The influence of temperature and strain rate on the evolution of the retained austenite content during plastic straining has been studied by tensile tests performed at 4 × 10−4, 10−2 and 0.4 s−1 between −100 and 450 °C. Up to 150 °C, the austenitic volume fraction mechanically transformed decreases with increasing testing temperature being almost independent of strain rate. In contrast, above 150 °C the martensite transformation depends on testing temperature and strain rate since it is related to the ability of carbon atoms for pinning dislocations

This work was supported by the Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología (CICYT), Spain, under Grant MAT2006-13348

Peer reviewed