Improvement of Mechanical Properties and

Microstructure of 22MnB5 Steel by

Hot Stamping and Direct Cooling
Fernando Aurelio Flandoli* and Sergio Tonini Button**
* Centro Universitario da FEI, So Bernardo do Campo SP Brazil 09850-901
** Universidade Estadual de Campinas Campinas SP Brazil 13083-970
faurelio@fei.edu.br
sergio1@fem.unicamp.br

Abstract: In this work it was studied how hot stamping and direct cooling could
improve the mechanical properties of stamped parts made with the high strength
hardenable steel 22MnB5, Hot stamping of a B-pillar sector was first simulated by finite
element method to define the best conditions like blank geometry and stamping
temperature. Experimental tests were carried out with four initial temperatures: room (to
represent cold stamping), 900, 950 and 980oC, in a hydraulic press with tools cooled to
17oC. Stamped parts were tempered by direct cooling between the tools immediately
after hot stamping. Samples taken from stamped parts were analyzed by optical
microscopy and micro-hardness Vickers, and other samples were analyzed by tensile
tests. Tests results have shown that all hot stamped parts presented mechanical
properties higher than cold stamped parts, and that the microstructure and the
mechanical properties were obtained with tests carried out at 950oC.
Keywords: metal forming, numerical analysis, phase transformation

1. INTRODUCTION
Hot stamping presents a wide application in the automotive industry from external
components that define the body of the vehicle to internal structural components which
require durability, rigidity and impact resistance that conventional cold stamping cannot
match without subsequent heat treatment. Many recent researches have been published
analysing important aspects of this process, like materials and products quality.
[Yanagida, and Azushima, 2009] state that numerical simulation is still not
efficient to predict how process variables influence hot stamping because many
metallurgical data and especially tribological parameters are not well established. They
tested two high strength hardenable steels (SPHC and 22MnB5) and three furnace
temperatures and concluded that the new tribological test they developed were effective
to evaluate the friction coefficient in hot stamping.
[Geiger et al., 2008] present a cup drawing test to evaluate tribological conditions
within hot stamping and showed that a significant dependency of blank temperature on

the friction coefficient could be detected. With increasing sheet temperature, decreasing
friction values were observed at the interaction contact area.
[Barcellona and Palmieri, 2009] considering that little knowledge exists on the
continuous cooling transformations (CCTs) that reproduce the typical work conditions
of the press quenching process, describe experimental methods they employed to obtain
the hardness and microstructural changes of pre-strained and thermally treated
microalloyed boron steel. They investigated strains, transformation temperatures,
microstructure and micro-hardness of 22MnB5 steel samples under uniaxial tensile tests
at temperatures between 873 and 1223 K with a constant strain rate of 0.08 s-1, and
concluded that high values of hot deformation during hot stamping, especially at lower
temperatures, require a strict control of post-cooling to ensure cooling rates that will
result in stamped parts with good mechanical properties.
[Bardelcik et al., 2010] present a similar work to investigate the effect of cooling
rate on the high strain rate behavior of hardened boron steel. In quenching tests
22MnB5 steel samples were heated to 950 oC and quenched in three different media:
water bath at 22 oC, heated oil bath at 85 oC, and compressed air at low and high flow
rates. They concluded that mechanical properties and microstructure are strongly
dependent on quenching rate, and that ideal conditions can be achieved with the proper
selection of furnace temperature and quenching rate.
[Lee et al., 2009] present a numerical model based on finite element method to
analyze hot pressing considering phase transformation plasticity (TRIP) when stamping
a high carbon steel. They also present an extensive experimental procedure to validate
the numerical analysis, and concluded that phase transformation significantly influence
part strengthening by transforming hard martensitic phase and reducing dimensional
change by additional plastic deformation during phase transformation.
Numerical simulation has been applied considering more reliable friction
coefficients, and material constitutive equations [Naderi et al., 2008], resulting in more
effective models to represent hot stamping industrial conditions [Tekkaya et al., 2007],
and [Liu et al., 2009]. New procedures have been proposed to employ induction heating
of blanks instead of convective heating in continuous furnaces [Kolleck et al., 2009].
The main objective of this work was to study how hot stamping and direct cooling
could improve the mechanical properties of a B-pillar sector made of 22MnB5. First,
hot stamping was simulated by finite element method to define the best process
conditions like blank geometry and stamping temperature to be applied in the following
experimental procedure were blanks were hot stamped, and then analysed by optical
microscopy, tensile tests, and micro-hardness test.

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

2.1. Numerical analysis
Hot stamping of a B-pillar sector (Figure 1) was simulated with software Deform 6 3D
based on the finite element method to define the best process conditions, and to evaluate

the forming load and variation of blank temperature along the process. Table I presents
the parameters used in the models simulated in this work.

Region X

Figure 1 B-pillar sector.

The material simulated in all models was the 22MnB5 steel, the same tested
experimentally, modelled with the constitutive equations provided by [Naderi et al.,
2008]. The constant friction factor model was adopted equal to 0.7 considering the
tribological conditions within the blank-tools interface.
Based on the CCT curves presented by [Naderi et al., 2008] three furnace
temperatures were chosen: 900, 950 and 980 oC. For all temperatures rectangular blanks
(80mm x 120 mm) were austenitized for five minutes.
Blanks were modeled with elasto-plastic tetrahedral elements and the dies were
considered rigid and modeled with 45000 tetrahedral elements. Figure 2 shows the
initial and final steps of simulation respectively with the blank initially positioned on
the lower die, and completely deformed within closed dies.
Blank

Material: 22MnB5 steel as cold rolled

Width x length x thickness (mm): 80x124.5x1.9
46413 tetrahedral elements
Furnace temperature (oC): 900, 950 and 980
Transfer time to press: 15 s
Room temperature: 20 oC
Hydraulic press Speed: 8 mm/s Stroke: 25 mm
Resting time after stamping: 4 s

Table I Process and material parameters used in the numerical simulation.

Upper
die

Blank
Lower
die

(a)

(b)
Figure 2 Numerical simulation: (a) initial step, (b) final step.

2.2 Experimental procedure

Some experimental tests were carried out to evaluate the blank material (characteristics
shown in Table II) and the stamped products. 22MnB5 steel sheets as received in the
condition cold rolled were evaluated by cold and hot tensile tests. Stamped products
were evaluated by optic microscopy, tensile test and micro-hardness measurements.
Chemical composition (in weight %):
C
Si
Mn
P (max) S (max) Cr
Ti
0.24 0.27 1.14
0.015 0.001 0.17 0.036
As received condition: cold rolled
Sheet nominal thickness: 1.9 mm

B
0.003

Table II Some characteristics of the blank material before hot stamping.

2.2.1. Tensile testing of the 22MnB5 sheets as received
Based on ASTM E8 standard [ASTM, 2009], samples were machined from sheets with
axes oriented at 0, 45 and 90o in respect to the rolling direction to evaluate whether the
sheets were anisotropic or not. These samples were cold tested at room temperature and
isothermally hot tested at two furnace temperatures: 900 and 950 oC.
Cold tensile tests were carried out to evaluate anisotropy and also to compare the
mechanical properties of the sheets used in this work to those presented by
[ArcelorMittal, 2010]. Hot tensile tests we
were
re also carried out to evaluate anisotropy at
hot stamping temperatures and to compare the flow stress curves to those obtained by
[Naderi et al., 2008].
2.2.2. Hot stamping tests
Stamping tests were carried out with the same conditions used in numerical simulation
(Table I). Each blank was held in a furnace for five minutes at the austenitizing
temperature (900, 950 or 980 oC). Then, the blank was taken off the furnace and
transferred to the stamping tooling assembled in a hydraulic press (Figure 3-aa)).

The dies were lubricated before each test with a mixture of mineral oil and
molybdenum grease to facilitate the extraction of the stamped product. Stamping load
was measured during the process with a load cell and a digital data acquisition system.
At least three stamping tests were carried out at each furnace temperature. After
stamped the part rested during four to five seconds within the tools to complete the
martensite transformation and then extracted to cool to room temperature (Figure 3-b).
(a)
Upper
die

(b)

Lower
die

Figure 3. (a) Hot stamping tooling assembled in a hydraulic press (b) stamped part.

2.2.3. Analysis of hot stamped products

Samples were cut off the stamped products to evaluate mechanical properties,
microstructure and micro-hardness.
Tensile tests were carried out based on ASTM E8 standard [ASTM, 2009].
Samples were machined from strips cut off from the region X in Figure 1. These tests
were replicated at least twice for each furnace temperature with testing machine MTS
model 810.
Samples were cut off in a transversal plane, grinded, polished and etched with Nital
2% to observe, with a optical microscope Olympus model BX51M, the microstructure
obtained after stamping and direct cooling near to points R1 (upper fillet), R2 (wall half
height) and R3 (lower fillet) shown in Figure 4 which represents a half of cross section
B-B in Figure 1. These samples were finally evaluated by Vickers micro-hardness
measurements with hardness tester Buehler model 2100 and an indentation load of 3 N.

R1

R2
R3

Figure 4 Stamped part half cross section - regions R1, R2 and R3.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

DISCUSSI
3.1. Numerical analysis
The simulations with the rectangular blank (80x124.5x1.9)
(80x124.5x1.9) formed a product with
irregular shape and edges with a wrong length as seen in Figure 5-a.
a. To solve
sol this
problem the blank shape had to be modified and after many trials the shape shown in
Figure 5-b was chosen because it formed products with
with correct shape and dimensions.
All numerical and experimental results shown in this work were obtained in
simulations
ations with this modified blank.
(a)

(b)

Figure 5. (a) Misshaped part stamped with a rectangular blank, (b) modified blank.
Figure 6 shows the load curves obtained in simulations of cold stamping, and hot
stamping at furnace temperatures of
o 900, 950 and 980 oC. As expected, cold stamping
stamp
presented the highest loads. Hot stamping
stamping load did not show a significant variation at
the different temperatures simulated,
simulated, what can be explained for the small difference in
yield stress (Table IV).
All temperatures
emperatures presented curves with the same aspect, and during simu
simulation it
was observed that each load variation was related to a specific deformation geometry as
shown in Figure 6: the high load found in the beginning is merely a numerical problem
associated
ated to the first contact blank-tools
blank tools and can be neglected in this analysis.
A first steady state is related to the free bending of the blank by the upper tool.
Then the load is reduced to a second steady state corresponding to the bending inside
the lowerr tool. In the third stage, after the blank edges touch the upper die, there is a
slight increase of the stamping load, and finally a rapid increase near to the end of
stroke when the dies are closed and the part completely formed.

6
Furnace
Temperatur
e [oC]
Cold

Stamping load [105N

5
4

900
3

950
980

2
1
0
0

0,5

1,5

2,5

Process time [s]

Figure 6 Stamping load x process time numerical results.
3.2. Experimental results
3.2.1. Tensile testing of the 22MnB5 sheets as received
Table III shows the mechanical properties of the as received sheets in the directions
tested. Yield and ultimate tensile strength obtained at room temperature are similar to
those indicated by [Saltzgitter, 2005].
Sample orientation
to rolling direction
0o
45o
90o

Yield strength (0.2%

offset) [MPa]
418 13
424 17
415 15

Ultimate strength
[MPa]
463 20
468 16
462 14

Elongation
[%]
333
353
322

Table III Mechanical properties of 22MnB5 sheets as received cold tensile tests.
There are no significant differences among the three directions and therefore the
material is anisotropic so the blank may be cut off in any position of the sheet regardless
the rolling direction.
Table IV shows the results of hot tensile tests. The material is anisotropic for both
furnace temperatures. By increasing temperature the tensile properties decrease
significantly, what is expected considering that softening mechanisms are most effective
at higher temperatures. These results are significantly smaller than those obtained by
[Naderi et al., 2008], maybe because the smaller strain rate used in these tests.

Sample orientation
to rolling direction
0o
45o
90o

Furnace
temperature
[oC]
900
950
900
950
900

Yield strength
(0.2% offset)
[MPa]
272
232
272
203
292

Ultimate
strength [MPa]

Area reduction
at fracture
[%]
856
785
795
785
766

442
383
452
352
462

950
222
352
less than 754
Table IV Mechanical properties of 22MnB5 sheets as received hot tensile tests.
3.2.2. Results of tests with the hot stamped products
Table V presents the mechanical properties obtained in the tensile tests with the samples
extracted from parts stamped at room temperature, 900, 950 and 980 oC. Cold stamped
parts present properties higher than the as received sheets (Table III) because of work
hardening caused by cold stamping.
Furnace
Temperature
[oC]
Cold
900
950
980

Yield strength
(0.2% offset)
[MPa]
436 24
1156 34
1296 28
1273 14

Ultimate strength [MPa]

491 16
1543 24
1700 27
1734 31

Elongation
at fracture
[%]
26.6 5
6.4 3
6.1 4
7.5 5

Table VI Mechanical properties of stamped products.

Hot stamped samples presented the highest properties, especially when stamped in
tests with furnace temperature at 950 or 980 oC that presented similar results,
significantly higher than those presented by one producer of 22MnB5 steel which shows
that after quenching a cold rolled sheet (without hot stamping) this steel can reach 1100
MPa (yield strength) and 1500 MPa (ultimate strength) [ArcelorMittal, 2010].
Table VII presents the micro-hardness Vickers measured in the regions R1, R2 and
R3 of the stamped parts. Higher micro-hardness values were found in samples of tests
with furnace temperature at 950 and 980 oC confirming the best results found for yield
and ultimate strength of these samples.
Furnace
temperature [o C]

Region R1

Region R2

Region R3

900
950
980

41430
42135
404 49

46827
52948
549 26

32928
45537
46132

Table VII Micro-hardness Vickers indentation load 3 N.

Each
ach region presented different micro-hardness and microstructures (Figure 7)
depending on local deformation, and cooling rate during hot stamping. According
[Bardelick et al., 2010] micro-hardness
micro
less than 450 HV is obtained with cooling rates
under 25 oC/s, not enough to form a microstructure completely martensitic [Naderi et
al., 2008],, as observed in Figure 7 for furnace temperature at 900 oC
(martensite+bainite). Otherwise, th
those
se authors observed that samples with m
microhardness near to 470 HV are related to a cooling rate of 45 oC/s and presented
microstructures only formed by martensite,
marten
as resulted in tests with temperature furnace
at 950 and 980 oC.
Furnace temperature
[o C]

Region R1

Region R2

Region R3

900

950

Figure 7 Microstructures of hot stampe

stamped and cooled samples Nital 2% - 500X.

4. CONCLUSIONS
Numerical simulation proved to be an important tool to design the best blank sh
shape and
to choose the ideal processing conditions. With simulation it is possible to analyze
stress and temperature distribution and therefore define the best furnace temperature to
achieve a martensitic microstructure and consequently the higher mechanical
mechanical properties.
Experimental results show that all hot stamped parts presented mechanical
properties higher than cold stamped parts, and that the best microstructure (martensite
without bainite colonies) and the best mechanical properties were obtained with tests
carried out at 950 and 980 oC, being the lower furnace temperature preferred regarding
the lower energy necessary and less surface oxidation.

5. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Authors wish to thank FAPESP and CNPq for the financial support to this work.

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