The effect of deformation temperature on the microstructure evolution was investigated in the range from room temperature to 600℃ for an ultralow carbon interstitial free steel deformed to high strain by accumulative roll-bonding (ARB). In the whole temperature range, the microstructure was being subdivided by deformation-induced boundaries, and the spacing of such boundaries decreased with increasing the applied strain. The mechanism of this microstructure evolution is known as grain subdivision. In the warm-temperature ARB at 400℃ and above, a quite uniform lamellar boundary structure elongated to the rolling direction was obtained after high strain, where the boundary spacing tended to be saturated above strain of approximately 4 and the saturated boundary spacing became smaller when the deformation temperature was lower. It is suggested that the microstructure after high strain deformation is determined by a balance of deformation-induced grain subdivision and restoration processes such as recovery and short-range boundary migration, and that the saturated boundary spacing is explained as a function of the Zener–Hollomon parameter. However, localized shear banding occurred at high strain in the room-temperature ARB, leading to inhomogeneities in the microstructure. It is therefore considered that a moderate deformation temperature as well strain rate has to be chosen to avoid shear localization and obtain homogeneous nanostructures.
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