The influence of plastic instabilities on the mechanical properties of a high-manganese austenitic FeMnC steel

Abstract The serrations observed on the stress–strain curves of a Fe-22Mn-0.6C wt.% steel present all the phenomenological features associated with dynamic strain ageing, including negative strain rate sensitivity and thermal activation. We show that the activation energy is, however, inexplicably low and that the dynamic strain ageing contribution to work-hardening is limited, i. e. mechanical twinning is the dominant strain hardening mechanism. Finally, novel in-situ experiments are used to study the dynamic behaviour of intense strain localisation bands which form on tensile samples. In spite of the localisation behaviour seen in tensile tests, stamped parts do not present any surface defects.