Evolution of grain-boundary character distribution during iterative processing of an austenitic stainless steel

Abstract

The present article deals with the analysis of grain-boundary character distribution (GBCD) and microstructural characteristics after iterative processing of austenitic stainless steel, AISI 316L. The steel was subjected to iterative cold reduction and subsequent annealings. After an initial decrease in the fraction of AE3 boundaries, the number of these increases in subsequent steps. The results relate the importance of iterative processing and the mechanism of obtaining a higher fraction of AE3 boundaries.