Microstructural Evolution and Crystallographic Texture Formation of Cold Rolled Austenitic Fe‐30Mn‐3Al‐3Si TWIP‐Steel

The microstructural and texture evolution of cold rolled low stacking fault energy fcc Fe‐30Mn‐3Al‐3Si alloy was investigated as a function of the cold rolling strain. The alloy was melted and cast in a vacuum induction furnace, hot rolled and annealed before being cold rolled at three different strains: ε = 0.035, e = 0.2 and ε = 1.2. During the cold rolling process different deformation mechanisms became active depending on the strain. At low strain levels, ε = 0.035 and ε = 0.2, slip traces were observed whereas at higher strains shear bands appeared. The brass orientation {110}<112> spreading towards the Goss orientation {110}<001> was dominant at every strain level. The intensity of these texture components increased with increasing rolling strain. The increase of the brass component was more pronounced when e varied from 0.035 to 0.2, whereas the increase of the Goss component was more pronounced when ε varied from 0.2 to 1.2. Additional texture components developed: the E orientation {111}<110> lying on the γ‐fibre and the S orientation {123}<634> lying on the ß‐fibre. This evolution is comparable to other low SFE fcc materials exhibiting the brass‐type texture.