Abstract
The basic science behind bake hardening steels is well understood in terms of the interactions between interstitial solutes and dislocations. However, the manufacture of such alloys involves a variety of other variables, the interactions between which are influential in controlling the extent of hardening. In the present work, a model which includes the chemical composition of the steel, the strain before aging and the annealing and aging conditions is developed and used to explore certain anomalies in the published literature. It is found that whereas the roles of deformation and aging can be rationalised, the generic effect of niobium is associated with large uncertainties and warrants further experimental work.
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