Analysis of Plastic Deformation Instabilities at Elevated Temperatures in Hot-Rolled Medium-Mn Steel

The study addressed the microstructure and mechanical properties of hot-rolled advanced high-strength medium manganese steel. Some of the curves that were obtained in static tensile tests at deformation temperatures of 20–200 °C showed the occurrence of the heterogeneous plastic deformation phenomenon, called the Portevin-Le Chatelier (PLC) effect. The deformation temperature significantly influenced a serration character. The correlations between the deformation temperature, serration range, microstructural features, and fracture behavior were investigated. The curves showed no Lüders elongation as a result of the thermomechanical processing applied. The serrated flow phenomenon was observed at 60 and 140 °C. The serration type was different and the most enhanced at 140 °C, where the PLC effect was present in both uniform and post-uniform elongation ranges. The disappearance of serrations at 200 °C was related to the increased diffusion intensity.