Effect of structure-texture evolution on cold work hardening caused by rolling of nitrogen Cr-Ni-Mn austenitic steels

A correlation between the structure-texture evolution and cold work hardening due to the rolling of Cr-Ni-Mn austenitic steels with different nitrogen (0.06, 0.02, 0.4, 0.54 mass %) is studied. An increase in the nitrogen content has led to a significant solid solution hardening. However, the cold work hardening did not practically depend on the nitrogen content. The concentration dependence of stacking fault energy (SFE) was found non-monotonous. It increases with nitrogen up to 0.4 mass% and decreases at a higher nitrogen content. The absence of nitrogen-induced cold work hardening is attributed to increasing SFE and as a result, to a less developed twinning. The evolution of texture and structure in the studied steel is analyzed in terms of the influence of SFE and nitrogen content on the dislocation gliding and twinning.