Effect of Deformation Temperature on Mechanical Properties and Deformation Mechanisms of Cold-Rolled Low C High Mn TRIP/TWIP Steel

The microstructure and mechanical properties of cold-rolled Fe-18Mn-3Al-3Si-0.03C transformation induced plasticity/twinning induced plasticity (TRIP/TWIP) steel in the temperature range of 25 to 600 °C were studied. The experimental steel exhibited a good combination of ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 905 MPa and total elongation (TEL) of 55% at room temperature. With the increase of deformation temperature from 25 to 600 °C, the stacking fault energy (SFE) of the experimental steel increased from 14.5 to 98.8 mJm−2. The deformation mechanism of the experimental steel is controlled by both the strain induced martensite formation and strain induced deformation twinning at 25 °C. With the increase of deformation temperature from 25 to 600 °C, TRIP and TWIP effect were inhibited, and dislocation glide gradually became the main deformation mechanism. The UTS decreased monotonously from 905 to 325 MPa and the TEL decreased (from 55 to 36%, 25–400 °C) and then increased (from 36 to 64%, 400–600 °C). The change in mechanical properties is related to the thermal softening effect, TRIP effect, TWIP effect, DSA, and dislocation slip