Deformation of Ferrite-Austenite Banded Structure in Cold-Rolled Duplex Steel / Odkształcenie Pasmowej Struktury Ferrytu I Austenitu W Walcowanej Na Zimno Stali Duplex

Abstract

Duplex type ferritic-austenitic stainless steels develop a specific two-phase banded structure upon thermo-mechanical pre-treatment and subsequent cold-rolling. The band-like morphology of ferrite and austenite imposes different conditions on plastic deformation of both constituent phases in comparison to one-phase ferritic and austenitic steels. In the present research the ingot of a model ferritic-austenitic steel of duplex type, produced by laboratory melt, was subjected to preliminary thermo-mechanical treatment including forging and solution annealing. Afterwards cold-rolling was conducted over a wide deformation range. The investigations comprised examination of ferrite and austenite microstructures by means of optical and transmission electron microscopy and texture measurements after selected rolling reductions. The presented results indicate that deformation mechanisms operating within the bands of both constituent phases are essentially the same as compared to one-phase steels, however their appearance and contribution are changed upon deformation of two-phase banded structure. Different deformation behavior within ferrite-austenite bands in duplex steels, visible especially at higher strains, considerably affects microstructure evolution and in consequence texture formation in both phases.