Recrystallization Kinetics and Texture Evolution during Annealing of Cold Rolled Fe-Mn-C Alloy

Abstract

The recrystallization behavior of 50% cold rolled Fe-22%Mn-0.376%C alloy during annealing at 560°C, 630°C and 700°C was investigated. Microhardness tests were applied for characterization of the recrystallization kinetics, X-ray diffraction and EBSD measurements were utilized to characterize the crystallographic texture and the grain microstructure. The obtained experimental data were evaluated in terms of the JMAK model. The obtained values of the Avrami exponent varied in the range between 0.70 and 1.37. The inhomogeneous grain microstructure after recrystallization is interpreted in terms of non-randomly distributed nuclei. Shear bands, lamellar lines intersecting with mechanical twins and grain boundaries with localized high misorientation gradients were identified to be preferential nucleation sites. No pronounced texture was observed after annealing at 630°C.