Modeling the thermomechanical effects on baking behavior of low carbon steels using response surface methodology

Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to study and optimize the effect of thermomechanical treatment on the bake hardening process of low carbon (LC) steels. RSM is a unique modeling approach to replace the costly and time-consuming laboratory simulations to predict the optimal condition for industrial processes. In this study, the RSM based on central composite design (CCD) was used to predict the baking response of low carbon steels. Two models were developed to predict the effects of thermomechanical treatments on the bake hardenability (BH) and final yield stress (FYS) of baked LC steels.