One of the objectives for the development of high-strength dual-phase (DP) steel is improving the stretch-flangeability. Large-strained sheared edges are deformed and frequently cracked during stretch-flange formation. Considering shearing as the first deformation, the stretch-flange deformation may be regarded as a secondary deformation. To improve the stretch-flangeability of the DP steels, many researchers have analyzed the microvoid formation. However, in these analyses, the shearing process was not considered. With this background, ex-situ mini-bending tests combined with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) monitoring of microvoid formation were conducted during the secondary deformation. Prior to the secondary deformation, several microvoids were observed on the sheared surface and fine subgrains formed in the ferrite. During secondary deformation, the preliminary microvoids present at the ferrite-martensite interface propagated into the ferrite phase. In contrast, this behavior was not observed for the reamed surface deformation, which was formed without preliminary deformation. Furthermore, microvoids were initiated on ferrite grains that were not present at the ferrite-martensite interface, and martensite islands were not cracked during secondary deformation. This result is noteworthy because martensite cracking was the main factor involved in microvoid initiation, in the absence of shearing. Electron backscattering diffraction analysis revealed that the work hardening of ferrite, prior to the secondary deformation, caused a deviation in the strain concentration sites from those found in the reamed surface deformation. Therefore, this study elucidated microvoid formation on preliminary deformed surfaces via shearing and provided insights for material development considering deformations on the sheared surfaces of materials.

Transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) steels present a remarkable balance of strength and ductility. However, their post-necking hardening behavior, which is required for press-forming and automobile crash simulation, is unreliable because of their stress-triaxiality dependency. Therefore, we analyzed the stress-triaxiality hardening in the post-necking strain regions of tensile loaded TRIP steel to accurately evaluate the stress and strain distribution. Tensile tests were accordingly conducted on small, round-bar specimens to evaluate the true stress vs. cross-sectional reduction ratio curves up to fracture. Additionally, the stress distribution inside each specimen was measured using synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Using these measurements, the hardening law for the TRIP steel was identified through a series of finite element (FE) simulations, in which a simplified phenomenological strain and stress-triaxiality hardening were found to agree well with the measurements in the post-necking strain region. As a result, the hardening rate of the TRIP steel showed a sudden decrease at the uniform elongation limit strain. The FE simulations including stress-triaxiality hardening successfully reproduced this hardening behavior up to the fracture, and the FE simulation including stress-triaxiality hardening and its saturation presented values closest to the XRD measurements. This simulation also agreed well with the measurements obtained in the tensile direction away from the neck center. A microstructural analysis of the retained austenite at the neck supported this result. The FE simulations revealed that a combination of the TRIP effect and its deactivation accelerates the localized deformation at the specimen neck under tensile loading. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT