EUROPEAN CONGRESS AND EXHIBITION ON ADVANCED MATERIALS AND PROCESSES - EUROMAT 2021

Manganese alloyed steels with high Mn and medium C content offer TRIP behaviour and thus the chance to attain local surface hardening through martensite formation during sizing or rolling. This is an attractive option also for PM precision parts. In the present study, sintered steels with 9% Mn and varying C contents were prepared by pressing and sintering, and the deformation and transformation behaviour was studied in compression tests. Density/porosity changes were measured, and the austenite content was determined through magnetic saturation. It showed that at low C levels, transformation occurs quite fast, the martensite generated inhibiting further deformation and resulting in early fracture. At higher C levels, more deformation is needed to start the TRIP effect, thus enabling significant densification combined with increased hardness.