Microstructural evolution of Ti-added interstitial free steel in high strain deformation by hot torsion

Abstract

The dynamically evolved microstructure under high strain deformation condition does still have many debatable aspects, particularly in the case of easy-recovery metals like bcc-iron. In this research, microstructural evolution in high strain deformation by hot torsion of Ti-added interstitial free (IF) steel was systematically investigated. Torsion specimens were deformed up to an equivalent strain of ∼ 7 at different temperatures (650 °C - 850 °C) and strain rates (0.01 s-1 - 1.0 s-1), i.e., under various values of the Zener-Hollomon (Z) parameter. Immediately after the deformation, samples were water-quenched and microstructures were investigated by electron backscattering diffraction (EBSD) measurements and electron channelling contrast imaging (ECCI). Flow stress-strain curves of the IF steel under various deformation conditions showed typical flow curves of high stacking fault energy metals at low Z values, i.e., a peak stress followed by slight softening. On the other hand, under the high-Z deformation conditions, the specimens showed a larger stress drop after a certain amount of deformation. EBSD-based quantitative analysis was used to study the microstructural transition between high and low Z values. At low Z values, the occurrence of strain induced boundary migration (SIBM) as an initiation of dynamic recrystallization (DRX) was clearly observed. On the other hand, at high Z values, grain subdivision phenomena led to very fine and elongated structures.