Investigations of the microstructure evolution and tensile deformation behavior of austenitic Fe-Mn-Al-C lightweight steels and the effect of Mo addition

Abstract

A series of Fe-30 wt%Mn-10.5 wt%Al-1.1 wt%C steels with Mo addition from 0 to 5 wt% were prepared to investigate the effect of Mo on the microstructure and tensile deformation behavior of austenitic lightweight steel. When the Mo content was below 4 wt%, the microstructure of solution-treated samples consisted of austenite and κ–carbide, while Mo-enriched M6C and M23C6 carbides were additionally precipitated in samples containing Mo more than 4 wt% during a solution treatment at 1050 °C. These carbides inhibited austenite grain growth during the solution treatment, resulting in significant grain refinement in the samples containing more that 4 wt% of Mo. Tensile test results showed that the yield strength gradually decreased with an increase in the Mo content up to 3 wt% due to the suppression of κ–carbide precipitation, whereas it significantly increased when the Mo content exceeded 4 wt% due to grain refinement and precipitation strengthening caused by Mo-enriched carbides. During the tensile deformation, the strain hardening rates of all alloys increased and then the deformation mode subsequently changed with an increase in the Mo content from shearband-induced plasticity (SIP) to microband-induced plasticity (MBIP). Finally, the change in the κ-carbide precipitation behavior upon the addition of Mo and its effect on the deformation behavior were carefully analyzed and discussed through nanoindentation experiments, first-principles calculations and atom probe tomography analyses.