Effects of Cold Rolling and Annealing on the Microstructure Evolution and Mechanical Properties of S44660 Super‐Ferritic Stainless Steel

This study investigates the microstructural evolution of Nb–Ti stabilized super‐ferritic stainless steel (SFSS) during cold rolling and annealing. The results demonstrate that annealing at 950 °C for 60 min refines the average grain size from 105 to 37.57 μm (a 54% reduction), with a slight decrease in tensile strength to 664 MPa and a significant 60% increase in elongation to 35.45%. Texture analysis reveals that annealing at 800 °C produces coexisting α and γ‐fiber textures, with γ‐fiber dominating. As the temperature rises to 950 °C, the γ‐texture intensity slightly increases, accompanied by the emergence of an α*‐fiber texture, primarily with a {111}<112> orientation. The effect of holding time shows that annealing at 950 °C for 60 min the α ‐texture strength increases, while suppressing α‐fiber texture. Extending the holding time to 120 min leads to texture dispersion, forming a mixed distribution of weak γ‐texture, α‐fiber, and α*‐fiber components. In summary, the 950 °C for 60 min annealing process achieves a synergistic balance between strength and ductility by strengthening γ‐texture and refining grain structure. This work provides critical process parameters for optimizing the strength‐ductility trade‐off in SFSSs, confirming that annealing temperature and time can precisely control texture type and intensity distribution.