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It is of great interest to overcome the problem of high-temperature oxidation of press-hardened steels (PHS) in press hardening with a cost-effective Cr alloying strategy. Therefore, since Cr is one of the expensive metals, the effect of Cr (Cr ≤ 3 wt%) content on the oxidation resistance of Cr–Si–Mn alloyed steels was investigated. It was found that Cr–Si–Mn alloyed PHS with a Cr content of about 1.5 wt% or less cannot form a continuous Cr2O3layer during press hardening. However, when the Cr content reaches around 2.5 wt%, the PHS shows excellent oxidation resistance due to the formation of continuous Cr2O3and amorphous SiO2layers, as well as an Mn-rich oxide layer. However, further addition of 0.5 wt% could not significantly improve the oxidation resistance of this PHS. Moreover, the increase in Cr content simultaneously enhances the positive role of Si and Mn in high-temperature oxidation resistance. This work provides new insights into the design of the next generation of PHSs with economical and superior performance.

• Effect of RA on both the tensile and bending properties of the PHS has been studied. • RA with various mechanical stabilities and volume fraction are obtained via tuning the degree of auto-tempering of martensite during die quenching. • The tensile performance is improved with increasing of volume fractions of RA in the novel PHS. • The mechanical stability, rather than volume fraction of RA, has significant impact on the bendability of the PHS. Tensile and bending properties are two critical attributes of press hardened steels (PHSs) for automotive body structural components. However, the research on these properties of PHSs with retained austenite (RA), which is introduced to improve the mechanical properties, has not been well reported. In this study, the effect of RA on the quasi-static uniaxial tensile and three-point bending behaviors has been systematically investigated for a newly developed Cr and Si alloyed PHS. RA with various degrees of mechanical stabilities was obtained by tuning the auto-tempering of martensite through the control of the die contact pressure during the press hardening process. Mechanically stable RA provides the optimal combination of tensile and bending performance, while the PHS with RA of poor mechanical stability has a deteriorated bending toughness as manifested by a reduction of bending angle from approximately 61.6° to 56.8°. However, its tensile properties, in contrast, are the best in terms of the product of ultimate tensile strength and total elongation (15.9 GPa %). This is mainly attributed to the unstable RA on the outermost surface of the bending sample. The unstable RA can easily transform into brittle martensite under local plane strain and strain gradient conditions in the bending test compared with uniaxial stress in the tensile test, promoting crack initiation and propagation. Furthermore, the effect of martensitic auto-tempering or contact pressure on the quantity and stability of RA are also discussed. This study would provide a useful reference to guide hot stamping process optimization for the newly developed Cr and Si-containing press-hardened steel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]