Development of Quenching and Partitioning Processed Martensitic Stainless Steels: Microstructure Evolution and Corrosion

An effective way for the automotive industry to tackle the growing concern of increasing CO2 emissions is to reduce the vehicle's overall weight, without compromising its performance and passenger safety. With the increasing demand for steels with enhanced properties in the last decades, the development of advanced high-strength steels (AHSSs) has been focused on the design of complex microstructures, leading to exceptional combinations of strength and ductility. On the other hand, stainless steels also offer significant potential in automotive lightweight applications to complement carbon steel AHSS grades. Stainless steels can offer additional advantages, including better corrosion resistance (no need for galvanising) and increased strength and fatigue resistance. However, a significant barrier to their application is the alloying cost (nickel in austenitic stainless steels) or low ductility and formability (standard martensitic stainless steels)....