Effect of intercritical annealing time on microstructure and mechanical behavior of advanced medium Mn steels

The study about the influence of intercritical annealing time on a cold rolled 0.1%C - 4.6%Mn (wt.%) steel was performed. The tensile tests show an interesting balance between strength and ductility especially after 7 hours annealing at 670 degrees C. A part of this good result can be explained by the presence of rather high fraction of metastable austenite at room temperature. On the other hand a very complex microstructure combining lath-like and polygonal features was observed making the interpretation complicated.