The present invention provides a high-strength steel sheet, which can be used in various applications including automobile parts and exhibits excellent collision safety and excellent moldability, and a method for manufacturing the high-strength steel sheet. The high-strength steel sheet according to an aspect of the present invention satisfies a predetermined chemical composition and has a metallographic microstructure having ferrite fraction: 0% to 10%, MA fraction: 0% to 30%, hard phase other than ferrite and MA: 70% to 100% in terms of area proportion and retained austenite fraction: 5% to 30% in terms of volume proportion, and in the high-strength steel sheet, the skewness of IQ as analyzed by the EBRD method is −1.2 to −0.3 when the skewness is expressed by a predetermined relational expression in a case where crystal grains having a bcc structure and a bct structure are regarded as an aggregation of regions having an area of 0.05 μm.sup.2.

A method for forming a cold rolled, coated and post batch annealed steel sheet is provided. The method includes cold rolling a steel sheet; coating the cold rolled steel sheet with a zinc or zinc alloy coating, the cold rolled, coated steel sheet having an initial hole expansion and an initial yield strength and post batch annealing the cold rolled, coated steel sheet at a tempering temperature in a range from 150 to 650° C., the post batch annealed steel sheet having a final hole expansion and a final yield strength. The steel sheet includes (in wt. %)C-0.1-0.3%, Mn-1-3%, Si-0.5-3.5%, Al-0.05-1.5% and Mo+Cr being between 0-1.0%. The final hole expansion is at least 80% greater than the initial hole expansion and the final yield strength is at least 30% greater than the initial yield strength.

A method for forming a cold rolled, coated and post batch annealed steel sheet is provided. The method includes cold rolling a steel sheet; coating the cold rolled steel sheet with a zinc or zinc alloy coating, the cold rolled, coated steel sheet having an initial hole expansion and an initial yield strength and post batch annealing the cold rolled, coated steel sheet at a tempering temperature in a range from 150 to 650° C., the post batch annealed steel sheet having a final hole expansion and a final yield strength. The steel sheet includes (in wt. %)C-0.1-0.3%, Mn-1-3%, Si-0.5-3.5%, Al-0.05-1.5% and Mo+Cr being between 0-1.0%. The final hole expansion is at least 80% greater than the initial hole expansion and the final yield strength is at least 30% greater than the initial yield strength.

A tempered and coated steel sheet having a composition containing the following elements, expressed in percentage by weight: 0.17%≤carbon≤0.25%, 1.8%≤manganese≤2.3%, 0.5%≤silicon≤2.0%, 0.03%≤aluminum≤1.2%, sulphur≤0.03%, phosphorus≤0.03%,
the remainder composition being composed of iron and unavoidable impurities caused by processing, the microstructure of said steel sheet containing in area fraction, 4 to 20% residual austenite, 0 to 15% of ferrite, 40 to 85% tempered bainite and a minimum of 5% of tempered martensite, wherein the cumulated amounts of tempered martensite and residual austenite is between 10 and 30%. The composition may also contain one or more of the following elements: chromium≤0.4%, molybdenum≤0.3%, niobium≤0.04%, titanium≤0.1%. Manufacturing methods and use of tempered and coated steel sheet for making vehicle parts are also described.

A tempered and coated steel sheet having a composition containing the following elements, expressed in percentage by weight: 0.17%≤carbon≤0.25%, 1.8%≤manganese≤2.3%, 0.5%≤silicon≤2.0%, 0.03%≤aluminum≤1.2%, sulphur≤0.03%, phosphorus≤0.03%,
the remainder composition being composed of iron and unavoidable impurities caused by processing, the microstructure of said steel sheet containing in area fraction, 4 to 20% residual austenite, 0 to 15% of ferrite, 40 to 85% tempered bainite and a minimum of 5% of tempered martensite, wherein the cumulated amounts of tempered martensite and residual austenite is between 10 and 30%. The composition may also contain one or more of the following elements: chromium≤0.4%, molybdenum≤0.3%, niobium≤0.04%, titanium≤0.1%. Manufacturing methods and use of tempered and coated steel sheet for making vehicle parts are also described.

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.

There are provided a high-strength steel sheet excellent in strength, workability in terms of, for example, λ, and energy absorption characteristics, and a production method therefor. The high-strength steel sheet has a specific component composition and a steel microstructure containing, on an area percent basis, 1% to 35% ferrite having an aspect ratio of 2.0 or more, 10% or less ferrite having an aspect ratio of less than 2.0, less than 5% non-recrystallized ferrite, 40% to 80% in total of bainite and martensite containing carbide, 5% to 35% in total of fresh martensite and retained austenite, and 3% to 35% retained austenite, the retained austenite having a C content of 0.40% to 0.70% by mass.

A method for producing a zinc or zinc-alloy coated steel sheet with a tensile strength higher than 900 MPa, for the fabrication of resistance spot welds containing in average not more than two Liquid Metal Embrittlement cracks per weld having a depth of 100 μm or more, with steps of providing a cold-rolled steel sheet, heating cold-rolled steel sheet up to a temperature T1 between 550° C. and Ac1+50° C. in a furnace zone with an atmosphere (A1) containing from 2 to 15% hydrogen by volume, so that the iron is not oxidized, then adding in the furnace atmosphere, water steam or oxygen with an injection flow rate Q higher than (0.07%/h×α), α being equal to 1 if said element is water steam or equal to 0.52 if said element is oxygen, at a temperature T≥T1, so to obtain an atmosphere (A2) with a dew point DP2 between −15° C. and the temperature Te of the iron/iron oxide equilibrium dew point, then heating the sheet from temperature T.sub.1 up to a temperature T.sub.2 between 720° C. and 1000° C. in a furnace zone under an atmosphere (A2) of nitrogen containing from 2 to 15% hydrogen and more than 0.1% CO by volume, with an oxygen partial pressure higher than 10.sup.−21 atm., wherein the duration t.sub.D of heating of the sheet from temperature T.sub.1 up to the end of soaking at temperature T.sub.2 is between 100 and 500 s., soaking the sheet at T.sub.2, then cooling the sheet at a rate between 10 and 400° C./s, then coating the sheet with zinc or zinc-alloy coating.

The invention provides a heat treatment method for a steel product. The steel product includes at least 0.5-0.7% of Si by weight; the method provides the following steps: step 1) putting the steel product under an Austenitizing temperature of 830-890° C. and lasting for a first time to Austenitize the steel product, step 2) immersing the Austenitized steel product in a salt bath at an isothermal temperature of 200-350° C. and lasting for the second time. The method of the invention improves the toughness and elongation of the steel product, keeps the wear resistance of the product, and can be well applied to the fields of thin section ring of bearings and the like. The invention also provides a steel product and a bearing ring.

The invention relates to a method for producing a screw, having the following steps: (a) rolling a screw wire made of low-alloy carbon steel to produce screw (10) having a thread; (b) heating the entire screw (10) to an austenitizing temperature under a carbon atmosphere and/or nitrogen atmosphere and maintaining the temperature; (c) quenching the entire screw (10) to a bainitizing temperature and maintaining the bainitizing temperature until the screw has a bainitic structure over its cross-section. The invention is characterized in that the screw (10) is subsequently hardened locally at its tip (22), by the tip (22) being heated to an austenitizing temperature and the screw (10) being subsequently quenched to a temperature below the martensite starting temperature (MS).