Abstract

--- - The influence of the volume content and the interface properties of ZrO2 particles on the overall response of a TRIP steel-ZrO2 composite is investigated. Materials with three different zirconia contents and two different interface types, perfectly bonded and non-cohesive, respectively, were considered, which led to six composite variants. The calulations of the material responses were performed using representative volumes of the composites and the finite element analysis (FEA). Uniaxial loading as well as biaxial loading was applied to the representative volume elements in order to study the influence of different loading conditions on the phase transformation behaviour. - The results indicate that the enrichment of the TRIP steel with zirconia particles leads to a significant strengthening effect in both uniaxial and biaxial loading provided the interface has cohesive properties. Regarding the non-cohesive interface, a performance improvement could not be found compared to the pure TRIP steel because of the impossibility of transferring tensile stresses into the zirconia inclusions.