HSLA steels are reinforced by micro-alloying elements that contribute to grain-size refinement and fine carbide precipitation.
Carbon-Manganese (CM) Steels
Solid solution strengthening process is predominantly used for reinforcing higher strength CM steels.
Isotropic (IS) steels
IS steels contain an essentially ferritic microstructure, with the key characteristic of zero delta ‘r’ value, which results in reduced earing tendencies.
Bake Hardenable (BH) Steels
BH steels contain a basic ferritic type of microstructure and are reinforced principally by solid solution strengthening. A special characteristic of these steels is the processing and chemistry engineered to maintain carbon in solution during steel production and then letting this carbon to leave the solution during paint baking. This improves the yield strength of the formed component.
Interstitial-Free (IF) Steels (Low Strength and High Strength)
IF steels contain ultra-low levels of carbon engineered for high work hardening exponents and low yield strengths. The stretchability of these steels is better than that of mild steels. Some IF steel grades are reinforced by a combination of elements for grain refinement, precipitation of carbides and/or nitrides, and solid solution. Phosphorous, which is a solid solution strengthener, is also commonly added for increasing the strength. The higher strength IF steel grades have found use in both closure and structural applications.
Mild Steels
Mild steels contain a basic ferritic microstructure. Examples for this group of steels are drawing quality (DQ) steels and aluminum killed (AKDQ) steels, which are often used as a reference material owing to their broad range of production volume and applications.
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This information has been sourced, reviewed and adapted from materials provided by WorldAutoSteel (World Auto Steel).
For more information on this source, please visit WorldAutoSteel (World Auto Steel).