Dynamic recrystallization behavior and microstructure evolution of high-Mn austenitic steel for application in a liquefied natural gas carrier

Abstract

The hot-working behavior of high-Mn austenitic steel for liquefied natural gas carriers at the deformation temperature in the range of 1073–1273 K and the strain rate in the range of 0.01–10 s−1 was studied on a Gleeble-3800 thermomechanical simulator using a compression test. Electron backscatter diffraction was used to study the microstructure after deformation. Under each deformation condition, a peak stress appears in the stress-strain curve, which conforms to traditional dynamic recrystallization hot-working flow stress curves. A hyperbolic sine-law-type constitutive equation was established to predict the peak stress. The thermal deformation activation energy was 414.19 kJ/mol, and the stress index n was 4.94. The texture of the deformed grains consisted of strong <110> and weak <100> fibers along the compression direction. The main recrystallization mechanism was discontinuous dynamic recrystallization. The grain size of the discontinuous dynamic recrystallization grains tended to increase with increasing deformation temperature or decreasing strain rate. Processing maps were drawn based on the dynamic material model. At high deformation temperatures, the power consumption factor of dynamic recovery was greater than that of dynamic recrystallization, whereas at low deformation temperatures, the power consumption factor of discontinuous dynamic recrystallization was greater than that of dynamic recovery. There are two flow instability regions in the processing maps, 1243–1273 K/1-10 s−1 and 1073–1203 K/0.05–10 s−1. The formation of a ‘necklace microstructure’ was the main cause of deformation instability. The optimized process parameters for industrial production were 1243–1273 K/1-10 s−1.