An Investigation on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Hot Rolled Medium Manganese TRIP Steel

Microstructure and mechanical properties of hot rolled medium manganese TRIP steel were investigated in the present study. The heat treatment schedule was intercritical annealing at various temperature (640, 665 and 690 °C) for 1 h and water quenched. The results showed that an excellent combination of high strength and adequate ductility was obtained. As the intercritical annealing temperature increased, the ultimate tensile strength and strain hardening rate increased, while the total elongation increased firstly and then decreased. A large amount of austenite could be retained at room temperature by adopting the method of intercritical annealing. Austenite stability and initial microstructure before deformation played an important role in the mechanical properties and strain hardening rate.