An Integrated Model for Rolling Schedule Design of Microalloyed Steels

Abstract

Processing parameters have direct impacts on the quality of the steels produced. This is particularly true for microalloyed steels, the production of which involves a thermomechanical controlled rolling process, which combines multi-pass hot rolling with accelerated cooling. On one hand, hot rolling may finish below A3 temperature when austenite starts to transform to ferrite. On the other hand, controlled cooling is applied to obtain the desired microstructure from austenite decomposition. To optimise the TMCP parameters of such alloys, not only a clear understanding of each metallurgical phenomenon involved is required, but also the interactions among them. This paper reports our recent work on modelling of microstructural evolution and deformation resistance during multi-pass hot rolling of steels. The model considers the following metallurgical phenomena as well as their interactions: - Precipitation of MX type carbides, nitrides or carbonitrides. - Interactions between precipitation and recrystallisation and their effects on grain refinement. - Effect of grain size and cooling path on transformations from austenite to ferrite, pearlite, bainite and martensite. - Effect of rolling parameters, recrystallisation and microstructure on the deformation resistance of the alloy. The model predicts the evolution of microstructural features such as precipitate size and amount, recrystallisation fraction and effective strain, grain size, and austenite decomposition, as well as the alloy’s deformation resistance during hot rolling. It has been applied to a wide range of steels and demonstrated good agreement with experimental observations. Therefore, it has the great potential to be implemented in a production line to help optimise the rolling schedule for both C-Mn and microalloyed steels.