Strain hardening behavior of a Fe–18Mn–0.6C–1.5Al TWIP steel

The strain hardening behavior of a Fe–18Mn–0.6C–1.5Al TWIP steel was investigated through the modified Crussard–Jaoul (C–J) analysis and microstructural observations. The strain hardening rate obtained by modified C–J analysis was high up to the critical strain of 37% and then greatly decreased with further strain. The electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) observation showed that the deformation twinning rate is greatly decreased beyond about 34% strain, indicating that the reduced strain hardening rate at the large strain region is attributed to the deceleration of deformation twinning rate. The volume fraction of twinned region was increased with tensile strain due to the increase in the number of deformation twins not to the lateral growth of each deformation twin.