Transformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) steels with silicon-manganese (Si-Mn) as the main element have attracted a lot of attention and great interest from steel companies due to their low price, high strength, and high plasticity. Retained austenite is of primary importance as the source of high strength and high plasticity in Si-Mn TRIP steels. In this work, the cold rolled sheets of Si-Mn low carbon steel were treated with TRIP and Dual Phase (DP) treatment respectively. Then, the microstructure and composition of the Si-Mn low carbon steel were observed and tested. The static tensile test of TRIP steel and DP steel was carried out by a CMT5305 electronic universal testing machine. The self-built true stress-strain curve model of TRIP steel was verified. The simulation results were in good agreement with the experimental results. In addition, the phase transformation energy of retained austenite and the work borne by austenite in the sample during static stretching were calculated. The work done by austenite was 14.5 J, which was negligible compared with the total work of 217.8 J. The phase transformation energy absorption of retained austenite in the sample was 9.12 J. The role of retained austenite in TRIP steel is the absorption of excess energy at the key place where the fracture will occur, thereby increasing the elongation, so that the ferrite and bainite in the TRIP steel can absorb energy for a longer time and withstand more energy.
Keywords: TRIP steel; phase transformation; quantitative description; retained austenite.