Characterization of Advanced High-Strength Steels by Mechanical Testing and Fracture Analysis

Abstract The automotive industry has searched for alternatives to reduce the weight of vehicles without neglecting the user’s safety by using new materials. Advanced high-strength steels of complex phases are used in structural applications requiring good performance and reducing the weight of vehicles. However, these steels have shown edge cracking, known as fissure, during processing, which has become a challenge for steelmakers and other companies that rely on them to manufacture structural components. Such defects can be associated with the interaction between the different microstructural constituents of the steel, such as various phases and precipitates generated during its processing to achieve the required mechanical properties. The present work presents the studies evaluate the effect that processing and chemical composition exerts on edge cracking in complex phase steels of grade 800 MPa produced by different steelmaking routes.