The effect of stress triaxiality on the phase transformation in transformation induced plasticity steels: Experimental investigation and modelling the transformation kinetics

In situ multiaxial loading during neutron diffraction tests were undertaken on a low-alloyed Quenched and Partitioning (Q&P) Transformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) Bainitic Ferrite (TBF) steel with dispersed austenite particles. The effect of stress triaxiality on the evolution of the deformation-induced martensite is investigated under uniaxial- and equibiaxial-tension as well as tension/compression with a ratio of −1:6. It is shown that transformation is not a monotonic function of stress triaxiality; the amount of deformation-induced martensite is similar under uniaxial and equibiaxial tension but it is significantly smaller under tension/compression. The transformation kinetics are modeled using a recently developed kinetic model that accounts for the stress state and the stability and size of the austenite particles. The larger austenite particles transform first and the mean volume of the austenite particles decreases with increasing strain; the decreasing austenite particle size impedes the phase transformation as the deformation proceeds. It is concluded that stress triaxiality alone cannot account for the differences in the transformation kinetics between different loading states and that the number of potential nucleation sites depends on the stress state.