Effect of Ni on the mechanical behavior of a high-Mn austenitic TWIP steel

Abstract The effect of Ni on the mechanical properties and microstructure of twinning induced plasticity (TWIP) steels were investigated in this study. TWIP 1 (0.6 C, 24 Mn) and TWIP 2 (0.6 C, 24 Mn, 1 Ni) steels were fabricated and annealed at 700, 800 and 900 °C for 150 minutes and then air-cooled. The results revealed that the Ni containing steel (TWIP 2) exhibits a higher yield strength and tensile strength than the steel TWIP 1. Carbide precipitations have been detected in the microstructure of TWIP 1 and TWIP 2 specimens annealed at 700 °C. However, the microstructure of the steel TWIP 1 annealed at 800 and 900 °C was fully austenitic and some grains included twins. It turned out that with the addition of Ni, the formation of twinning decreased in consequence of the annealing at 800 and 900 °C.