deformation Mode and Strain Path Dependence of Martensite Phase Transformation in a Medium Manganese TRIP Steel.” The medal recognizes technical papers with “special merit and importance in connection with the activities and interests of the iron and steel industry.” The award was presented during the AISI Board of Directors Breakfast on May 01, 2018 in Washington D.C.

Along with collaborators from AK Steel, General Motors, ORNL, and ANL, PNNL’s Computational Engineering group contributed to the work and resulting paper, which examined transformation-induced plasticity, or TRIP, steel stamped into a “T”-shape panel using a combination of digital image correlation and synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The goal was to determine the influence of deformation modes and strain paths on the steel’s crystalline (martensitic) structure transformation during panel stamping and also was motivated by the need for experimental simulation data to support improved material selection and implementation.

According to Erin Barker, Computational Engineering Group Lead, the automotive industry’s emphasis on third generation advanced high strength steels, known as 3GAHSS, stems from the material’s combination of strength and ductility. Hence, an improved understanding of martensitic transformation when 3GAHSS is stamped for parts may afford better control of its formability, strength, and ductility.

“This collaborative work with industry partners engaged state-of-the-art experimental methods using resources and expertise available at national laboratories to closely examine deformation modes and strain paths on martensitic transformation during the stamping of steel panels,” Barker said. “Improving the available input and validation data for simulations will contribute positively to enhanced predictive models that use finite element simulations of 3GAHSS stamping processes and component performance to guide 3GAHSS material selection and implementation. It is an honor that AISI recognized the research’s value with an American Iron and Steel Institute Medal.”

The American Iron and Steel Institute Medal was established in 1927 by AISI’s Board of Directors in honor of the late Elbert H. Gary, AISI’s founder and first president, to stimulate improvement in the iron and steel and allied industries.

Reference:

• Wu W, Y-W Wang, P Makrygiannis, F Zhu, GA Thomas, LG Hector, X Hu, X Sun, and Y Ren. 2018. “Deformation Mode and Strain Path Dependence of Martensite Phase Transformation in a Medium Manganese TRIP Steel.” Materials Science & Engineering A 711:611-623. DOI: 10.1016/j.msea.2017.11.008.

Related:

• AISI Announces 2018 Institute Medal Winners