Influence of Heat Treatments on the Microstructural Evolution and Resultant Mechanical Properties in a Low Carbon Medium Mn Heavy Steel Plate

In this study, the microstructural evolution and resultant mechanical properties in a low carbon medium Mn heavy steel plate were investigated in detail. The results show that the introduction of medium manganese alloy design in the heavy steel plate has been shown to achieve the outstanding combination of strength, ductility, low-temperature impact toughness, and strain hardening capacity. It has been found that the austenite phase mainly displays at martensitic lath boundaries and shows lath shape for the heat treating at 873 K (600 degrees C) for 1 to 10 hours or 893 K (620 degrees C) for 2 hours, and not all the austenite phase obeys the K-S or N-W orientation relationship with respect to abutting martensitic lath. Although the microstructure in the steel after heat treating at 873 K (600 degrees C) for 1 to 10 hours is similar to each other, the resultant mechanical properties are very different because the volume fraction and stability of retained austenite vary with the heat treatments. The best low-temperature impact toughness is achieved after heat treating at 873 K (600 degrees C) for 2 hours due to the formation of a considerable volume fraction of retained austenite with relatively high stability, but the strain hardening capacity and ductility are disappointing because of insufficient TRIP effect. Based on enhancing TRIP effect, the two methods have been suggested. One is to increase the isothermal holding temperature to 893 K (620 degrees C), and the other one is to prolong the isothermal holding time to 10 hours at 873 K (600 degrees C). The two methods can significantly increase strain hardening capacity and ductility nearly without harming low-temperature impact toughness. In addition, the stability of retained austenite has been discussed by the quantitative analysis and it has been demonstrated that the stability of retained austenite is related to the chemical composition, size, and morphology. Moreover, the isothermal holding temperature has a great effect on the stability of retained austenite, while the effect of the isothermal holding time is relatively poor. (C) The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and ASM International 2016