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Description
The implementation of the Small Grant Scheme (SGS) will allow for the practical use of the knowledge and research skills of Principal Investigator (PI) and people involved in the implementation of the project in order to develop technologies with a high implementation potential in the industry. This will allow to increase the competences related to the commercialization of research results and will contribute to enhancing the cooperation with the industry. The concept of the requested grant is based on the involvement of female researchers and male researchers at various stages of their research careers. The project management concept assumes that all women involved in the implementation of SGS will act as work package leaders, which will allow them to increase their competences in the field of research team management. Three research trips for female researchers have also been planned, which will contribute to increasing their knowledge, research skills and establishing international cooperation. The implementation of SGS will significantly contribute to strengthening the scientific career prospects of PI and female researchers involved in the project by increasing their knowledge, competences, and scientific achievements in the field of technical sciences, and will increase the role of female researchers on the international arena.The aim of the proposed SGS is to develop novel technological concepts for ultra-high strength and ductile automotive sheets and plates made of economical medium manganese steels such as Quenching and Partitioning, combining high strength, plasticity, fracture resistance and showing favorable technological properties.Within the SGS, 2 innovative thermomechanical processing and heat treatment technologies will be developed, which allow for the development of cost-effective and light-weight parts with improved safety and optimized environmental performance with a great application potential in the automotive industry.
Summary of project results
There was a need to develope the novel technological concepts for ultra-high strength and ductile automotive sheets and plates made of economical medium manganese steels, combining high strength, plasticity, fracture resistance and showing beneficial technological properties with high application potential in the automotive industry. The aim of Project was to develop 2 innovative energy-saving, highly-efficient thermomechanical processing and heat treatment technologies for quenching and partitioning medium-manganese steels, in order to produce sheets and plates showing high strength while maintaining good plasticity with a microstructure composed of low-C martensite and retained austenite with high application potential in the automotive industry.
As a result of the Project implementation, 2 innovative grades of 0.17C-4.2Mn-0.98Al-0.87Si-0.05Nb and 0.17C-5Mn-0.55Si-0.53Al-0.2Mo-0.06Nb type stees were designed and produced. The optimized technological assumptions for semi-industrial tests of hot rolling process and optimized time-temperature parameters of quenching and partitioning heat treatment were developed under dilatometric measurements and thermomechanical simulations using Gleeble. The designed parameters of thermomechanical processing and heat treatment were verified during semi-industrial trails using the LPS/B semi-industrial line and as a result, plates with a thickness of 12 mm and 7 mm and sheets witha thickness of 3mm were obtained. Microstructures of sheets and plates were composed of low-C martensite and 10-14 vol.% of fine lath-type retained austenite uniformly distributed in a microstructure. Produced sheets and plates were characterized by a combination of high strength (UTS:1150-1400 MPa; YS:650-815 MPa) and benefical ductility (TEl: 8-16%). However, their impact strength requires further optimization.
Technologies developed with the Project were registered for Intellectual Property Protection. Developed technlogies allow to produced cost-effective and light-weight automotive parts with improved safety and optimized environmental performance. The implementation of designed technologies into industrial practice will contribute to increase the importance and competitiveness of enterprises in the international arena and also allow to increase the quality of life of car users. The developed technologies allow to increase their passive safety by producing elements characterized by the ability to absorb a significant amount of energy generated during a collision with another vehicle or an obstacle