Understanding the damage initiation and growth mechanisms of two DP800 dual phase grades

[Display omitted] •The dual phase steel initiating more damage sites exhibits longer uniform elongation, as the damage evolution is suppressed.•The suppression of damage growth primarily benefits from higher strain hardening capacity of ferrite in this steel grade.•The improved strain hardening of ferrite originates from alloy elements Cr and Ti.•Strain hardening capacity of ferrite is key to tailor the tradeoff of strength and ductility in dual phase steels. Dual phase (DP) steels are amongst the most widely used structural steels for automotive applications. It is essential to understand the damage initiation and damage growth in these high strength steels and further shed light on improving mechanical properties. In this work, two DP800 dual phase grades are investigated, which exhibit identical ultimate tensile stress but significantly different elongation in the uniaxial tensile test. To explain the difference in ductility, particularly described by uniform elongation, we investigate the damage initiation and growth mechanisms by analyzing microstructural changes upon deformation, such as voids, dislocation structures and the grain morphology. Furthermore, ferrite micropillars in pre-strained samples are tested in situ to capture the strain hardening capability of ferrite. We found that the DP steel with harder martensite and softer ferrite exhibits more damage initiation sites after deforming to an identical strain. However, void growth is much slower compared to the DP steel grade with fewer initiation sites. We explain the suppressed void growth by significant strain-hardening of ferrite surrounding the voids, which is observed in the micropillar compression experiments. The improved strain hardening of ferrite originates primarily from the difference in chromium content considering the negligible influence of dispersed particles.