Investigation of rolling variables on the structure of steel.

The Literature pertaining to the present research has been critically reviewed. Hot deformation of Nb-free and Nb-containing stainless and C-Mn steels has been carried out by: upset-forging, rolling, and plane strain compression testing. Also, some gridded lead alloy and some mild steel containing Type I MnS inclusions as markers have been hot rolled. Subsequently investigations have been made into: barrelling and lubrication in upsetting; distributions of temperature and strain during thermomechanical working; microstructural processes associated with hot deformation of steel and the evolution of microstructures particularly recrystallised gamma-grain size; isothermal transformation of austenite to ferrite; and the mechanisms governing hot deformation of austenite.Barrelling during the hot upsetting of a solid cylinder arises from the combined effects of interface friction and inhomogeneous distribution of temperature. A barrelling factor, B[f], has been defined to quantify the degree of barrelling and hence of inhomogeneity of deformation in an upset-forged cylinder. Employing glass as a lubricant, an optimised lubrication technique, which ensures homogeneous deformation in upsetting, has been developed and a mechanism of lubrication proposed. The through-thickness temperature distribution of a deforming material, particularly during hot rolling, is inhomogeneous. Generally, the centre-plane temperature rises due to heat generation while the surface-plane temperature drops due to the cooling effects of the tools. Strain distribution during hot rolling is also inhomogeneous. In particular, the vertical strain (epsilon[z]) is minimum at the surface-plane of the material, maximum at the mid-plane and intermediate at the centre-plane.Hot deformation of the stainless steels leads to substructure formation and, at suitably high strains, dynamic and metadynamic recrystallisation. Only a small amount of static recovery precedes static recrystallisation. Nucleation for recrystallisation occurs at preferential sites, particularly serrated boundaries and triple junctions of the deformed prior gamma-grains.The nucleated gamma-grains grow anisotropically and link up to form chains of grains at the prior gamma-grain boundaries. Recrystallisation in hot-rolled samples is inhomogeneous at micro and macro-levels. Particularly, recrystallisation is accelerated at the centre-plane and retarded at the surface plane. This effect arises mainly from non-uniform distribution of temperature and is influenced by material and hot rolling variables. Nb retards recrystallisation by the combined effects of Nb carbide/ nitride particles and Nb atoms in solid solution, the particle effect predominating at 1100°C. Recrystallisation is accelerated by a higher strain, a higher deformation temperature, a higher strain rate, a decrease in the prior ?-grain size, and the presence of deformation bands and twins. A non-isothermal multiple deformation sequence increases the incubation time due to a large temperature drop but promotes a fast recrystallisation rate at the recrystallisation temperature. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).