Simultaneous enhancement of the strength and plasticity of Fe12Mn steel through modulating grain morphology

The relationship between grain morphology and tensile properties of Fe-12Mn steel thermo-mechanically processed by rolling annealing and re-cold rolling processes was investigated. The results indicated that the re-cold rolling deformed the mostly austenite grain morphology from equiaxed to lamellar, and the steel exhibited a yield strength of 1295 MPa, tensile strength of 1518 MPa, and elongation of 18 %. Compared to the experimental steel without re-cold rolling processes, more than 300 MPa tensile strength was improved and elongation increased from 14 % to 18 %. The steel demonstrated remarkable enhancement in mechanical properties owing to the “multistage TRIP effect”, which referred to the sequential martensitic phase transformation of austenite with varying stability as the strain increased. The change in grain morphology reduced the rate of twin formation and increased the nucleation point of the martensitic phase transition, this also stabilized the retained austenite by increasing the hard phases surrounding the retained austenite, which had multistage stability. These factors contributed to the “multistage TRIP effect”, which could be sustained to higher strains and presented regular fluctuations in work-hardening rates