Ultrafine-Grained Structure and Mechanical Properties of a High-Mn Twinning Induced Plasticity Steel

Abstract

The influence of thermo-mechanical treatment consisting of cold rolling followed by recrystallization annealing on the grain size and mechanical properties of a high-Mn TWIP steel was studied. An Fe-23Mn-0.3C-1.5Al TWIP steel (wt. %) was subjected to extensive cold rolling with a reduction of 80% (true strain of ∼1.6) and then annealed in the temperature interval ranging from 400 to 900 °C during 20 minutes. Recovery processes took place below 500 °C, partial recrystallization was evident at ~550°C and fully recrystallized structure evolved after annealing at 600 °C and higher. The static recovery resulted in a slight decrease in the yield strength from 1400 MPa to 1250 MPa and the ultimate tensile strength from 1540 MPa to 1400 MPa whereas the total elongation of 4% did not changed. The recrystallization development led to a drastic drop of strength and an increase in ductility. The yield strength of 225 MPa, the ultimate tensile strength of 700 MPa and the total elongation of 79% was obtained after annealing at 900 °C. Correspondingly, the grain size increased from 0.2 μm to 6.2 μm with increase in anneal temperature from 550 to 900°C.