Insights into plastic deformation mechanisms of austenitic steels by coupling generalized stacking fault energy and semi-discrete variational Peierls-Nabarro model

The generalized stacking fault energy (GSFE) is a key parameter to determine the plastic deformation mechanisms of austenitic steels. However, the underlying physics why the GSFE can affect the plastic deformation behaviors remains unclear. In this paper, the plastic deformation mechanisms of austenitic steels with different carbon (C) additions were investigated by coupling the GSFE with the semi-discrete variational Peierls-Nabarro (P–N) model. The internal mechanisms behind the P–N stress and plastic deformation were explained at atomic scale. It is found that the positions and contents of C atoms affect the GSFE of austenite, and thus regulate plastic deformation behaviors of austenitic steels by influencing dislocation core structure. As exemplified that with 4 ​at.%C in austenite, the intrinsic stacking fault energy increases from −433 to −264 mJ/m², and the stacking fault width increases to 6.62b from 4.72b of FCC-Fe with b being the Burgers vector. This corresponds to the plastic deformation mechanism dominated by the ε martensitic transformation with the lattice changing from FCC to HCP. With increasing C contents to 8 ​at.%, the intrinsic stacking fault energy of austenite increases to −9.01 mJ/m², while the stacking fault width decreases to 6.03b. The plastic deformation tends to proceed via the mechanical twinning mode. The present investigation establishes a solid foundation for clarifying the plastic deformation mechanisms of austenitic steels from the perspective of the dislocation core structure.