An Overview of the Effects of Alloying Elements on the Properties of Lightweight Fe-(15–35) Mn-(5–12) Al-(0.3–1.2) C Steel

In this review, the influences of alloying elements on the phase constitution, density, and stacking fault energy of Fe-(15–35) Mn-(5–12) Al-(0.3–1.2) C lightweight steel are discussed. The mechanical properties of austenite single-phase and austenite–ferrite dual-phase Fe-Mn-Al-C steels processed by different procedures are also statistically analyzed. The austenite single-phase steel was found to possess superior strength and plasticity. Three reasonable explanations for the mechanism of plastic deformation are presented, namely, shear band-induced plasticity, microband-induced plasticity, and slip band refinement-induced plasticity.