Effect of Ti and B microadditions on the hot ductility behavior of a High-Mn austenitic Fe–23Mn–1.5Al–1.3Si–0.5C TWIP steel

Abstract

This research work studies the effect of combined Ti and B microadditions and the solidification route on the hot ductility behavior of a high-Mn austenitic Twinning Induced Plasticity (TWIP) steel. For this purpose, uniaxial hot tensile tests were carried out at different temperatures between 700 and 1100°C under a constant strain rate of 10−3s−1. The hot ductility was determined by measuring the reduction of transverse area (%RA) after specimen rupture. Characterization was performed by SEM-EBSD and TEM techniques in order to identify the relationship between microstructural features and cracking phenomena. Results indicate that the early occurrence of dynamic recrystallization (DRX) at the intermediate temperature range (800–900°C) is the favorable mechanism that enhances the ductility, achieving RA values up to 82%. These high RA values are discussed in terms of the boron effect on the improvement of the grain-boundaries cohesion through non-equilibrium segregation, and Ti(C,N) precipitation, which reduces the formation of harmful precipitates such as BN and AlN. Additionally, the Fe23(B,C)6 and B4C compounds were identified, which are less detrimental to hot ductility than boron-nitride compounds. Finally, the fracture surfaces of the present TWIP steels in the temperature range of the highest ductility indicate that the failure mode is of the ductile type as evidenced by the presence of many dimples.