C. L. Yang ^{a, b}, Z. J. Zhang ^{a *}, P. Zhang ^a and Z.F. Zhang ^{a, b}

An unusual necking behavior was found in twinning-induced plasticity (TWIP) steels during tensile tests, which is quite different from that observed on most
ductile metals. A sharp drop of the strain-hardening rate (Q) arises before necking initiation, rather than after it, leading to the premature necking of TWIP steels. Through carefully examining the evolution of macroscopic defects at various tensile strains using three-dimensional X-ray tomography (3D-XRT), this premature necking behavior was attributed to the multiplication of macroscopic voids during plastic deformation. Combining with the previous theories and present characterizations on the evolution of macroscopic voids, the mechanism of the unusual necking behavior in TWIP steels was quantificationally revealed.

Keywords: Twinning-induced plasticity steel; Voids; Necking; Strain-hardening rate.

Acta Materialia Volume 136, 1 September 2017, Pages 1-10