Dynamic recrystallization behavior of a medium carbon vanadium microalloyed steel

Abstract The dynamic recrystallization behavior of a medium carbon vanadium microalloyed steel was systematically investigated at the temperatures from 900 °C to 1100 °C and strain rates from 0.01 s −1 to 10 s −1 on a Gleeble-1500 thermo-simulation machine. The flow stress constitutive equation of hot deformation for this steel was developed with the activation energy Q being about 273 kJ/mol, which is in reasonable agreement with those reported before. Activation energy analysis showed that vanadium addition in microalloyed steels seemed not to affect the activation energy much. The effect of Zener–Hollomon parameter on the characteristic points of flow curves was studied using the power law relation, and the dependence of critical strain (stress) on peak strain (stress) obeyed a linear equation. Dynamic recrystallization is the most important softening mechanism for the experimental steel during hot compression. The dynamic recrystallization kinetics model of this steel was established based on flow stress and a frequently-used dynamic recrystallization kinetics equation. Dynamic recrystallization microstructure under different deformation conditions was also observed and the dependence of steady-state grain size on the Zener–Hollomon parameter was plotted.