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Acta Metall Sin  2025, Vol. 61 Issue (12): 1873-1883    DOI: 10.11900/0412.1961.2024.00069
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Effect of Grain Size on Low-Cycle Fatigue Properties of an Fe-Mn-Al-C Third Generation TWIP Steel
HAN Jing1,2, SHAO Chenwei1,2(), QIU Zihao1,2, ZHANG Zhenjun1,2, ZHANG Zhefeng1,2()
1 Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
2 School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Shenyang 110016, China
Cite this article: 

HAN Jing, SHAO Chenwei, QIU Zihao, ZHANG Zhenjun, ZHANG Zhefeng. Effect of Grain Size on Low-Cycle Fatigue Properties of an Fe-Mn-Al-C Third Generation TWIP Steel. Acta Metall Sin, 2025, 61(12): 1873-1883.

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Abstract  

Lightweighting for bodies in white has become an important approach for enhancing energy efficiency and reducing emissions within the automotive industry. Among various lightweight materials, high-strength steel has shown considerable potential in terms of cost-effectiveness, safety, and user satisfaction. In particular, Fe-Mn-Al-C twinning-induced plasticity (TWIP) steel, also known as the third generation TWIP steel, has received considerable attention from the automotive industry in recent years owing to its excellent mechanical properties and good formability. During deformation, TWIP steel generates a considerable amount of deformation twinning within its grains, thereby impeding dislocation motion and resulting in high strain hardening rates in TWIP steels. Given that TWIP steels may be subjected to cyclic loading during actual service, the potential for fatigue failure poses a substantial risk during their long-term service, resulting in serious economic losses or human casualties. However, the deformation behavior and microstructure evolution of Fe-Mn-Al-C TWIP steel during low-cycle fatigue remain extensively understudied. Therefore, the study of the fatigue properties of TWIP steels is of considerable importance for their design and application in the automotive industry, warranting increasing attention. Herein, the low-cycle fatigue behaviors of Fe-22Mn-3Al-0.6C steels with different grain sizes were investigated. Steels with grain sizes of 8, 16, and 60 μm were prepared via hot rolling and subsequent heat treatment. After low-cycle fatigue testing, the samples were characterized using SEM equipped with electron channeling contrast imaging components and TEM. The effects of grain size on cyclic stress response, damage mechanisms, and fatigue life of Fe-Mn-Al-C TWIP steel were analyzed. Considering the fatigue damage contributed by strain and stress, the low-cycle fatigue property of TWIP steel was assessed from the perspective of hysteresis energy. Results indicated that the TWIP steel with small grain size (8 μm) exhibited enhanced low-cycle fatigue performance at a small total strain amplitude (Δε / 2 = 0.3%). Conversely, at a large total strain amplitude (Δε / 2 = 1.0%), the TWIP steel with large grain size (60 μm) exhibited enhanced low-cycle fatigue performance. Hysteretic energy model analysis revealed that fatigue damage mechanisms in TWIP steels were dominated by strain damage at large total strain amplitudes, with coarse grains showcasing an improved capacity to accommodate damaged defects. Conversely, at reduced total strain amplitudes, the fatigue mechanism was dominated by stress damage, with fine-grained steels showing enhanced strength and improved resistance against fatigue crack initiation.

Key words:  TWIP steel      low-cycle fatigue      fatigue life      grain size      dislocation      twinning     
Received:  16 March 2024     
ZTFLH:  TG142.1  
Fund: National Natural Science Foundation of China(52321001);Youth Innovation Promotion Association, CAS(2022189);Distinguished Scholar Project of Institute of Metal Research, CAS(2019000179);Youth Talent Promotion Project of China Association for Science and Technology(YESS20200-120)
Corresponding Authors:  ZHANG Zhefeng, professor, Tel: (024)23971043, E-mail: zhfzhang@imr.ac.cn; SHAO Chenwei, associate professor, Tel: (024) 83978909, E-mail: chenweishao@imr.ac.cn

URL: 

https://www.ams.org.cn/EN/10.11900/0412.1961.2024.00069     OR     https://www.ams.org.cn/EN/Y2025/V61/I12/1873

Fig.1  Tensile engineering stress-strain curves of Fe-22Mn-3Al-0.6C twinning-induced plasticity (TWIP) steels with three different grain sizes
Fig.2  Cyclic stress response curves of Fe-22Mn-3Al-0.6C TWIP steels under different total strain amplitudes with three different grain sizes of 8 μm (a), 16 μm (b), and 60 μm (c) (Δε / 2—total strain amplitude)
Fig.3  Surface damage features of Fe-22Mn-3Al-0.6C TWIP steels with grain sizes of 8 μm (a, b) and 60 μm (c, d) after cyclic loading with total strain amplitudes of 0.3% (a, c) and 1.0% (b, d) (PSB—persistent slip band, SB—slip band, GB—grain boundary)
Grain size / μmCrack density / (10-4 μm-2)Crack length / μm
Δε / 2 = 0.3%Δε / 2 = 1.0%Δε / 2 = 0.3%Δε / 2 = 1.0%
81.13 ± 0.476.70 ± 0.819.05 ± 1.2521.19 ± 2.04
162.49 ± 1.164.32 ± 0.469.82 ± 0.8918.66 ± 1.79
603.57 ± 1.013.17 ± 1.3818.07 ± 1.4017.42 ± 2.10
Table 1  Fatigue crack densities and crack lengths of Fe-22Mn-3Al-0.6C TWIP steels with grain sizes of 8, 16, and 60 μm after cyclic loading with total strain amplitudes of 0.3% and 1.0%
Fig.4  Macro morphologies of fracture of Fe-22Mn-3Al-0.6C TWIP steels with grain sizes of 8 μm (a) and 60 μm (b) after cyclic loading with total strain amplitude of 0.3% (The directions of the arrows indicate the propagation directions of the fatigue crack, I—fatigue source zone, II—fatigue crack propagation zone, III—fatigue fracture zone)
Fig.5  SEM images of crack propogation zones in Fe-22Mn-3Al-0.6C TWIP steels with grain sizes of 8 μm (a, b) and 60 μm (c, d) after cyclic loading with total strain amplitudes of 0.3% (a, c) and 1.0% (b, d) (d—fatigue striation spacing)
Grain size / μmΔε / 2 = 0.3%Δε / 2 = 1.0%
81.01 ± 0.106.31 ± 0.37
161.13 ± 0.164.03 ± 0.55
601.32 ± 0.233.73 ± 0.12
Table 2  Fatigue striation spacings of Fe-22Mn-3Al-0.6C TWIP steels with grain sizes of 8, 16, and 60 μm after cyclic loading with total strain amplitudes of 0.3% and 1.0%
Fig.6  TEM images of typical dislocation structures in small-grain (8 μm) Fe-22Mn-3Al-0.6C TWIP steels after cyclic loading with total strain amplitudes of 0.3% (a, b) and 1.0% (c, d)
Fig.7  TEM images of typical dislocation structures in large-grain (60 μm) Fe-22Mn-3Al-0.6C TWIP steels after cyclic loading with total strain amplitudes of 0.3% (a, b) and 1.0% (c, d) (DB—dislocation band. Inset in Fig.7d shows the selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns of twin and matrix)
Fig.8  Electron channeling contrast imaging (a, b) and EBSD maps (c, d) of deformation twinning (cluster) distributions of Fe-22Mn-3Al-0.6C TWIP steels with grain sizes of 8 μm (a, c) and 60 μm (b, d) after cyclic loading with total strain amplitude of 1.0%
Fig.9  Orientation maps showing the distribution of deformation twins (clusters) in Fe-22Mn-3Al-0.6C TWIP steels with grain sizes of 8 μm (a) and 60 μm (b) after cyclic loading with total strain amplitude of 1.0%
Fig.10  Fatigue life data of Fe-22Mn-3Al-0.6C TWIP steels with three different grain sizes
(a) Coffin-Mansion curves
(b) Basquin curves
(c) Hysteretic energy model
Fig.11  Schematic of the relationship between fatigue life and damage mechanism based on the hysteretic energy model
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