Development and formability analysis of TRIP seamless steel tube

In the present study, to produce the steel tubes with high strength and plasticity the production technology of transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) steel was first induced into the steel tube manufacture field. The TRIP steel tubes with a microstructure of ferrite, bainite, retained austenite and a little martensite were successfully fabricated with both of the two-stage heat treatment technique and continuous heat treatment process using a cold drawn steel tube. The ring tensile test and cold bending process were carried to study the formability of the newly developed TRIP seamless steel tube. The results showed that the TRIP seamless steel tubes have a good cold formability, and they are available to be used in the tube hydroforming process. In addition, the equipment of continuous heat treatment developed in the current study can be used to produce TRIP steel tube and it may serve as an important reference for the industrial production of TRIP steel tube.