High-strength steel sheet having excellent workability and production process therefor

A high-strength steel sheet having excellent workability comprising:

• 0.06 to 0.25% by mass of carbon;
• 0.5 to 3.5% by mass of Si;
• and
• 0.7 to 4% by mass of Mn,
• wherein mother structure of said steel sheet is ferrite, second phase structure of said steel sheet comprises martensite and the residual austenite and said second phase structure (α1+γR) has an area fraction of 25% or less based on the total structure when it is measured by image analysis,
• and wherein said steel sheet satisfies the following requirements (1), (4) and (3):
• (1) the volume fraction (VtγR) of said residual austenite is 5% or more when a measurement specimen of said residual austenite is measured by saturation magnetization measurement,
• (4) the average C content of said residual austenite is 0.95 to 1.15% by mass, and
• (3) the ratio [α2/(α1+γR)] of the space factor (α2) of said martensite to the second phase structure (α1+γR) satisfies the following expression:
• 0.25≦[α2/(α1+γR)]≦0.60,
• wherein the space factor (α2) is calculated from a difference between the second phase structure (α1+γR) and the residual austenite (VtγR).

A process for producing a high-strength steel sheet, the process comprising:

• subjecting a steel slab, which comprises
• 0.06 to 0.25% by mass of Si, and
• 0.5 to 3.5% by mass of Si;
• and
• 0.7 to 4% by mass of Mn,
• to solution treatment at 1,270° C. or higher for 5 hours or more;
• hot rolling the slab into a steel sheet;
• and
• subjecting the steel sheet to austempering by cooling the steel sheet after the hot rolling to the bainite transformation range and maintaining the steel sheet within that temperature range for 50 to 200 seconds.