There are all manner of descriptions given to steel, TWIP being one of them, that relate to modifying metal with the use of alloys. In street speak, that means the clever dudes meltdown what nature supplies, add a few chemicals mix it around a bit then let it harden again. And voilà we have something that works better for certain applications.
In the world of steel, two things matter besides strength, which is a given and that is quality and flexibility. Both of these are hard to come by. If chemical and other metal additions increase the quality of steel, it often impairs any hope of flexibility. Enter TWIP steel.
TWIP, the Ultimate Mettle Test
The no question that the clever people out there need to focus on deploying technology along with the right ingredients to provide the infrastructure that tomorrow’s generation will require. This is the mettle that is being tested in the world of metal and its hero, steel.
As a chief contender in the AHSS (Advance High-strength Steel) category, none shines brighter than TWIP steel. How did they do it? The ‘fiddle’ involves the percentage of manganese in the recipe. TWIP steels contain between 17 – 20% manganese and what do you know? We hit the jackpot in both quality and flexibility – (pause for applause).
Getting the hang of it, TWIP steel now becomes a candidate for BiW (Body-in-White) design, which references the stage in automobile manufacturing after a vehicle’s body frame has been joined together, but before that is before the motor, chassis sub-assemblies, or trim (glass, door locks/handles, seats, upholstery, electronics, etc.) have been integrated into the structure. Forgive us ff that’s almost straight out of Wikipedia. Okay, so Body-in-Black speaks to automobile bodies made with alternate material, such as carbon fibre, usually used in mock-ups before becoming BiW’s.
Upping the Game for TWIP Steel
A new strategy has been brought to light whereby the already awesome HFC (High-Cycle Fatigue) properties in TWIP steel can be improved still further. Without sacrificing the stellar ductility, quality or flexibility, what is called T & A (Torsion and Annealing) Treatment has achieved the unthinkable and turned TWIP steel into tomorrow’s hero metal.