Abstract
Microstructural evolutions, σ-phase precipitation, and recrystallization kinetics of cold-rolled AISI 904L stainless steel during annealing were studied in the present work. The microstructure and hardness evolution were different in the temperature ranges of T < 950 °C (with σ-phase precipitation) and T ≥ 950 °C. The former range was associated with the fall of hardness due to recrystallization softening, followed by hardening due to the concurrent σ-phase precipitation; while the latter range was associated with the continuous fall of hardness. Using the Johnson–Mehl–Avrami–Kolmogorov (JMAK) analysis, the recrystallization activation energy in these ranges were respectively determined as 325 and 257 kJ/mol, where the higher activation energy in the former range was correlated to the retardation effect of the σ-phase. Via applying the Kissinger's equation to the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results, the activation energy of ∼332 kJ/mol was obtained, which was consistent with the precipitation of the σ-phase.
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