The effect of low temperature annealing on the mechanical behavior of cold rolled dual-phase Twinning-Induced Plasticity steel

In recent years, Twinning-Induced Plasticity (TWIP) steels with high specific strength have been developed to mainly address the unsaturated demands of transportation industries for weight reduction. To achieve the exclusive mechanical properties of TWIP steels, the understanding of their thermomechanical processing (TMP) behavior is highly necessitated. In the present work, the influence of cold rolling and post-annealing treatments on the mechanical behavior of a new dual phase (gamma + alpha) TWIP steel have been studied. The microstructural studies indicated the presence of deformation twins in the deformed state of material. Annealing the as-rolled experimental alloy could result in the formation of Widmanstatten austenite within the ferrite grains at 500 degrees C. The nearly constant yield stress at high annealing durations was attributed to the opposite effects of recovery and Widmanstatten austenite formation. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.