Paper Title
Research and Development of Steel Strengthened by Means of Copper Precipitation

Abstract
This paper deals with the description of the development of 0.2C(1-2)Mn low alloyed dual and multiphase steel strengthened by means of copper addition. Dual and multi-phase steels are extensively studied and used class of steel mostly due to their outstanding combination of strength and plasticity. Microstructure of dual phase steels consists of ferrite and martensite. In case of multi-phase steel we usually observe another phases like bainite or retained austenite in the microstructure. Yield strength of these steels is determined by the softest constituent of their structure – the free ferrite. Copper is one of the alloying elements used for the precipitation in the ferrite matrix and it offers the possibility of effective and easily achievable significant ferrite strengthening. The strengthening of the ferrite proved to be an effective way to increase the YS of the material. Mechanical properties and microstructures were compared. Copper precipitation was documented by scanning electron microscopy. Keywords - Steel; Copper Alloying; Precipitation, Thermo-Mechanical Processing.