The role of twinning on microstructure and mechanical response of severely deformed single crystals of high-manganese austenitic steel

The role of mechanical twinning on the fragmentation and the contribution to strengthening was studied using single crystals of Hadfield steel after high-pressure torsion and rolling at room temperature. Multiple twinning was found to be the basic deformation mechanism responsible for the fast generation of an ultrafine-grained microstructure with twin boundaries in Hadfield steel single crystals after severe cold plastic deformation. As a result, the hardness of the Hadfield steel increased noticeably.