Enhancement of tensile properties by room-temperature quenching and partitioning of 0.2C?10Mn?2Al steel

Processing conditions better than those of conventional quenching and partitioning process are suggested for 0.2C?10Mn?2Al steel. The steel can retain 24% of austenite on quenching to room temperature and effectively partition carbon from martensite to austenite at 200?C. The resulting tensile properties were comparable to those produced by conventional quenching and partitioning. Moreover, the suggested processing condition resolves an issue of intercritically annealed medium Mn steels by improving the yield strength and eliminating yield point phenomenon as well as serrated flow. This paper is part of a Thematic Issue on Medium Manganese Steels.