Effects of Quenching Temperature on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of a Strip-Cast Medium-Mn Steel Processed by Quenching and Partitioning

Twin-roll strip casting (TRSC), which is a low-energy and short process to produce strip steel, is a potential approach to produce advanced high-strength steels. Herein, a medium-Mn steel containing 4 wt% Mn was processed using a novel route involving TRSC, hot rolling and quenching and partitioning (QP) to explore the possibility of medium-Mn steel produced by TRSC plus QP process. The effects of quenching temperature on the microstructure and mechanical properties were studied. It was found that primary martensite and retained austenite (RA) were obtained at the quenching temperature of 140–180 °C, while primary martensite, RA and secondary martensite were obtained when the quenching temperature was 220–300 °C. With an increase in quenching temperature from 140 to 260 and to 300 °C, the RA fraction first increased from 15.4% to 31.8% and then decreased to 16.6%. The sample at a quenching temperature of 220 °C yielded mechanical properties with a yield strength of 992 MPa, tensile strength of 1159 MPa and total elongation of 20.4%. The superior mechanical properties were achieved by an optimum combination of high RA fraction (26.5%), appropriate mechanical stability of RA and a small number of the islands of secondary martensite and RA. Hence, the present study provides a viable processing route for medium-Mn steel.