Correlation between stacking fault energy and deformation microstructure in high-interstitial-alloyed austenitic steels

The correlation between stacking fault energy (SFE) and deformation microstructure of high-interstitial-alloyed austenitic Fe–18Cr–10Mn–(N or N + C) alloys was investigated. As the content of the interstitial elements increased, the deformation microstructure changed in a sequence strain-induced martensitic transformation, mixture of martensite and twin, and finally deformation twin. The SFE, playing an important role in the transition of deformation microstructure, was evaluated by the Rietveld whole-profile fitting combined with the double-Voigt size–strain analysis for neutron diffraction profiles of tensile-strained bulk samples. At fixed N + C content, the ratio of mean-squared strain to stacking fault probability remained constant regardless of the accumulated strain, whereas the ratio gradually increased with increasing N + C content. Almost linear dependence of measured SFE on N + C content could be established. According to the SFE, deformation bands exhibited distinct substructures, and their particular intersecting behavior resulted in the formation of different types of products (secondary ε martensite, α′ martensite and secondary twin) at the intersecting regions.