Effect of carbon content on deformation behavior and partitioning of manganese in medium‐mn steels

Abstract

The effects of carbon contents on the mechanical properties and deformation behavior of medium Mn steels, 6Mn steels with 0.06C, 0.15C, and 0.3C, were investigated in this study. With the increase of the carbon content, not only the ultimate tensile stress, but also the total elongation, was increased (from 22.44% to 40.23%). The enhancement of carbon content promoted the diffusion of C and Mn atoms from ferrite to austenite and led to an increase of C and Mn concentrations in austenite, which increased both the volume fraction (from 15.5 vol% to 39.7 vol%) and the stability of austenite; therefore, the transformation‐induced plasticity (TRIP) effect was intensified and larger amount of austenite transform in a greater strain range, which could continuously provide work hardening for the steels, thus preventing necking and improving the ductility of the material.