New Options for Steel Selection for Automotive Applications

This paper reviews and compares the various approaches available and under development for automotive components manufactured from bar and forging steels. Steel compositions, manufacturing approaches, microstructures, and properties for quench and tempered alloy steels and direct-cooled microalloyed ferrite-pearlite and bainitic steels are described. Recent efforts to increase toughness in direct-cooled steels are also reviewed.