Effect of Austenite Morphology on Ferrite Refinement in Microalloyed Steel

Abstract

The Strain-Induced Dynamic Transformation (SIDT) is an efficient way to overcome the limitation of grain refinement during the conventional thermomechanical controlled processing (TMCP) of steels. The present study deals with the effects of austenite morphology on the SIDT in microalloyed and IF steels. The discussion of the processing route in terms of chemical composition, deformation schedules, heating and cooling conditions is carried out by the means of torsion tests with deformation in metastable conditions. As it was expected, the microstructure of microalloyed steel was clearly controlled by the microalloying elements what, in turn, directly affectedthe SIDT products. Examination of water-quenched microstructures, just after deformation, revealed the morphology of "strain-induced ferrite". The kinetics of SIDT were observed and analyzed using the strain-stress curves. It is shown that presence of strain-induced precipitations in microalloyed steels accelerates kinetic of SIDT - by reducing the amount of Nb in solution. The changes in ferrite refinement of the experimental steels were explained from the view of the austenite morphology and processing parameters.