Study of the Columnar Grain Growth in IF Steels during Continuous Heat Cycles

Abstract

The growth of columnar grains in fully recristallized IF steel during rapid heat cycles was examined experimentally. The heat cycles consisted of continuous heating with a rate up to 1500°C/s followed by water or air cooling. The employed heating method, as well as the geometrical form of the samples, enabled to obtain the temperature gradients up to 2000°C cm-1. Moreover, temperature measurements and recordings with the aid of ultra-rapid infrared pyrometry made it possible to determine the characteristic temperatures of phase transformations taking place during heating and cooling periods. The main key parameters of the columnar growth, including temperature gradient and the displacement rate of isotherms corresponding to ferrite-austenite and austenite-ferrite phase transformations could also be examined. The results show that the growth of columnar grains already starts at the heating stage at the ferrite/austenite interface moving against the temperature gradient. During the air cooling period, the growth is taking place according to the temperature gradient, together with the austenite/ferrite interface displacement. It was suggested that columnar-like morphology development occurs according to a selective growth mechanism.