The effect of copper addition on mechanical properties of dual phase Fe-Mn-Si steel obtained by cooling from austenite + ferrite phase region was investigated.
The beneficial effect of copper addition on better corrosion property and higher strength of conventional low alloy steels has been found to be offset by the deterioration in hot workability. On the other hand, the effect of copper addition on mechanical properties of dual phase steels has not been investigated.
It was found in this study that copper addition increased the strength, but tended to deteriorate the ductility slightly. The characteristic mechanical properties of dual phase steel, incorporating low yield strength, high work hardening rate, continuous yielding and high elongation, were basically unchanged by copper addition up to 0.6%. The air cooled specimens of Fe-Mn-Si-Cu dual phase steels showed higher ductility and lower yield ratio over water quenched specimens, albeit lower strength.
