Through-Scale Analysis of Strain Path Effects in Microalloyed Austenite Subjected to Reverse Rolling

Abstract

Thermomechanical hot rolling processes are often realized using reverse rolling stands, where the rolled stock is fed forward and backward through the rolling gap. During those processes, material undergoes several strain reversals that significantly alter microstructure evolution of austenite with respect to continuously rolled counterparts. In Nb-microalloyed steels, where precipitation hardening is usually expected, the effects of strain reversal are especially complex. When rolling direction is reversed, both static recrystallization (SRX) kinetics and strain-induced precipitation (SIP) processes are slowed down due to decreasing dislocation density. It affects the competition between driving force for SRX and pinning pressure for SIP and, in turn, changes the non-recrystallization temperature (Tnr), compared to the case where strain path is linear. In the present paper, detailed through-scale analysis of strain path effects in microalloyed austenite will be presented. Physical simulation and detailed microstructural analysis will be employed to study global and local effects in microalloyed austenite after complex deformation histories. Conclusions regarding the influence of strain path changes on the interactions between SRX and SIP will be drawn.