Dual-phase steel shows a strong connection between its microstructure and its mechanical properties. This structure–property correlation is caused by the composition of the microstructure of a soft ferritic matrix with embedded hard martensite areas, leading to a simultaneous increase in strength and ductility. As a result, dual-phase steels are widely used especially for strength-relevant and energy-absorbing sheet metal structures. However, their use as heavy plate steel is also desirable. Therefore, a better understanding of the structure–property correlation is of great interest. Microstructure-based simulation is essential for a realistic simulation of the mechanical properties of dual-phase steel. This paper describes the entire process route of such a simulation, from the extraction of the microstructure by 3D tomography and the determination of the properties of the individual phases by nanoindentation, to the implementation of a simulation model and its validation by experiments. In addition to simulations based on real microstructures, simulations based on virtual microstructures are also of great importance. Thus, a model for the generation of virtual microstructures is presented, allowing for the same statistical properties as real microstructures. With the help of these structures and the aforementioned simulation model, it is then possible to predict the mechanical properties of a dual-phase steel, whose three-dimensional (3D) microstructure is not yet known with high accuracy. This will enable future investigations of new dual-phase steel microstructures within a virtual laboratory even before their production.

双相钢在其微观结构和机械性能之间显示出很强的联系。这种结构-特性的相关性是由具有嵌入的硬马氏体区域的软铁素体基体的微观结构组成所致，从而导致强度和延性同时增加。结果，双相钢被广​​泛使用，特别是用于强度相关和吸能的金属薄板结构。但是，也希望将它们用作厚钢板。因此，对结构与属性之间的相关性的更好理解引起了极大的兴趣。基于微观结构的模拟对于实际模拟双相钢的力学性能至关重要。本文介绍了这种模拟的整个过程，从通过3D层析成像提取微观结构和通过纳米压痕确定单个相的性质，到实现仿真模型并通过实验进行验证。除了基于真实微观结构的模拟之外，基于虚拟微观结构的模拟也非常重要。因此，提出了用于生成虚拟微结构的模型，该模型允许与真实微结构相同的统计特性。借助于这些结构和前述的仿真模型，然后可以高精度地预测其三维（3D）微观结构的双相钢的机械性能。