Microstructure evolution and kinetic analysis of low carbon micro-alloyed high-strength steels in recrystallization process

The current research investigated the microstructure and transformation kinetics of low carbon micro-alloyed high-strength steels under various recrystallization conditions. It was found that the stripped grains developed in cold-rolling process were transformed into the recrystallized grains when extending the holding time in annealing heat treatment. The recrystallization rate became higher when increasing the annealing temperature. The hardness decreased with increasing temperature or extending the holding time since the completion percentage of recrystallization was higher. In the analysis of transformation kinetics, the recrystallization kinetics equations were established, and the activation energy for recrystallization process was found to be 9.367 × 10 5 J/mol.