Tensile behavior and plastic deformation mechanisms of Fe-22.8Mn-8.48Al-0.86C low-density steel were studied in this thesis. After solution treatment 1100 °C for 1 h; the steels obtained an excellent combination in mechanical properties; with tensile strength of 757.4 MPa and total elongation of 68%; which were attributed to the existence of annealing twins in austenite. The present steel presented a multiple stage strain hardening behavior which was associated with the changes of such dislocation substructures. With the increase of strain, the gradual transition from tangled dislocations to dense dislocation walls and microbands was found in (the transmission electron microscopy) TEM microstructures. Due to the influence of the evolution of the microstructure during the deformation process, the work hardening behavior of the experimental steel shows three distinct stages.
