Effect of Cold Rolling on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of a Fe-23Mn-0.3C-1.5Al TWIP Steel

Effect of cold rolling on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a Fe-23Mn- 0.3C-1.5Al (in wt. %) TWIP steel with an initial grain size of 24 μm was studied. Extensive deformation twinning occurred upon reduction by rolling. The volume fraction of the deformation twins attained about 0.2 at a reduction of 20%. Then, the intensity of deformation twinning gradually decreased with increasing the total rolling reduction. The average twin thickness of about 20 nm remained unchanged, although the distance between twins progressively reduced with increasing strain. The deformation banding was observed after a reduction of 60%. The thickness and volume fraction of microshear bands increased with increasing rolling reduction. The cold rolling led to significant strengthening of the steel that is accompanied by a drop on ductilit