To investigate the heterogeneity induced by hot stamping deformation, the microstructure and mechanical properties of Fe-19Cr-10Ni-1Mn austenitic stainless steel were characterized at different locations of the formed curved part. The grain misorientation angle distribution, texture evolution and grain boundaries character distributions at typical positions were investigated. Microstructure analysis demonstrates pronounced inhomogeneity in both grain structure and microtexture evolution across distinct deformation zones of the component, and a limited amount of martensitic transformation was induced in specific locations due to the large strain and subsequent rapid cooling. The combined analysis of stress-strain curves and microstructure reveals that the properties primarily depend on the uniform grain structure and high fraction of Σ3 twin boundaries, with minor contributions from dislocations and martensitic transformation.
Liu et al. (2026) studied this question.