Stainless steels offer extreme properties. Metastable austenitic steels with high strength and good ductility which are suitable for the most complex cold forming operations are state of the art for several years and already 'on the road' in different types of vehicles. Nevertheless, these grades undergo a steady development especially with regard to an increased yield strength. Current material developments for martensitic stainless steels aim at adding a complete new material class to the well-established boron alloyed carbon steels suitable for hot forming. Resistance against corrosion as well as outstanding mechanical properties such a yield and tensile strength of 1000 and 1800 MPa in combination with total elongation values of A80 higher than 10% enlarge the range of possible applications for hot formed products. A significant advantage is their cost efficiency compared to austenitic stainless steels due to the lack of nickel in the alloying concept. This article summarizes the current state of the art in stainless steels for automotive body parts. Characteristics and differences compared to conventional carbon steels will be pointed out. Two different classes of stainless steels will be presented suitable for conventional cold and hot forming processes. The competitiveness of stainless steels will be explained following the typical stages in the material release of steels in the automotive industry considering mechanical properties, forming, tool requirements and joining methods.
Specialists for extreme purposes: Stainless steel for automotive construction
Experten für extreme Verwendungszwecke: Nichtrostender Stahl für den Automobilbau
2011
7 Seiten, 6 Bilder, 2 Tabellen, 5 Quellen
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Englisch
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