Unveiling the Origin of Work Hardening Behavior in an Ultrafine-Grained Manganese Transformation-Induced Plasticity Steel by Hydrogen Investigation

To reveal the origin of work hardening behavior in an ultrafine-grained manganese transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) steel, specific experiments were designed with the assistance of hydrogen. Although the effect of hydrogen on the austenite transformation was negligible, the work hardening rate (Θ) was apparently reduced for hydrogenated samples, indicating that TRIP effect cannot account for the high Θ alone. The collaborative effect of dislocation accumulation in ferrite and austenite transformation is proposed to explain the responsible mechanism.