2. General principles governing the mechanical properties of sheet metal

The processing properties of sheet steel depend to a large extent on the microstructure obtained after rolling. Relationships exist between certain descriptive parameters of the microstructure and the simple quantities characterizing steel properties based on tensile and impact tests (see article [M 245] in this treatise [30] ). These relationships are complex, and must take into account a large number of interacting phenomena. This section describes the best-known microstructure-properties relationships that make up the metallurgist's "toolbox", and which are described in greater detail in references [1] , [2]...