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.

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.