Stability of retained austenite and its effect on tensile properties and hole expansion performance of high-strength steel.

Medium manganese steel has a ferritic matrix with retained austenite as the secondary phase at room temperature (RT). The effect of the transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) of retained austenite on steel has earlier been found to result in an excellent combination of high strength and ductility, making it a promising candidate as a third-generation advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) for automotive applications. Therefore, extensive research has recently been conducted with the aim to increase the amount of retained austenite in steel, thereby enhancing the strength and ductility of the steel. However, an increase in the amount of retained austenite can be detrimental to the HER, which is due to its low mechanical stability and the transformation to martensite when forming holes by punching. However, there has been relatively little research on this topic. The impact of the mechanical stability of retained austenite on the tensile properties and hole expansion ratio (HER) of high-strength medium-Mn steel have been investigated in the present study. Samples were prepared using one-step austenite-reverted-transformation (ART) annealing, which resulted in steel with 24.7 % retained austenite and moderate mechanical stability. The steel showed also an excellent combination of strength and ductility. Samples were also prepared using two-step annealing, which showed a positive effect on the HER of the steel, regardless of the processing method used for the formation of a central hole on the samples. However, it slightly reduced the ductility of the steel. For all these samples, the impact of the retained austenite on the HER was found to be closely related to its mechanical stability and content in the steel. Retained austenite with poor stability transformed into hard martensite during the punching processing of holes. In contrast, the retained austenite with a relatively high stability showed a positive effect during the whole hole expansion deformation process. It decreased the stress concentration and, thereby, improved the HER. Thus, the present study has found that it is of the greatest importance to improve the stability of the retained austenite in high-strength medium-Mn steel, and to suppress its transformation to martensite during the punching of holes in the steel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]