The effect of C, Mn, and Al additions on the tensile and Charpy impact properties of austenitic high-manganese steels for cryogenic applications is investigated in terms of the deformation mechanism dependent on stacking fault energy and austenite stability. The addition of the alloying elements usually increases the stacking fault energy, which is calculated using a modified thermodynamic model. Although the yield strength of austenitic high-manganese steels is increased by the addition of the alloying elements, the tensile strength is significantly affected by the deformation mechanism associated with stacking fault energy because of grain size refinement caused by deformation twinning and mobile dislocations generated during deformation-induced martensite transformation. None of the austenitic high-manganese steels exhibit clear ductile-brittle transition behavior, but their absorbed energy gradually decreases with lowering test temperature, regardless of the alloying elements. However, the combined addition of Mn and Al to the austenitic high-manganese steels suppresses the decrease in absorbed energy with a decreasing temperature by enhancing austenite stability.

Four types of high Mn TWIP(Twinning Induced Plasticity) steels were fabricated by varying the Mn and Al content, and the tensile properties were measured at various strain rates and temperatures. An examination of the tensile properties at room temperature revealed an increase in strength with increasing strain rate because mobile dislocations interacted rapidly with the dislocations in localized regions, whereas elongation and the number of serrations decreased. The strength decreased with increasing temperature, whereas the elongation increased. A martensitic transformation occurred in the 18Mn, 22Mn and 18Mn1.6Al steels tested at −196 oC due to a decrease in the stacking fault energies with decreasing temperature. An examination of the tensile properties at −196 oC showed that the strength of the non-Al added high Mn TWIP steels was high, whereas the elongation was low because of the martensitic transformation and brittle fracture mode. Although a martensitic transformation did not occur in the 18Mn1.9Al steel, the strength increased with decreasing temperature because many twins formed in the early stages of the tensile test and interacted rapidly with the dislocations.

In this study, two Fe-30Mn-0.2C-(1.5Al) high-manganese steels with different surface conditions were hydrogencharged under high temperature and pressure; then, tensile testing was performed at room temperature in air. The yield strength of the 30Mn-0.2C specimen increased with decreasing surface roughness(achieved via polishing), but that of the 30Mn-0.2C- 1.5Al specimen was hardly affected by the surface conditions. On the other hand, the tendency of hydrogen embrittlement of the two high-manganese steels was not sensitive to hydrogen charging or surface conditions from the standpoints of elongation and fracture behavior. Based on the EBSD analysis results, the small decrease in elongation of the charged specimens for the Fe-30Mn-0.2C-(1.5Al) high-manganese steels was attributed to the enhanced dislocation pile-up around grain boundaries, caused by hydrogen

Over the past few decades, high-nitrogen austenitic steels have steadily received greater attention since they provide a unique combination of high strength and ductility, good corrosion resistance, and non-magnetic properties. Recently, highnitrogen 18Mn-18Cr austenitic steels with enhanced strength have been developed and widely used for generator retaining rings in order to prevent the copper wiring from being displaced by the centrifugal forces occurring during high-speed rotation. The high-nitrogen austenitic steels for generator retaining ring should be expanded at room temperature and then stress relief annealed at around 400˚C to achieve the required mechanical properties. In this study, four kinds of high-nitrogen 18Mn-18Cr austenitic steels with different nitrogen content were fabricated by using a pressurized vacuum induction melting furnace, and then the effects of nitrogen content, cold working, and stress relieving on tensile properties were investigated. The yield and tensile strengths increased proportionally with increasing nitrogen content and cold working, and they further increased after stress relieving treatment. Based on these results, a semi-empirical equation was proposed to predict the tensile strength of highnitrogen 18Mn-18Cr austenitic steels for generator retaining rings. It will be a useful for the effective fabrication of high-nitrogen 18Mn-18Cr austenitic steels for generator retaining rings with the required tensile properties.

The hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility of high strength TRIP/TWIP steels with the tensile strength of 600Mpa to 900Mpa grade was investigated using cathodically hydrogen charged specimens. TWIP steels with full austenite structure show a lower hydrogen content than do TRIP steels. The uniform distribution of strong traps throughout the matrix in the form of austenite is considered beneficial to reduce the hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility of TWIP steels. Moreover, an austenite structure with very fine deformation twins formed during straining could also improve the ductility and reduce notch sensitivity. In Ubend and deep drawing cup tests, TWIP steels show a good resistance to hydrogen embrittlement compared with TRIP steels.