Evolution of crystalline orientations in the production of ferritic stainless steel

Abstract

Ferritic stainless steel EN 1.4016 is used in a wide range of applications, the most common ones related to sheet forming. Several problems in the post-processing of these steels relates to their texture and anisotropy. Therefore, it is necessary to know the mechanisms of texture formation in the subsequent stages of metal manufacturing processes. EBSD has been demonstrated as a successful characterisation technique for this purpose. It is known that during re-crystallisation of Fe-Cr steels, deviations from the desired γ-fibre texture promote a decrease of deep drawability. Additionally, α-fibre damages formability. Subsequent cold rolling and annealing can enhance the deep drawing properties of the steel sheet. In this research, a standard sample and a modified one with optimised settings as regard to chemical composition and manufacturing process, to improve the formability properties, are characterised. To analyse the preferred orientation and the type of main fibre present in the material, ODF and Aztec Reclassify Phase, to calculate the content of martensite, were used.

Transformation of the Microstructure of Fe-Cr Steel during Its Production

“…The technical approach, which has been presented in preliminary studies [40][41][42], includes characterization by Field Emission Gun-Scanning Electron Microscopy (FEG-SEM) to study texture formation, evolution and microstructural phases obtained during different steps of the processing route, namely casting, intermediate hot rolling, annealing and pickling after hot rolling, and final annealing after cold rolling. Additionally, finishing mill specimens are tested using the Gleeble 1500 thermo-mechanical system as a function of the temperature range for the final rolling step [43].…”