Study of the γ-α transformation in microalloyed steels by EBSD techniques

Abstract

The degree of ferrite grain refinement that can be reached in low carbon microalloyed steels by thermomechanical processing can be limited. Simultaneously, grain coarsening takes place, which leads to a coarser grain size than that corresponding to the initial nucleation density. Coarsening of ferrite grains can be due to different mechanisms: elimination of ferrite grains produced by normal grain growth and coalescence between neighbour ferrite grains with close orientation. In order to investigate the contribution of both mechanisms, EBSD technique has been applied making special emphasis on the study of the α-α grain boundary character.