Effect of alloying composition on low-cycle fatigue properties and microstructure of Fe–30Mn–(6−x)Si–xAl TRIP/TWIP alloys

Abstract

The change in low-cycle fatigue (LCF) properties and deformation microstructure due to the alteration of aluminum and silicon contents was studied in relation with the tensile properties in Fe–30Mn–(6−x)Si–xAl (x=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6wt%) alloys, which are high-Mn austenitic TRIP/TWIP alloys. Austenite to ε-martensite transformation took place during LCF deformation in the TRIP alloys with x≤2 while mechanical twinning was not observed by electron-backscattering diffraction (EBSD) analysis in the TWIP alloys with x>2 after LCF deformation. The fatigue resistance of the alloys was shown to be correlated with the tensile proof strength and the hardening rate. Superior fatigue life of 8×103 cycles at a total strain range Δε=2% was found in the Fe–30Mn–4Si–2Al TRIP alloy with a low fraction of ε-martensite, high tensile proof strength and low hardening rate at both tensile and fatigue deformations. On the other hand, a considerable decrease in the fatigue properties was observed in the alloys with decreasing proof strength and increasing hardening rate. Proof strength provided by the solid solution of Al and Si, represents the hampering of plastic deformation, and the hardening rate reflects the strain reversibility affected by the stacking fault energy (SFE) through the rate of austenite to martensite transformation in the TRIP alloys and the substructure formation in the TWIP alloys.