New Multiphase CP and DP 1000 MPa strength level grades for improved performance after hot forming

Pure martensitic steels have after hot forming limited performance in terms of rest ductility which limits the application in crash relevant parts. New steel grades were designed in the EU project HOTFORM including the corresponding process routes. These steel grades have ferritic-martensitic dual phase (DP) and martensitic-bainitic complex phase (CP) microstructures after hot forming process. The laboratory tests show an improved formability after hot forming. The basic concepts of the new alloys are explained. Furthermore, for validation of upscaling purposes a semi-industrial test is carried out and the results are discussed. The main application is for vehicle safety. This is evaluated by comparing the crash performance of these hot formed grades with cold rolled DP1000 and CP1000 for crash cans in a drop tower test.The research leading to these results was carried out in the framework of HOTFORM project with a financial grant of the Research Programme RFCS (Research Funds for Coal and Steel) under grant agreement (RFSR-CT-2015-00017)

Impact of Si on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of 22MnB5 Hot Stamping Steel Treated by Quenching & Partitioning (Q&P)

Based on 22MnB5 hot stamping steel, three model alloys containing 0.5, 0.8, and 1.5 wt pct Si were produced, heat treated by quenching and partitioning (Q&P), and characterized. Aided by DICTRA calculations, the thermal Q&P cycles were designed to fit into industrial hot stamping by keeping partitioning times £ 30 seconds. As expected, Si increased the amount of retained austenite (RA) stabilized after final cooling. However, for the intermediate Si alloy the heat treatment exerted a particularly pronounced influence with an RA content three times as high for the one-step process compared to the two-step process. It appeared that 0.8 wt pct Si sufficed to suppress direct cementite formation from within martensite laths but did not sufficiently stabilize carbon-soaked RA at higher temperatures. Tensile and bending tests showed strongly diverging effects of austenite on ductility. Total elongation improved consistently with increasing RA content independently from its carbon content. In contrast, the bending angle was not impacted by high-carbon RA but deteriorated almost linearly with the amount of low-carbon RA.The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support by the Research Fund for Coal and Steel via ELONHOSTAMP project (Grant agreement No. RFSR-CT-2013-00010). A final project report with a focus towards industrialization is in process of being published

Behavior and Organizational Change

Advanced societies produce open and international economies where competitiveness is a necessary requirement, although this in itself is not enough to guarantee sustained success. Social, political, and cultural complexities, along with increasingly greater social and collective needs, are another feature of the environment in question. Given this environment, companies and organizations in general have to maintain a high level of strategic tension and a significant capacity to adapt and be flexible when faced with different contingencies. Organizations must be driven by people who are committed to its goals, who actively participate in the management of labor processes, who have creative skills, and who are capable of getting along well with others and working as part of a team. Likewise, leaders must lean toward transformational or shared leadership, in which both the management and workers assume responsibility for growth. Cooperation between workers and managers is based on the experience that insofar as the company's goals are achieved, so will those of each individual person. To appreciate the change, it is important to understand organizational behavior, as there can be no sustainable organizational change without a change in people's behavior.This book was published with generous financial support from the Basque Government.Introduction: Sabino Ayestarán and Jon Barrutia Güenaga ? 1. Human Resources and Innovation: A Study of Practices Developed by Innovative Companies in the Basque Country by Ibon Zamanillo Elguezabal and Eva Velasco Balmaseda ? 2. Vectors of Organizational Change in European Union Company Law by Juan Pablo Landa and Igone Altzelai ? 3. Company Stakeholder Responsibility (CSR) by Jose Luis Retolaza, Leire San-Jose, and Andrés Araujo de la Mata ? 4. Origins and Development of Industrial Clusters in the Basque Country: Path-Dependency and Economic Evolution by Jesús María Valdaliso, Aitziber Elola, María Jose Aranguren, and Santiago López ? 5. A Systemic and Multilevel Approach to Organizational Analysis by Nekane Balluerka ? 6. How Do Cultural Changes Influence the Psychological Contract between Worker and Organization? by José Valencia Gárate ? 7. Leadership Conduct and Its Consequences for Organizations in the Basque Country by Juan Jose Arrospide, Daniel Hermosilla, Félix Yenes, and Iñigo Calvo ? 8. Emotional Intelligence and Innovation: An Exploratory Study in Organizational Settings by Aitor Aritzeta ? Index ? List of Contributor