Materials Science & Engineering A 575 (2013) 119–126

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Materials Science & Engineering A

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Applicability of the one-internal-variable Kocks–Mecking approach for tensile

flow and work hardening behaviour of modified 9Cr–1Mo steel
J. Christopher, B.K. Choudhary n, M.D. Mathew, T. Jayakumar
Metallurgy and Materials Group, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam 603102, Tamil Nadu, India

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Tensile flow and work hardening behaviour of modified 9Cr–1Mo steel in normalised and tempered
Received 17 January 2013 (N+T) and additional three different simulated post-weld heat treatments (PWHTs of 993, 1013 and
Accepted 15 March 2013 1033 K for 1 h) conditions have been examined in the framework of the one-internal-variable Kocks–
Available online 28 March 2013
Mecking (K–M) approach in the temperature range 300–873 K. The steel exhibited two-stage work
Keywords: hardening behaviour characterised by a rapid decrease in instantaneous work hardening rate, θ (θ ¼dsp/
Modified 9Cr–1Mo steel dεp, where sp is the plastic flow stress component and εp is the true plastic strain) with sp at low stresses
Post-weld heat treatment (transient stage) followed by a gradual and linear decrease at high stresses (stage-III). The variations in
Kocks–Mecking approach work hardening parameters with temperature exhibited three distinct temperature regimes. The
Work hardening behaviour
influence of PWHT is reflected in systematic variations in work hardening parameters with increasing
PWHT temperature from 993 to 1033 K due to microstructural softening.
& 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction one-parameter model of the Kocks–Mecking approach [7,8], the

Appropriate description of tensile flow and work hardening
behaviour of metals and alloys is one of the most important areas
of materials research in view of improving the conditions for
material processing and for ensuring safe performance during
service. Tensile flow and work hardening behaviour of metals and
alloys has been described using one of the several empirical
relations proposed in the literatures such as Hollomon [1], Ludwik
[2], Swift [3], Voce [4,5] and Ludwigson [6] relationships. In these
relationships, the flow stress is related to the plastic strain εp
(which is not a physical state variable) as an external variable and
involving relevant additional term defining the work hardening
characteristics of the materials. Among these flow relationships,
Voce equation [4,5] has attracted more attention in view of
the prediction of saturation stress close to the experimentally
observed value of ultimate tensile strength from some initial stress
value and the sound interpretation subsequently provided by the
Kocks–Mecking approach [7–10]. In the Kocks–Mecking (K–M)
phenomenological approach [7,8], the evolution of dislocation
structure with strain at constant strain rate is assumed as a single
structural parameter responsible for plastic flow. The work hard-
ening is controlled by the competition between storage and
annihilation (rearrangement) of dislocations, which are assumed
to superimpose in an additive manner. In this simplified
n
Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 44 27480118; fax: +91 44 27480075,
+91 44 27480118.
E-mail address: bkc@igcar.gov.in (B.K. Choudhary).
mean free path of gliding dislocations is assumed to be solely
determined by localised obstacles associated with dislocations and
evolution of average dislocation density to be the governing
parameter defining the course of deformation. In the K–M
approach, the evolution of the average dislocation density (ρ) is
expressed as the competition between a storage term and an
annihilation term in the following equation:
 þ 
dρ dρ dρ−
¼M − ; ð1Þ
dεp dεp dεp
where M is the Taylor factor. Eq. (1) can also be expressed using
dislocation accumulation or hardening parameter, k1 (the disloca-
tion accumulation term dρ+/dεp is given as dρ+/dεp ¼k1ρ1/2)
and dislocation annihilation due to dynamic recovery, k2 para-
meter (the dislocation annihilation term dρ−/dεp is given as
dρ−/dεp ¼k2ρ) as
dρ
¼ M ðk1 ρ1=2 −k2 ρÞ: ð2Þ
dεp
In the K–M approach, the plastic flow stress component (sp)
is linked to the dislocation density [11–13] following Taylor
equation as
sp ¼ Mαμbρ1=2 ; ð3Þ
where α is a constant, μ is the shear modulus and b is Burger's
vector. The plastic contribution of the flow stress is experimentally
defined as sp ¼s−sY, where s is the total flow stress and sY is
yield stress component of the flow stress. The work hardening rate
due to the evolution of dislocation density with strain can be

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120 J. Christopher et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 575 (2013) 119–126
derived from the differentiation of Eq. (3), and by the substitution
of Eq. (2), work hardening relationship is obtained as
dsp M 2 αμbk1 Mk2 sp
¼θ¼ − ;
dεp 2 2
where θ ¼dsp/dεp is the work hardening rate. On rearrangement
and by substituting the plastic component of saturation stress, i.e.,
sp,sat ¼Mαμbk1/k2, the work hardening relation describing stage-III
hardening is expressed as
 
sp
θ ¼ θ0 1− ; ð5Þ
sp;sat
where θ0 ¼ M2αμbk1/2 is the initial work hardening rate at plastic
flow stress, sp ¼s−sY ¼ 0. The applicability of Eq. (5) has been
successfully demonstrated for understanding the deformation and
work hardening characteristics of materials ranging from single
and polycrystalline pure face-centred cubic metals and alloys
[7–10,13] to complex ferritic/martensitic 7–9% Cr steels [11,12,14].
Modified 9Cr–1Mo steel is an important high temperature
material for steam generator (SG) applications in fossil-fired
thermal and nuclear power plants. The choice of modified 9Cr–
1Mo steel for steam generator applications in sodium cooled fast
reactors (SFRs) is based on the low thermal expansion coefficient
and high resistance to stress corrosion cracking in water-steam
systems compared to austenitic stainless steels, in addition to
better mechanical properties at elevated temperatures than the
alternate 2.25Cr–1Mo and plain 9Cr–1Mo steels [15,16]. The steel
also offers a good combination of high creep strength and ductility
over long exposures at high temperatures. The good weldability
and microstructural stability over long exposures at elevated
temperatures are other attractive features for the steel. Further-
more, the fabrication of steam generator in monometallic material
enhances the reliability of the components including critical tube
to tube plate welds. Welding, which remains a major joining
process for the manufacture of steam generator components of
SFRs, strongly influences the microstructure and properties of the
weld joint. During weld thermal cycle, a narrow heat affected zone
(HAZ) consisting of coarse grain, fine grain, partially transformed
or intercritical HAZ and over tempered regions are formed in base
metal on either side of the weld metal due to large temperature
gradients. This heterogeneous distribution of microstructure in the
HAZ leads to large gradient in the strength values across the weld
joints. The presence of a soft intercritical HAZ is often regarded as
a weak link and a life limiting region of a weld joint due to its
inferior creep strength [17]. The inferior creep strength of the
intercritical HAZ results from the preferential accumulation of
creep deformation coupled with extensive creep cavitation due to
micro-mechanistic effects of constrained deformation and devel-
opment of damage commonly known as type IV cracking [17].
Apart from the heterogeneous microstructure across HAZ, a large
amount of residual stresses generated due to the weld thermal
cycle adds to strength gradient in the weld joint. In order to relieve
the residual stresses and minimise the strength gradient across
the weld joint, a suitable post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) is
prescribed and practised. It is known that the PWHT modifies the
microstructure, which in turn affects the mechanical properties of
the base metal that is previously unaffected by the weld
thermal cycle.
Table 1
Chemical composition (wt%) of modified 9Cr–1Mo steel.
Element C Cr Mo Si
Amount 0.097 9.29 0.92 0.31
Detailed investigation on the influence of PWHT on room and
elevated temperatures tensile properties of modified 9Cr–1Mo
steel base metal in normalised and tempered (N+T) condition
ð4Þ indicated a systematic decrease in both yield and ultimate tensile
strength values with increasing PWHT temperature [18]. An
examination on the applicability of appropriate flow relationship
in the normalised and tempered and with additional PWHT
conditions suggested that a combination of Ludwigson and Hollo-
mon relations describe true stress–true plastic strain behaviour
most accurately [19]. The Ludwigson equation follows closely s–ε
data at room and intermediate temperatures, whereas at high
temperatures, Ludwigson equation reduces to Hollomon equation.
Alternately, Voce equation as a single relationship can provide an
adequate description of s–ε behaviour for the temperature range
of interest, i.e., 300–873 K [19,20]. In this paper, work hardening
behaviour of modified 9Cr–1Mo steel in N+T and PWHT conditions
has been examined in terms of the variation of instantaneous
work hardening rate (θ) with total true stress (s) and plastic flow
stress (sp) in the framework of the one-internal-variable Kock–
Mecking approach [7–10] in the temperature range 300–873 K.
The influence of additional three different PWHTs and tempera-
tures on the flow and work hardening parameters associated with
the K–M approach has also been discussed.
2. Experimental details and analysis of data
2.1. Material, heat treatment and tensile testing
Modified 9Cr–1Mo steel of 12 mm thick plates in normalised
and tempered condition was used in this investigation. The
chemical composition of the steel is given in Table 1. The plates
were normalised at 1333 K for 25 min and tempered at 1023 K for
1 h. In order to simulate PWHTs, additional heat treatments of
993 K/1 h, 1013 K/1 h and 1033 K/1 h were given to 12  12 
60 mm3 specimen blanks machined from the plate with stress
axis along the rolling direction. The rates of heating and cooling of
200 K/1 h were used during all the post-weld heat treatments. The
Vickers hardness measurements were performed on N+T and
PWHT specimens employing a load value of 10 kg. Microstructural
examinations were performed on N+T and PWHT specimens
prepared by the standard metallographic technique and by etching
in Villela's reagent (1 g picric acid+5 ml HCl+100 ml ethyl alcohol)
using a Philips XL30 scanning electron microscope (SEM).
Button head cylindrical specimens of 26 mm gauge length and
4 mm gauge diameter were machined from the specimen blanks
in N+T and PWHT conditions. Tensile tests were carried out in air
using a floor model Instron 1195 universal testing machine
equipped with a three-zone temperature control furnace and a
stepped-load suppression unit. Tests were performed on N+T and
PWHT specimens over a temperature range 300-873 K at a
nominal strain rate of 1.26  10−3 s−1. The temperatures in all the
tests were controlled within 72 K. Load–elongation curves were
recorded using the Instron autographic recorder. Use of suitable
chart speed and stepped zero suppression gave strain resolution of
7.5  10−4 and stress resolution of 0.80 MPa, respectively.
Mn P S Nb V N Fe
0.37 0.018 0.005 0.08 0.26 0.057 Balance
 J. Christopher et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 575 (2013) 119–126
2.2. Analysis of data
The load–elongation curves at room and high temperatures
were smooth, whereas at intermediate temperatures (523–673 K)
jerky flow was observed in N+T and PWHT conditions. An
examination of the jerky flow at different temperatures in the
range 523–673 K revealed that these serrations could be classified
into types A–C serrations [18]. A uniform approach based on the
classification of types of serrations was adopted for measuring
load values from the load–elongation curves showing serrated
flow [18,21]. For type A serrations, which show an abrupt rise in
the loads followed by discontinuous drops to or below the general
level of load–elongation curves, general levels of load values were
considered. For type B serrations that oscillated about the general
level of load values, mean load values were taken. For type C
serrations characterised by load drops always below the general
level of load values, envelope load values were taken for stress–
strain data. Typical averaging scheme of load values in the load–
elongation curves exhibiting types A–C serrations can be seen in
Refs. [22,23] for plain 9Cr–1Mo steel as an example. The true
stress–true plastic strain data were obtained using a computer
programme from the digitised load–elongation data up to the
maximum load values from the load–elongation curves. Since no
strain gauge was employed, the cross head displacement was
taken as the specimen extension. The linear elastic portion of the
load–elongation data was contributed by the specimen, machine
frame, and load–train assembly. The combination of these elastic
elongations was subtracted from the total elongation for the
estimation of plastic strain. Stress and plastic strain data were
used to determine true stress (s)–true plastic strain (εp). The
instantaneous work hardening rate with flow stress or plastic
component of flow stress was calculated by centred difference
method as
   
sðiþ1Þ −sðiÞ sðiÞ −sði−1Þ spðiþ1Þ −spðiÞ spðiÞ −spði−1Þ
θ ¼ 1=2 þ ¼ 1=2 þ ;
εpðiþ1Þ −εpðiÞ εpðiÞ −εpði−1Þ εpðiþ1Þ −εpðiÞ εpðiÞ −εpði−1Þ
ð6Þ
where subscript i refers to particular data point of flow stress (s)
or plastic component of flow stress (sp) and plastic strain (εp).
Fig. 1. Microstructures of modified 9Cr–1Mo steel in (a) N+T condition and additional PWHTs of (b) 993 K/1 h, (c) 1013 K/1 h and (d) 1033 K/1 h.
121
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Microstructure and hardness
The microstructures of modified 9Cr–1Mo steel in N+T and
different PWHT conditions are shown in Fig. 1. The microstructure
in N+T condition is composed of tempered lath martensite with
fine precipitates of M23C6 carbides decorated along prior austenite
grain and martensite lath boundaries. The matrix regions con-
tained fine MX type V(C,N) and Nb(C,N) precipitates (Fig. 1a).
PWHT specimens exhibited coarse precipitates both at the grain
and lath boundaries and in the matrix regions (Fig. 1b–d).
A systematic coarsening of the precipitates resulting in the
decrease in number density of precipitates with increasing PWHT
temperatures can be seen in Fig. 1. The variation in hardness with
the introduction of PWHT is shown in Fig. 2. A rapid decrease in
the hardness can be seen for the specimen subjected to PWHT of
993 K/1 h followed by a marginal decrease with increasing PWHT
temperature from 993 to 1033 K. The observed decrease in the
hardness following PWHT results from the microstructural soft-
ening in terms of precipitate coarsening and overall decrease in
the number density of the precipitates, as observed in Fig. 1.
3.2. Influence of test temperature and PWHT on tensile flow and
work hardening behaviour
Typical variations in flow stress as a function of true plastic
strain at different temperatures as double logarithmic plots are
shown in Fig. 3 for modified 9Cr–1Mo steel subjected to PWHT of
993 K for 1 h as an example. At all the strains, a general decrease in
flow stress with increase in temperature in the range 300–873 K
has been observed for the steel in N+T and PWHT conditions.
A substantial decrease in the flow stress is seen with increase in
temperature from 300 to 473 K. At intermediate temperatures
(473–723 K), marginal decrease in flow stress with increasing
temperature is observed at all strains, and the s–εp data appear
to lie in a narrow band. At high temperatures (above 723 K), flow
stress decreases rapidly with increasing temperature. Apart from
the decrease in flow stress, a decrease in the true uniform plastic
strain with increasing temperature from 300 to 473 K followed by
122 J. Christopher et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 575 (2013) 119–126
Fig. 2. Variations in hardness with respect to post-weld heat treatments of 993 K/1 h,
1013 K/1 h and 1033 K/1 h.
Fig. 3. Double logarithmic plots of true stress (s)–true plastic strain (εp) at different
temperatures for post-weld heat treatment of 993 K for 1 h in modified 9Cr–
1Mo steel.
a marginal decrease in the values at intermediate temperatures
and a drastic reduction at high temperatures are observed. The
variations in the flow stress and the true uniform plastic strain
values with respect to temperature explicitly suggest three distinct
temperature regimes of room, intermediate and high tempera-
tures for s–εp behaviour in modified 9Cr–1Mo steel.
Following the K–M approach, work hardening behaviour of
modified 9Cr–1Mo steel in N+T and PWHT conditions has been
examined in terms of the variations of instantaneous work hardening
rate, θ (θ¼ds/dε) with true stress (s) at different temperatures.
Representative θ–s plots at different temperatures are shown in
Fig. 4 as an example for the steel post weld heat treated at 993 K for
1 h. In all the heat treatment conditions, θ vs. s exhibited two-stage
work hardening behaviour characterised by a rapid decrease in θ
with s at low stresses followed by a gradual decrease in θ with s at
high stresses. The two-stage work hardening is shown for 300 K in
Fig. 4. The rapid decrease in θ at low stresses is designated as
transient stage (TS) and the gradual linear decrease in θ at high
stresses represents typical stage-III work hardening governed by the
K–M approach. The observed transient stage is different from stage-I
in single crystal, in which the value of θ is much lower than that in
stage-III. A general decrease in θ vs. s to low stresses, i.e., shift
Fig. 4. Variations of instantaneous work hardening rate (θ) as a function of true
stress (s) at different temperatures for post-weld heat treatment of 993 K for 1 h in
modified 9Cr–1Mo steel.
Fig. 5. Double logarithmic plots of true stress (s) vs. true plastic strain (εp) at 523 K
for N+T and PWHT conditions in modified 9Cr–1Mo steel.
towards origin with increase in temperature is observed. Like s vs. εp,
θ vs. s plots also exhibited three distinct temperature regimes of
room, intermediate and high temperatures. At intermediate tem-
peratures (473–723 K), θ vs. s data points fall into narrow band and
only marginal variations with respect to temperature are seen. At
high temperatures (T4723 K), rapid shift in θ vs. s plots to lower
stresses is observed (Fig. 4). Further, the influence of increasing
temperature is reflected in a general increase in the rates at which θ
decreases with increasing s particularly in stage-III. This can be
observed from the increasing slopes of θ–s plots in stage-III with
increasing temperature (Fig. 4). The observed two-stage work hard-
ening behaviour in θ–s is in agreement with those reported for 9% Cr
steels [22–26]. Further, three distinct temperature regimes observed
in s–εp and θ–s behaviour in modified 9Cr–1Mo steel compare
favourably with those observed for plain 9Cr–1Mo steel [22,23,26].
The influence of PWHTs on flow and work hardening behaviour
of N+T modified 9Cr–1Mo steel has been examined in the
temperature range 300–873 K. At all the temperatures, a systema-
tic decrease in flow stress values with increasing PWHT tempera-
ture has been observed. The variations of true stress–true plastic
strain with respect to PWHT temperature at 523 K is shown as an
example in Fig. 5. At all the strains, true stress values exhibited a
 J. Christopher et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 575 (2013) 119–126 123

decrease with increasing PWHT temperature in the range

993–1033 K compared to that observed for N+T condition. At all
the temperatures, like s vs. εp, the influence of PWHT is also
reflected in a systematic shift in θ vs. s towards lower stresses with
increasing PWHT temperature. The θ vs. s plots at 523 K in N+T
and PWHT conditions exhibiting two-stage work hardening beha-
viour and a shift in θ–s towards low stresses with increasing
PWHT temperature is shown in Fig. 6 as an example. The
decreased flow stress values due to microstructural softening with
increasing PWHT temperatures (Fig. 1) is reflected in a shift in θ–s
towards lower stresses.

3.3. Variations of work hardening parameters associated with the

K–M approach with temperature and PWHT

In order to investigate the influence of decrease in flow stress

associated with microstructural softening due to PWHT on the
work hardening behaviour of modified 9Cr–1Mo steel, analysis of
work hardening in the framework of the K–M approach [7–10,13] Fig. 7. Variations of instantaneous work hardening rate (θ) as a function of plastic
was performed in terms of variations in θ with plastic flow stress component of flow stress (sp) at 473 K in modified 9Cr–1Mo steel for PWHT of
(sp) component defined as sp ¼s−sY, where sY is the true yield 993 K for 1 h. Best fit line for stage-III hardening obeying the K–M approach has
been shown as broken line.
stress at offset plastic strain of ε ¼0.001. The values of sY have been
determined either from the experimental s–ε data or from the
extrapolated flow stress values at ε ¼ 0.001 at all the test condi-
tions. Representative θ–sp plot at 473 K for PWHT of 993 K for 1 h
and fitted with the K–M equation, i.e., Eq. (5) is shown in Fig. 7 as
an example. A good fit of the K–M work hardening relation for
stage-III is shown by broken line in Fig. 7. The initial work
hardening rate θ0 is obtained as the intercept on the y-axis at
sp ¼s−sY ¼0 and the plastic component of saturation stress sp,sat is
evaluated as the intercept on the x-axis at θ¼ 0. The slope of θ–sp
plot in stage-III denoted by nV,K–M defines the rate at which work
hardening rate decreases with increasing stress. The slope of θ–sp
plot in stage-III can also be expressed in terms of dynamic
recovery k2 parameter as nV,K–M ¼−Mk2/2.
The temperature dependence of true yield stress sY for mod-
ified 9Cr–1Mo steel in N+T and PWHT conditions is shown in
Fig. 8. In order to bring out the influence of temperature alone on
the yield stress, the shear modulus (μ) compensated true yield
stress, i.e. sY/μ has been used. The shear modulus is obtained as
μ¼E/2(1+υ), where υ is Poisson's ratio and temperature dependent
of Young's modulus (E) values have been taken from French
nuclear design code RCC-MR for the steel [27]. A marginal Fig. 8. Variations of normalised true yield strength (sY/μ) with temperature for N
+T and PWHT conditions in modified 9Cr–1Mo steel.

decrease in sY/μ from 300 K to 473 K followed by well defined

Fig. 6. Variations of instantaneous work hardening rate (θ) as a function of true
stress (s) at 523 K for N+T and PWHT conditions in modified 9Cr–1Mo steel.
plateaus at intermediate temperatures and a rapid decrease of sY/μ
at high temperatures can be seen in Fig. 8 for N+T and PWHT
conditions. At all the temperatures, a systematic decrease in true
yield stress values has been observed with increasing PHWT
temperatures of 993, 1013 and 1033 K. The reduction in true yield
stress is more pronounced for higher PWHT temperatures of
1013 K and 1033 K compared to those observed for N+T and
993 K/1 h PWHT conditions. The variations of modulus compen-
sated plastic flow stress sp,sat/μ with temperature for N+T and
PWHT conditions are shown in Fig. 9. Like sY/μ, the variations in
sp,sat/μ with temperature also exhibited three distinct temperature
regimes as a gradual decrease from 300 to 473 K followed by
plateaus at intermediate temperatures (523–673 K) and a rapid
decrease at high temperatures. Fig. 9 also demonstrates a sys-
tematic increase in plastic flow stress sp,sat/μ in the temperature
range 300–873 K with the introduction of increasing PWHT
temperature. The increase in sp,sat/μ with increasing PWHT tem-
perature can arise from the dominance of improved contribution
124 J. Christopher et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 575 (2013) 119–126
Fig. 9. Variations of normalised plastic component of saturation stress (sp,sat/μ)
with temperature for N+T and PWHT conditions in modified 9Cr–1Mo steel.
Fig. 10. Variations of nV,K–M with temperature for N+T and PWHT conditions in
modified 9Cr–1Mo steel.
of tensile work hardening and gain in the plastic flow stress due to
microstructural softening in PWHT conditions.
The slope of θ–sp plot in stage-III, i.e., nV,K–M (proportional to
dynamic recovery k2 parameter) exhibited a marginal increase in
nV,K–M from room to intermediate temperatures followed by a
rapid increase at high temperatures in N+T and PWHT conditions
(Fig. 10). Like nV,K–M, modulus compensated initial work hardening
rate, i.e., θ0/μ (proportional to hardening parameter k1) also
exhibited a marginal increase in θ0/μ from room to intermediate
temperatures followed by a rapid increase at high temperatures
(Fig. 11). The variations in the ratio of dynamic recovery parameter
and hardening parameter, k2/k1 (evaluated as k2/k1 ¼Mαμb/sp,sat)
with temperature displayed a marginal increase in the value from
300 to 473 K followed by plateaus at intermediate temperatures
and rapid increase at high temperatures (Fig. 12). A marginal
decrease in k2/k1 with respect to increasing PWHT temperature is
noticed in the temperature range 300–873 K. Rapid increase in
k2/k1 with increasing temperature indicates the dominance of
dynamic recovery at high temperatures. This is also reflected in
the rapid increase in the rate parameters nV,K–M and θ0/μ at high
temperatures (Figs. 10 and 11). The influence of PWHT on nV,K–M
and θ0/μ at room and intermediate temperatures is observed to be
Fig. 11. Variations of θ0/μ with temperature for N+T and PWHT conditions in
modified 9Cr–1Mo steel.
Fig. 12. Variations of K2/K1 with temperature for N+T and PWHT conditions in
modified 9Cr–1Mo steel.
marginal with increasing PWHT temperature. At high tempera-
tures, significant and systematic decrease in nV,K–M and θ0/μ values
with increasing PWHT temperature is seen.
The occurrence of saturation stress or steady state stress has
been interpreted as a state of dynamic equilibrium between
generation of dislocations and their annihilation by dynamic
recovery during deformation process [7–10]. A decrease in satura-
tion stress with increasing temperature implies that steady state is
reached at lower stresses due to the dominance of dynamic
recovery. The occurrence of plateaus in true yield stress (sY/μ),
saturation stress (sp,sat/μ) and the ratio of dynamic recovery
parameter and hardening parameter (k2/k1) and the marginal
variations in nV,K–M and θ0/μ along with the grouping of s–ε and
θ–s data indicate anomalous flow and work hardening behaviour
at intermediate temperatures. This anomalous behaviour can be
attributed to dynamic strain ageing (DSA) as manifested by the
occurrence of serrated flow at intermediate temperatures in
the steel [18]. Based on the measurement of activation energy
for the onset of serrated flow, it has been suggested that diffusion
of interstitial solutes such as carbon to be responsible for DSA in
9% Cr steels [18,28–31]. It has been demonstrated that DSA causes
an increased rate of multiplication of dislocations and delay in
 J. Christopher et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 575 (2013) 119–126
recovery of dislocation structure due to reduced dislocation
mobility and reduced propensity to crossslip [29,32–36]. These
investigations indicate reduced dynamic recovery in the DSA
temperature regime. Contrary to this, rapid decrease in sY/μ and
sp,sat/μ and a rapid increase in absolute nV,K–M, θ0/μ and k2/k1 with
increasing temperature indicate acceleration of recovery processes
at high temperatures. It has been suggested that the dynamic
recovery parameter k2 or nV,K–M determines the rate at which
stress tends to attain a steady state value [9]. Therefore, the value
of nV,K–M is invariably associated with rate controlling deformation
mechanism. It has been also suggested that at room and inter-
mediate temperatures, where crossslip is dominant, nV,K–M is
expected to have a low absolute value. On the other hand, a
change in controlling mechanism from cross-slip to dislocation
climb and subboundary migration results in high nV,K–M value at
high temperatures. A rapid increase in nV,K–M at high temperatures
observed for N+T and PWHT conditions indicates the dominance
of dislocation climb and subboundary migration during high
temperature deformation in modified 9Cr–1Mo steel. The dom-
inance of dynamic recovery is also reflected in the rapid increase
in k2/k1 at high temperatures. A comment on the variations in
work hardening parameters at room temperature and in the DSA
temperature regime is in order. Marginal difference in the respec-
tive work hardening parameters with increasing temperature
obtained at room and intermediate temperatures suggests that
the dislocation substructural behaviour in its totality is not very
different in the two temperature regimes. Therefore, as suggested
[25,26], long range stress field due to multiplication of dislocations
and their interaction is expected to play a major role at room and
intermediate temperatures. This is also reflected in the normalised
plots of θ/μ vs. sp/sp,sat, i.e., θ/μ vs. (s−sY)/sp,sat at different
temperatures in modified 9Cr–1Mo steel post-weld heat treated
at 993 K for 1 h as shown in Fig. 13. θ/μ vs. sp/sp,sat data displayed
two different narrow bands, one for room and intermediate
temperatures (300–673 K) and the other for high temperatures
(723–873 K). The two different groupings in θ/μ vs. sp/sp,sat clearly
suggest the dominance of two different recovery mechanisms, i.e.,
cross-slip of dislocations at room and intermediate temperatures
and dislocation climb and subboundary migration at high temp-
eratures.
The large reduction in true yield stress with increasing PWHT
temperature (Fig. 8) observed for the steel can be attributed to
Fig. 13. Variations of normalised instantaneous work hardening rate (θ/μ) as a
function of normalised plastic component of flow stress (sp/sp,sat) at different
temperatures in modified 9Cr–1Mo steel for PWHT of 993 K for 1 h.
125
microstructural softening associated with coarsening of precipi-
tates resulting in the overall reduction in the number density of
precipitates with increasing PWHT temperature (Fig. 1). In addi-
tion to this, recovery of dislocation substructure with increasing
PWHT temperature from 993 to 1033 K is expected to add into the
reduction in strength values of the steel. Contrary to this, the
plastic flow stress sp,sat exhibited an increase in the values with
increasing PWHT temperature (Fig. 9) due to increased work
hardening contribution in PWHT specimens. The improved work
hardening in PWHT conditions is derived from its ability to achieve
higher work hardening due to softened microstructures. Higher
work hardening due to reduced dynamic recovery in the softened
microstructures in PWHT conditions is reflected in the lower k2/k1
ratio than that observed for N+T condition (Fig. 12). In N+T
condition, the dominance of dynamic recovery as indicated by
higher k2/k1 ratio leads to lower sp,sat values than those in PWHT
conditions at all temperatures. Since, θ0 is inversely related to the
mean free path of dislocations [9], the observed decrease in θ0/μ
with increasing PWHT temperature can be ascribed to the
decrease in number density of precipitates and dislocation density
with increasing PWHT temperatures. The dynamic recovery in FCC
metals has been interpreted in terms of the components of
dynamic recovery parameters arising from spontaneous annihila-
tion of dipoles or by the annihilation arising from dipole climb and
its direct proportionality to θ0 [37]. Since, θ0 and nV,K–M are
interrelated, the decrease in θ0/μ is reflected in a systematic
decrease in nV,K–M with increasing PWHT temperature. All these
observations indicate that the work hardening parameters asso-
ciated with the K–M approach such as θ0/μ, nV,K–M, k2/k1 and sp,sat/μ
are sensitive to initial microstructures.
The influence of improved work hardening in PWHT conditions
due to microstructural softening is reflected in a systematic
increase in plastic flow component of saturation stress sp,sat with
increasing PWHT temperature. In this context, it is interesting to
examine the variations of flow stress in its totality with respect to
increasing PWHT temperature in the temperature range 300–
873 K. The total flow stress in terms of saturation stress obtained
as sS ¼sY+sp,sat exhibited distinct three temperature regimes
(Fig. 14) similar to those shown by the variations of yield stress
and plastic flow component of saturation stress with respect to
temperature (Figs. 8 and 9). In addition to this, saturation stress
shows a systematic decrease with increasing PWHT temperature.
However, the influence of increasing PWHT temperature on
decreasing saturation stress values is less pronounced compared
Fig. 14. Variations of normalised total saturation stress (sS/μ) with temperature for
N+T and PWHT conditions in modified 9Cr–1Mo steel.
126 J. Christopher et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 575 (2013) 119–126
Fig. 15. Variations of saturation stress (sS) with true ultimate tensile strength (sU)
obeying sS EsU for different temperatures and heat treatment conditions in
modified 9Cr–1Mo steel.
to that in yield strength due to improved work hardening causing
larger gain in plastic flow component of saturation stress. Fig. 15
shows a comparison between saturation stress and true ultimate
tensile strength (sU) in the temperature range 300–873 K for N+T
and PWHT conditions. Theoretical sS ¼sU line is shown as solid
line in Fig. 15. Excellent correlation observed between saturation
flow stress (sS) and true ultimate tensile strength (sU) for the steel
in N+T and PWHT conditions is not surprising and is in order.
Following Considere's criterion for necking, sU is determined
as s¼ sU at θ¼ s. Following the K–M approach, sS,K–M is obtained
as the sum of sY+sp,sat, where sp,sat is determined as s¼ sp,sat at
θ¼0 from the θ–sp plots in stage-III. Therefore, sS,K–M is expected
to be higher than sU as demonstrated in Fig. 15.
4. Conclusions
Tensile flow and work hardening behaviour of modified 9Cr–1Mo
steel in N+T and PWHT conditions have been adequately described
using the one-internal-variable Kocks–Mecking approach. At all the
heat treated and test temperature conditions, θ–sp plots exhibited
two-stage work hardening behaviour characterised by a rapid
decrease in instantaneous work hardening rate (θ) with plastic
component of flow stress (sp) at low stresses (transient stage)
followed by a gradual decrease at high stresses (stage-III). The
variations in work hardening parameters associated with the K–M
approach with temperature exhibited distinct three temperature
regimes along with signatures of dynamic strain ageing at inter-
mediate temperatures and dominance of dynamic recovery at high
temperatures. At all the test temperatures, a systematic decrease in
true yield stress (sY) values has been observed with increasing
microstructural softening due to increasing PHWT temperatures in
the range 993–1033 K. On the contrary, the microstructural softening
due to additional PWHTs in modified 9Cr–1Mo steel has resulted in
the improved work hardening and this is reflected in a systematic
increase in plastic flow component of saturation stress (sp,sat) with
increasing PWHT temperature compared to that in N+T condition. An
examination in terms of the influence of PWHTs on total saturation
stress, i.e., sS ¼sY+sp,sat indicated a marginal decrease in sS with
increasing PWHT temperature due to larger gain in plastic flow
component of saturation stress. It is observed that the work hard-
ening parameters are sensitive to initial microstructures. Excellent
correlation in terms of equivalence between saturation flow stress
(sS) and true ultimate tensile strength (sU) has been observed for the
steel in N+T and PWHT conditions.
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