Provided is a high-strength steel sheet including: 0.12% to less than 0.17% of carbon (C), 0.3% to 0.8% of silicon (Si), 2.5% to 3.0% of manganese (Mn), 0.4% to 1.1% of chromium (Cr), 0.01% to 0.3% of aluminum (Al), 0.01% to 0.03% of niobium (Nb), 0.01% to 0.03% of titanium (Ti), 0.001% to 0.003% of boron (B), 0.04% or less of phosphorus (P), 0.01% or less of sulfur (S): 0.01% or less of nitrogen (N), and a balance of iron (Fe) and inevitable impurities. The contents of C, Si, and Al satisfy: [C]+[Si]+[Al])/5≤0.35 wt. A microstructure includes more than 1% to 4% or less of retained austenite, more than 10% to 20% or less of fresh martensite, 5% or less (excluding 0%) of ferrite, more than 50% to 70% or less of tempered martensite, and a balance of bainite.

Disclosed in the present invention is complex-phase steel having high hole expansibility. The complex-phase steel has a microstructure of ferrite and bainite. The complex-phase steel having high hole expansibility comprises the following chemical elements in percentage by mass: C: 0.06-0.09%, Si: 0.05-0.5%, Al: 0.02-0.1%, Mn: 1.5-1.8%, Cr: 0.3-0.6%, Nb≤0.03%, Ti: 0.05-0.12%, and the balance of Fe and inevitable impurities. In addition, also disclosed in the present invention is a manufacturing method for the foregoing complex-phase steel having high hole expansibility. The method comprises the following steps: (1) smelting and casting; (2) heating; (3) hot-rolling; (4) phosphorous removal; (5) laminar cooling: a relaxation time period is controlled to be 0-8 s, and a laminar cooling rate is 40-70° C./s; (6) coiling; (7) leveling; and (8) pickling. The complex-phase steel having high hole expansibility can simultaneously satisfy the requirements for hole expansibility and good plasticity.

A steel sheet having a tensile strength (TS) of 1180 MPa or more, high LME resistance, and good weld fatigue properties. The steel sheet has a specific chemical composition and a specific steel microstructure. Crystal grains containing an oxide of Si and/or Mn in a region within 4.9 μm in a thickness direction from a surface of the steel sheet have an average grain size in the range of 3 to 10 μm, the lowest Si concentration L.sub.Si and the lowest Mn concentration L.sub.Mn in the region within 4.9 μm in the thickness direction from the surface of the steel sheet and a Si concentration T.sub.Si and a Mn concentration T.sub.Mn at a quarter thickness position of the steel sheet satisfy a specified formula.

A steel sheet having a tensile strength (TS) of 780 MPa or more and less than 1180 MPa, high LME resistance, and good weld fatigue properties. The steel sheet has a specific chemical composition and a specific steel microstructure. Crystal grains containing an oxide of Si and/or Mn in a region within 4.9 μm in a thickness direction from a surface of the steel sheet have an average grain size in the range of 3 to 10 μm, the lowest Si concentration L.sub.Si and the lowest Mn concentration L.sub.Mn in the region within 4.9 μm in the thickness direction from the surface of the steel sheet and a Si concentration T.sub.Si and a Mn concentration T.sub.Mn at a quarter thickness position of the steel sheet satisfy a specified formula.

Described is a hot-rolled steel having a tensile strength of at least 950 MPa and a microstructure that includes bainite at an area ratio of 70% or more; the balance being: martensite at an area ratio of 30% or less, and optionally ferrite at an area ratio of 20% or less. The hot-rolled steel has a chemical composition containing (in mass-%): C: 0.07-0.10, Si: 0.01-0.25, Mn: 1.5-2.0, Cr: 0.5-1.0, Ni: 0.1-0.5, Cu: 0.1-0.3, Mo: 0.01-0.2, Al: 0.01-0.05, Nb: 0.015-0.04, V: 0-0.1, i.e. optionally up to 0.1 mass-% Vanadium, Ti: 0-0.1, whereby the balance is Fe and unavoidable impurities.

This hot-rolled steel sheet has a predetermined chemical composition, the microstructure includes, by volume percentage, 70% or more of martensite, tempered martensite, and bainite in total and 5% to 20% of residual austenite, in a surface layer region that is a range from a surface to a position at 1/10 of a sheet thickness, a sum of an average pole density of an orientation group consisting of {211}<111> to {111}<112> and a pole density of a crystal orientation of {110}<001> is 6.0 or less, a concentration of solid solution carbon in the residual austenite is 0.5 mass % or more, and a tensile strength is 980 MPa or more.

A steel sheet has a predetermined chemical composition, in which a metallographic structure in a surface layer region ranging from a surface to a position of 20 μm from the surface in a sheet thickness direction consists of ferrite and a secondary phase having a volume fraction of 0.01% to 5.0%, a metallographic structure in an internal region ranging from a position of more than 20 μm from the surface in the sheet thickness direction to a ¼thickness position from the surface in the sheet thickness direction consists of ferrite and a secondary phase having a volume fraction of 2.0% to 10.0%, the volume fraction of the secondary phase in the surface layer region is less than the volume fraction of the secondary phase in the internal region, and in the surface layer region, an average grain size of the secondary phase is 0.01 μm to 4.0 μm, and a texture in which an X.sub.ODF{001}/{111} as the ratio of the intensity of {001} orientation to an intensity of {111} orientation in the ferrite is 0.60 or more and less than 2.00 is included.

A method for producing hardened steel components is provided. A sheet bar is cut from a galvanized strip made of a hardenable steel alloy. The sheet bar is cold-formed into a component blank and heated to a temperature that produces a structural change to austenite. The austenitized component blank is conveyed to a form hardening tool and is held in a form-fitting manner by an upper tool and lower tool, which have a shape essentially corresponding to that of the component blank. Due to the contact of the material of the component blank with the tools, the heat is removed from the steel material quickly enough that a martensitic hardening occurs. After the galvanization of the metal strip and before the temperature increase for achieving the austenitization, tin is applied to the surface of the strip, sheet blank, or component blank.

Disclosed are a ferrite-based stainless steel having improved surface characteristics and a method for manufacturing same. The ferrite-based stainless steel according to the present invention includes, in percent by weight (wt %), 0.001 to 0.05% of C, 0.001 to 0.05% of N, 0.1 to 1.0% of Si, 0.1 to 1.0% of Mn, 12.0 to 22.0% of Cr, 0.01 to 1.0% of Ti, 0.01 to 1.0% of Nb, and the remainder of Fe and unavoidable impurities, wherein micro flaws having a length of 100 μm or more are distributed at a density of 5 pieces/mm.sup.2 or less.

An alloy material is provided which contains elements including, in mass %, C: 0.010 to 0.10%, Si: more than 0.10% to 0.50% or less, Mn:0.05 to 0.50%, Ni:34.5 to 37.0%, and Nb:0.001 to 1.0%, and which satisfies [T.sub.0≤T.sub.1-2], [C—Nb/7.7-Ta/15≤0.045], [Nb-7.7C≤0.30], and [Ta-15C≤0.30]. Where, each symbol of an element in the above formulas represents a content (mass %) of the corresponding element, T.sub.0 represents a Curie temperature (° C.) of the alloy material, and T.sub.1 represents a Curie temperature (° C.) of the alloy material after the alloy material is held at 900° C. for one minute and thereafter is cooled under conditions such that an average cooling rate in a temperature range from 600 to 300° C. is 0.2° C./s.