Materials Science & Engineering A 571 (2013) 1–12

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Materials Science & Engineering A

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/msea

Hot deformation behavior and microstructure evolution of a stabilized

high-Cr ferritic stainless steel
S.V. Mehtonen n, L.P. Karjalainen, D.A. Porter
Center for Advanced Steels Research, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4200, Oulu 90014, Finland

a r t i c l e i n f o abstract

Article history: The hot deformation behavior and static microstructure evolution of a 21Cr stabilized ferritic stainless
Received 5 December 2012 steel was studied using axisymmetric hot compression tests on a Gleeble 1500 thermomechanical
Received in revised form simulator. The deformation was carried out at 950–1050 1C to strains of 0.2 to 0.6 using strain rates of
24 January 2013
0.01, 0.1 and 1 s  1. The compression was followed by a holding period of 0 to 180 s in order to study
Accepted 25 January 2013
Available online 9 February 2013
the static recrystallization kinetics. The electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) technique was used in
analyzing the resultant microstructures. A constitutive equation that well describes the flow stress as a
Keywords: function of strain, strain rate and temperature was developed. The active dynamic restoration
Ferritic stainless steel mechanism was found to depend on the Zener–Hollomon parameter, such that continuous dynamic
Flow stress
recrystallization was observed under low Zener–Hollomon parameter conditions but under high
Constitutive analysis
Zener–Hollomon parameter microstructures were dynamically recovered, and no dynamic formation
Restoration mechanisms
Recrystallization of new grains occurred. Static recrystallization resulted in little or no grain refinement, and further,
EBSD strain did not have an accelerating effect on the static recrystallization kinetics beyond the strain of 0.4.
& 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction recovery is very intense in these steels. Dynamic recrystallization

The high and volatile prices of nickel and molybdenum have
made the high chromium (Cr 418 wt%) ferritic stainless steels an
attractive alternative to austenitic Cr–Ni and Cr–Ni–Mo and
ferritic Cr–Mo grades in general stainless steel applications such
as in building materials or kitchen appliances. These applications
often require good deep drawability and resistance to roping or
ridging. These properties can be improved by increasing the
amount of the favorable recrystallization texture in the cold
rolled and annealed sheet and by breaking up colonies of similarly
oriented grains [1,2]. Hot rolling and hot band annealing affect
both of these. Because of their composition, these steels are
ferritic at all temperatures below the solidification temperature,
and the austenite–ferrite phase transformation does not occur
during hot deformation. The detrimental textures inherited from
the solidification structure can be weakened in the hot rolling
stage only by recrystallization.
Recovery and recrystallization are competing restoration pro-
cesses which take place during hot deformation and during the
inter-pass times of hot rolling leading to the softening of the
material. The stacking fault energy of ferritic stainless steels is
relatively high and hence dislocations can cross-slip readily which
promotes recovery over recrystallization [3]. Hence, dynamic
n
Corresponding author. Tel.: þ358 294 482147; fax: þ 358 8 5532165.
E-mail address: saara.mehtonen@oulu.fi (S.V. Mehtonen).
can occur by three different mechanisms: discontinuous dynamic
recrystallization, continuous dynamic recrystallization and geo-
metric dynamic recrystallization [4]. Discontinuous dynamic
recrystallization operates by nucleation and growth and is gen-
erally considered not to take place in metals with high stacking
fault energy because of the intense recovery, even though it has
been shown that its occurrence is dependent on the purity of the
material, e.g. [5], and on the deformation conditions, i.e. the
Zener–Hollomon parameter [6]. In continuous dynamic recrystal-
lization, no nucleation phase is present and the new grains form
by the gradual increase of the misorientation of low-angle
boundaries. Geometric dynamic recrystallization operates at high
strains 5–10, where the grains are fragmented into new grains
during the deformation [7]. In ferritic stainless steels, due to
intense dynamic recovery, conventional discontinuous dynamic
recrystallization is usually considered as unfeasible. Instead,
continuous dynamic recrystallization by the coalescence of
subgrain boundaries has been shown by a number of authors to
occur under certain conditions during hot deformation of carbon
steels in the ferrite range and of ferritic stainless steels [8–13].
The dynamic restoration mechanisms depend on the deforma-
tion conditions, as described above, and thereby the relations
between flow behavior and dynamic microstructure evolution are
very important factors affecting the hot rolling loads as well as the
following static recrystallization and texture evolution during hot
band annealing. The dislocation storage, i.e. the amount of stored
energy, serves as the driving force for static recrystallization during

0921-5093/$ - see front matter & 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2013.01.077
2 S.V. Mehtonen et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 571 (2013) 1–12
Nomenclature
A1 phase transformation temperature for austenite–
ferrite phase transformation
e strain
e_ strain rate ( s  1)
Q def activation energy for deformation (kJ mol  1)
R universal gas constant (8.314 J mol  1 K  1)
T deformation temperature (K)
A0 material constant
A00 material constant
A material constant
0
nc material constant
nc material constant
b material constant
a material constant
sp peak stress (MPa)
sss steady state stress (MPa)
se true stress at true strain of e (MPa)
the post hot rolling annealing. The amount of stored energy of a
bulk material can be measured quantitatively by thermal analysis
methods, such as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) e.g.
[14–16]. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and transmission
electron microscopy (TEM) [16,17], microhardness e.g. [16,18] and
the line broadening of X-ray diffraction (XRD) [19] are methods for
qualitatively analyzing the dislocation density and thereby the
local stored energy. Further, the amount of stored energy can be
estimated qualitatively from the amount of work hardening in the
flow stress curves [20]. The dynamic restoration processes greatly
affect the amount of stored energy and hence the static restoration
mechanisms and kinetics. The flow behavior and the microstruc-
ture evolution of austenite in static recrystallization process during
hot deformation are extensively studied subjects. Also the defor-
mation of ferrite in interstitial free and low-carbon steels has been
investigated by many authors in warm working temperature range,
e.g. [21,22], but in these studies, the deformation took place below
the austenite–ferrite phase transformation temperature A1. There-
fore, the restoration mechanisms may differ from those experi-
enced in the hot deformation temperature range of 950–1050 1C.
Zhang et al. [23] investigated the effect of shear bands formed
during hot rolling on static recrystallization rate in a 21%Cr ferritic
stainless steel, however they did not pay attention to the flow
behavior of the steel.
In this study, the hot deformation behavior of stabilized high-
Cr ferritic stainless steel was investigated by hot compression
tests with the final aim of clarifying the hot rolling schedules,
which might improve the final product quality. The purpose was
to identify the dynamic restoration processes taking place during
hot deformation and to develop constitutive equations to predict
the flow stress under various Zener–Hollomon parameter condi-
tions. Also, the effect of Zener–Hollomon parameter on the static
restoration kinetics was studied in order to explore ways to
promote recrystallization after the hot rolling stage.
2. Experimental
The experimental steel used in the study was laboratory cast
ingot of 70 kg hot rolled at 1100 1C from 48 mm down to the
thickness of 15 mm with 3 passes. The chemical composition (in
weight percent) of the steel is listed in Table 1. Cylindrical
specimens 10 mm in diameter and 12 mm high (height to
diameter ratio 1.2) cut with their axis normal to the rolling plane,
R2 correlation coefficient
R Pearson0 s correlation coefficient
E experimentally achieved value
E mean value of E
P predicted value obtained from the equation
P mean value of P
N number of the dataset
Xrex isothermally recrystallized fraction
t time (s)
t0.5 time for 50% recrystallization (s)
n Avrami exponent
C material constant
d grain size
Qapp apparent activation energy for static recrystallization
(kJ mol-1)
p material constant, ‘‘strain exponent’’
q material constant, ‘‘strain rate exponent’’
s material constant, ‘‘grain size exponent’’
were machined from the hot-rolled bands. The size of the speci-
mens was chosen so that the height to diameter ratio is within the
acceptable limits of 1–2 [24]. Axisymmetric compression tests
were performed employing a Gleeble 1500 thermomechanical
simulator. The specimens were reheated at the rate of 20 1C/s to
1100 1C for solution annealing, held for 2 min and then cooled to
the deformation temperature (950, 1000 or 1050 1C) at the cool-
ing rate of 10 1C/s. The specimens were compressed in a single hit
to a true strain of 0.2–0.6 at a constant true strain rate of 0.01,
0.1 or 1 s  1. After the compression, the specimens were either
water quenched to room temperature immediately after the
deformation or held at the deformation temperature for 10 to
180 s, and subsequently air cooled to room temperature. The
deformed and annealed microstructures were characterized using
a field emission scanning electron microscope FEG-SEM (Carl
Zeiss Ultra Plus) with an electron backscatter diffraction detector
(EBSD) (HKL Nordlys). The recrystallized fractions were deter-
mined metallographically from the deformed and annealed speci-
mens using the SEM-EBSD. For metallographic examinations,
cross-sections of the cylindrical compression specimens halved
parallel to the cylinder axis were used. One specimen was
quenched immediately after the 2 min of solution annealing at
1100 1C in order to measure the initial grain size. This was found
to be 157 mm using the mean linear intercept method.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Flow behavior during hot deformation
The measured flow stress curves during compression tests are
presented in Fig. 1. The shape of flow curves is similar to those
previously measured for high-Cr ferritic stainless steel [12]. (Note
that the drop in the flow stress curves at the higher strain rates at
the strain of about 0.06 is caused by a machine effect and has no
Table 1
Chemical composition of the investigated
steel (in wt%).
C N Cr Ti Nb
0.004 0.0077 21 0.33 0.11
 S.V. Mehtonen et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 571 (2013) 1–12 3

Fig. 1. Flow stress curves at strain rates of 0.01–1 s  1 at (a) 950 1C, (b) 1000 1C and (c) 1050 1C.

metallurgical origin.) The flow stress increases with decreasing 3.2. Constitutive equations
deformation temperature and increasing strain rate. However, it
is seen that at 1000 and 1050 1C at low strain rates of 0.01 and Constitutive equations describing flow stress in terms of
0.1 s  1 there is hardly any work hardening, except at very small deformation temperature and strain rate can be expressed by
strains, indicating the occurrence of pronounced dynamic recov- the Zener–Hollomon parameter (Z), which is a temperature
ery (DRV). However, a real steady-state flow condition where the modified strain rate, defined by the equation [26]:
flow stress is constant is only reached at 1050 1C at the strain rate  
of 0.01 s  1, i.e. a low Zener–Hollomon parameter (Z) condition Q def
Z ¼ e_ exp ð1Þ
(see Eq. 1 below). At the higher strain rate of 1 s  1, the flow stress RT
increases with strain indicating dislocation storage in the micro-
where e_ is the strain rate, Q def the activation energy for deforma-
structure, particularly at 950 1C. This indicates that the deforma-
tion, R the gas constant (8.3145 kJ/mol), and T the deformation
tion mechanisms operating are different under low and high Z
temperature (K). Constitutive equations based on Z can be applied
conditions. The high Z condition is not sufficient for DRV to
not only on homogeneous materials but also on multi-phase
overcome the hardening produced by dislocation storage in the
materials such as functionally graded materials [27].
microstructure, which is observed as work hardening and conse-
The relationship between Z and the flow stress can be
quently as higher flow stress. Since the stored energy of deforma-
expressed by different experimental equations, such as 2–4; i.e.
tion consists of the energy of dislocations and point defects, such
the power function, the exponential function and the hyperbolic
as vacancies, created during the deformation [3], higher amount
sine function, respectively.
of work hardening leads to higher amount of stored energy. The
low Z condition is favorable for DRV, and therefore the flow stress  
Q def 0
curves can reach a steady state. Z ¼ e_ exp ¼ A0 snc ð2Þ
RT
In the instance of dynamic recrystallization (DRX), the flow
stress curves typically exhibit a single maximum, which is  
Q def
followed by a softening stage until eventually, a steady stage in Z ¼ e_ exp ¼ A00 expðbsÞ ð3Þ
RT
the flow stress is reached. This is also typical of continuous
dynamic recrystallization (CDRX) [25]. However, it can be seen  
from Fig. 1 that there are no such signs of DRX in the flow stress Q def
Z ¼ e_ exp ¼ A½sinhðasÞnc ð4Þ
curves. RT
4 S.V. Mehtonen et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 571 (2013) 1–12

where A0 , A00 , A, nc, n0c, b and a are material constants. a is a stress Table 2
multiplier and an adjustable constant which brings as into the The calculated values for n0c, b, a, and nc at strains of 0.1–0.35.
right range, and can be described as
True strain Power law Exponential law Hyperbolic sine law
b
a ð5Þ nc0 b a nc
n0c

The power function (Eq. 2) is used for lower stress values than 0.1 5.504 0.122 0.022 3.959
0.15 5.070 0.115 0.023 3.770
the exponential function (Eq. 3), whereas the hyperbolic sine
0.2 4.934 0.109 0.022 3.673
function (Eq. 4) can be applied through the whole stress range [28]. 0.25 4.899 0.105 0.021 3.637
The peak stress sp , e.g. [29] or sometimes the steady state 0.3 4.828 0.101 0.021 3.587
stress sss , e.g. [30] is used in defining the constitutive equations 0.35 4.835 0.101 0.021 3.585
and for calculating the deformation activation energy, especially Average 5.012 0.109 0.022 3.702

for austenitic steels. However, in the current study, there is no

well-defined peak stress in the flow-stress curves nor is a steady
state flow stress reached under most deformation conditions, and
therefore, the constants for the constitutive equation were deter-
mined for various strain increments (0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.25, 0.3 and
0.35) by using se which is the measured true stress at each strain
increment, and an average value for Qdef was calculated.
Writing Eqs. 2–4 as follows,
 
Q def 1
lne_ þ ¼ lnA0 þ nc0 lnse ð6Þ
R T
 
Q def 1
lne_ þ ¼ lnA00 þ bse ð7Þ
R T
 
Q def 1  
lne_ þ ¼ lnA þnc ln sinhðase Þ ð8Þ
R T

shows that the values for n0c, b and nc can be obtained by plotting ln e_
vs. ln se , lne_ vs. se , and lne_ vs. ln sinhðase Þ , respectively. We have:
 
@lne_
n0c ¼ ð9Þ
@lnse T
Fig. 3. The plot used for calculating Qdef at 0.2 strain using the hyperbolic sine law.
 
@lne_
b¼ ð10Þ
@se T
  Table 3
@lne_ The calculated Qdef as a function of strain.
nc ¼ ð11Þ
@ln½sinhðase Þ T
Power law Qdef Exponential law Qdef Hyperbolic sine law Qdef
The plot used for determining nc at the strain of 0.2 are shown in Strain
[kJ/mol] [kJ/mol] [kJ/mol]
Fig. 2. s0:2 represents the measured true stress at the true strain of
0.2. An average value for a was calculated to be 0.022 using Eq. 5. The 0.1 417.956 390.824 392.076
0.15 387.461 382.116 385.750
values for n0c, b and nc at different strains are presented in Table 2.
0.2 393.318 387.564 390.687
The activation energy for deformation can be calculated using 0.25 405.465 392.333 399.982
plots (in Fig. 3 for hyperbolic sine equation) together with the 0.3 407.447 390.628 400.826
Eqs. 12–13 for the power equation, exponential equation, and the 0.35 418.931 404.959 412.287
Average 405 391 397

hyperbolic sine equation as follows:

" #
@lnse
Q def ¼ Rn0c  ð12Þ
@ 1=T _
e
 
@se
Q def ¼ Rb ð13Þ
@ð1=TÞ e_
 
@ln sinhðase Þ
Q def ¼ Rnc ð14Þ
@ð1=TÞ e_
The calculated values for Qdef at various strains are presented in
Table 3. Some variation in the calculated values of Qdef at different
strains is apparent. The average deformation activation energy was
calculated to be 405, 391 or 397 kJ/mol by using the power
equation, exponential equation or the hyperbolic sine equation,
respectively. Comparing the plots in Figs. 4–6 shows that the
Fig. 2. Evaluating the value of nc at 0.2 strain by plotting lnðe_ Þ vs. ln½sinhðas0:2 Þ. hyperbolic sine equation together with a Qdef of 397 kJ/mol gives
 S.V. Mehtonen et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 571 (2013) 1–12 5

previously determined values of 385 kJ/mol for a high purity 17%Cr

ferritic stainless steel [31], 375 kJ/mol for AISI 430 (0.05% C, 16.65%
Cr) in the dual phase region [32] or 372 kJ/mol for Ti containing
interstitial free (IF) steel deformed in the ferrite region [21].
However, some different values have also been reported previously;
for instance 83.54 kJ/mol for AISI 430 (0.018% C, 16.5% Cr) [8],
280 kJ/mol for ferritic iron [33] and 315 kJ/mol for 17%Cr ferritic
stainless steel [34].
The self-diffusion activation energy in ferrite in the pure
ferritic iron is 239 kJ/mol [35]. However, the activation energies
for deformation in hot working can be much higher than that
of self-diffusion. In general, Qdef is a function of alloying,
being higher in highly alloyed steels, as is the case with the
present alloy.

3.3. Modification of the constitutive equation

Fig. 4. The plot of lnZ vs. ln s (power law). During hot deformation, the strain rate is maintained constant
while the stress value needed to achieve this is being measured.
At each value of strain, flow curves are in different stages of
deformation and may feel different deformation or softening
mechanisms. The variation of flow stress as a function of strain
was incorporated into the constitutive equations by Slooff et al.
[36] by adding a strain-dependent parameter. The method has
been later used successfully by many authors, e.g. [37–40]. Fig. 7
shows the parameters of the constitutive equations as a function
of strain and some variation can be seen. In the current study a
linear fit (Eq. 15) was imposed on the parameters of the
constitutive equation (Fig. 7).
a ¼ 0:02330:0073e
nc ¼ 4:12261:4414e
Q def ¼ 376:93 þ 88:903e
ln A ¼ 32:823 þ 8:0137e ð15Þ

Fig. 5. The plot of lnZ vs. s (exponential law).

Fig. 6. Plot of lnZ vs. ln½sinhðasÞ (hyperbolic sine law with a ¼0.022).

the best fit, i.e. the highest value for the correlation coefficient R2
(Fig. 6).
The values for Qdef for ferrite given in the literature are quite
scattered. The present value of 397 kJ/mol is in line with the Fig. 7. Variation of Qdef, ln A, nc and a as a function of strain.
6 S.V. Mehtonen et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 571 (2013) 1–12

Fig. 8. Comparison between the measured and predicted flow stress considering the strain compensation in the constitutive equation at (a) 950 1C, (b) 1000 1C and
(c) 1050 1C.

The comparison between the measured flow stress curves and

the predicted flow stress values using the strain modified hyper-
bolic sine equation are presented in Fig. 8. The predicted values
are very close to the experimental values except at 950 1C and
1000 1C at the highest strain rate of 1 s  1. At 950 1C, the predic-
tion for 1 s  1 is higher than the actual values whereas at 1000 1C
the predicted values are lower than the measured experimental
flow stress.
Pearson0 s correlation coefficient R (Eq. 16) was used to esti-
mate the success of the prediction.
PN
i ¼ 1 ðEi EÞðP i PÞ
R ¼ qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
PN
ffi ð16Þ
2 PN 2
i ¼ 1 ðEi EÞ i ¼ 1 ðP i PÞ

where E is the experimentally achieved value and P is the

predicted value obtained from the constitutive equation, and E
and P represent the mean values of E and P, respectively. N is the
number of the dataset. It can be seen in Fig. 9 that the correlation
between the experimental and predicted flow stress values is
good with a Pearson0 s correlation coefficient value of 0.995.
3.4. Dynamic microstructure evolution
The dynamically formed microstructures were examined using
the SEM-EBSD method, and their evolution at 950–1050 1C at the
strain rates of 0.01–1 s  1 is presented in Fig. 10. Generally, the
deformed microstructures consisted of dynamically recovered
grains with low-angle grain boundaries. However, in some
Fig. 9. Comparison between the experimental and predicted flow stress values.
specimens, small grains were detected, which were apparently
formed dynamically during the deformation.
The amount of substructure and hence the amount of stored
energy depended on the deformation conditions being highest
under the high Z deformation conditions. High deformation
temperatures and low strain rates (low Z) allow more time for
dislocation climb and cross-slip and hence DRV is very efficient.
The dislocations are able to migrate in order to form lower energy
 S.V. Mehtonen et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 571 (2013) 1–12 7

Fig. 10. Dynamic microstructure evolution at 950–1050 1C at strain rates of 0.01–1 s  1 (0.4 strain). The white and yellow lines represent small angle grain boundaries with
misorientation of 21–51 and 51–151, respectively. The black colored boundaries have the misorientation greater than 151. New dynamically formed grains at 1000 1C are
pointed out by yellow arrows. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

configurations such as low-angle grain boundaries, i.e. polygoni-

zation occurs. Also, dislocations annihilate and the total disloca-
tion density is decreased. Subgrain coarsening, which was
observed especially at 1050 1C at 0.01 and 0.1 s  1, lowers further
the amount of stored energy. In addition to the differences of the
subgrain structure as a function of the deformation conditions,
the amount of substructure varied between the grains.
The average intercept length between boundaries with 21
misorientation in the normal direction was determined from the
EBSD data, and it is presented as a function of Z for the strain of
0.4 in Fig. 11. This intercept length gives an estimation of the
subgrain size. It is clear that for this strain the subgrain size is a
function of Z. The intercept length and therefore also the subgrain
size increase with increasing deformation temperature and
decreasing strain rate, i.e. decreasing Z. Under low Z deformation
conditions, DRV is extensive because dislocations can climb more
and low-angle grain boundaries can move further than under the
high Z conditions [4].
After 0.4 strain at 950 1C, a distinct subgrain structure has not Fig. 11. The average intercept length between boundaries with 21 misorientation
yet formed at the strain rate of 1 s  1, as shown in Fig. 12. in the normal direction as a function of the Zener–Hollomon parameter at
Dislocations and subgrain boundaries are clustered in tangles in 0.4 strain.
the vicinity of the original high-angle grain boundaries, and it is
evident that there is less substructure towards the grain interiors. be detected (arrowed in Fig. 10). The grains are surrounded by
This is probably a result from multislip, which especially takes high-angle grain boundaries for the most part, i.e. they have a
place close to grain boundaries in order to accommodate the different orientation compared to the neighboring original grains.
differing deformation behavior of the neighboring grains. It seems It is typical for newly formed grains by CDRX that they are not
that subgrain formation begins close to the original grain bound- completely surrounded by a high-angle grain boundary in the
aries where the amount of deformation is highest and hence the early stages of CDRX, since the CDRX involves the gradual
formation of subgrain boundaries easiest. After 0.4 strain at transformation of low-angle grain boundaries into high-angle
0.01 s  1, the subgrains are clearly formed throughout the micro- grain boundaries [4].
structure (Fig. 12). At the original grain boundaries, grains, which Like with deformation at 950 1C, at the strain rate of 1 s  1 at
seemed to have formed dynamically during the deformation, can 1000 1C, a clear subgrain structure was not formed. However,
8 S.V. Mehtonen et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 571 (2013) 1–12
Fig. 12. Dynamic microstructure evolution at 950 1C at (a) 1 s  1 and (b) 0.01 s  1 (0.4 strain). The white and yellow lines represent low-angle grain boundaries with
misorientation of 21–51 and 51–151, respectively. The black colored boundaries have the misorientation greater than 151. (For interpretation of the references to color in
this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
Fig. 13. Dynamically formed microstructure at 1000 1C at 1 s  1 after 0.6 strain
deformation. The white and yellow lines represent low-angle grain boundaries
with misorientation of 21–51 and 51–151, respectively. The black colored bound-
aries have the misorientation greater than 151. Dynamically formed grains, which
are either completely or partly surrounded by a high-angle boundary, are pointed
out by yellow arrows. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure
legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
subgrains have started to form in the vicinity of the original grain
boundaries, as seen in Fig. 10. At strains of 0.4 and 0.6, a few
relatively small grains ( 10–30 mm) surrounded by a high-angle
grain boundary were detected at the original grain boundaries
and also inside the original grains (Fig. 13). The amount of
deformation and substructure is highest close to the original
grain boundaries because multislip in these regions generates
more dislocations enabling the low-angle grain boundaries close
to the original grain boundaries to increase their misorientation.
Deformation to the strain of 0.2 (1000 1C, 1 s  1) was not sufficient
to produce dynamically formed new grains.
After deformation at 0.1 s  1 to 0.4 strain at 1000 1C, a clear
subgrain structure was formed and the average intercept length
between grain boundaries having misorientation of at least 21
was 20 mm. The lower strain rate of 0.01 s  1 resulted in a longer
average intercept length of 33 mm. The measured differences in
the substructures are also visible in the EBSD maps (Fig. 10).
At 0.01 s  1, new dynamically formed grains (30–70 mm) sur-
rounded by high-angle grain boundaries with no evident subgrain
structure had formed adjacent to the original grain boundaries, as
can be seen in Fig. 10.
At 1050 1C, similarly to lower deformation temperatures, the
amount of substructure is greater closer to the grain boundary
than towards the inside of the grain, and deformation to the strain
of 0.4 at 1 s  1 was not sufficient to initiate the dynamic formation
of new grains. The strain rate had a pronounced effect on the size
of subgrains at 1050 1C; the average intercept length in the
normal direction between 21 subgrain boundaries was 51 mm at
0.01 s  1, 27 mm at 0.1 s  1 strain rate and 17 mm at 1 s  1 strain
rate. The subgrains were also larger than after deformation at
950 1C (22, 14 and 13 mm at strain rates of 0.01 s  1, 0.1 s  1 and
1 s  1, respectively) or at 1000 1C (33, 20 and 10 mm at strain rates
of 0.01 s  1, 0.1 s  1 and 1 s  1, respectively). At 0.01 s  1 strain rate
at 1050 1C, the subgrain size is significantly larger than at any
other deformation conditions—this can be seen clearly in Figs. 10
and 11.
3.5. The mechanisms for dynamic microstructure evolution
Out of the three dynamic recrystallization mechanisms
(discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (DDRX), geometric
dynamic recrystallization (GDRX) and continuous dynamic
recrystallization (CDRX)), the ‘‘conventional’’ discontinuous
dynamic recrystallization, DDRX, occurs by the nucleation and
growth of new grains. However, since the stacking fault energy of
ferritic stainless steel is high and dislocations can cross-slip and
climb easily, it is considered unlikely that DDRX would take place
during hot deformation. The second mechanisms, GDRX, would
cause the original grains to split into new grains as a result of very
high strain deformation [41]. Because the strains used in this
study were relatively low (0.2–0.6), GDRX could not have caused
the formation of the new small grains.
CDRX includes a gradual change of the microstructure from
deformed and recovered state into recrystallized structure. In the
first stages of CDRX the dislocations are created during the
deformation and they form low-angle grain boundaries because
of DRV. When the deformation continues, the gradual increase in
the misorientation of low-angle grain boundaries leads eventually
to the formation of high-angle grain boundaries, which are able to
migrate and cause the annihilation of dislocations within the
newly formed grains [25]. The described mechanism for the
formation of new grains is in line with the microstructural
observations of the current study.
Gourdet and Montheillet [4] concluded that the main features
for CDRX are the decrease of the subgrain size and increase in the
misorientation of the subgrain boundaries during the transient.
The misorientation distribution of grain boundaries at strains of
0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 is presented in Fig. 14. It can be seen that the
relative fraction of low-angle grain boundaries decreases with
increasing strain. Also, at 0.6 strain, the fraction of high-angle
grain boundaries is higher than at lower strains. This evolution of
the misorientation distribution as a function of strain is a typical
feature for CDRX. Further, it was noted that the lower the strain
rate is, the more subgrain boundaries have increased their
misorientation, as seen in Fig. 10, and for example at 1050 1C at
a strain rate of 0.01 s  1, only few low-angle grain boundaries are
present.
 S.V. Mehtonen et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 571 (2013) 1–12 9

The dynamic formation of new ‘‘grains’’ under low Z deformation

conditions, as described above, is a result of the gradual increase
in the misorientation of low-angle grain boundaries leading
eventually to the formation of high-angle grain boundaries, and
is known as CDRX [4,25]. The operating dynamic restoration
mechanism depends on the deformation conditions. Under low
Z conditions, CDRX causes the formation of new grains but under
high Z conditions and high stresses, DRV is the main restoration
mechanism. The observed behavior is similar to that previously
observed in a-iron [33] or in 26Cr ferritic stainless steel [12].
Hence, even the high alloying by Cr does not change the
mechanism for dynamic microstructure evolution.

3.6. Static recrystallization kinetics

The isothermally recrystallized fraction, Xrex, as a function of

time, t, can be expressed by an Avrami-type equation [42]:
  n 
Fig. 14. The dependence of grain boundary misorientation distribution on strain t
at 1000 1C at 1 s  1. X rex ¼ 1exp 0:693 ð17Þ
t 0:5

where t 0:5 is the time for 50% recrystallization and n is known as

the Avrami exponent.
t 0:5 depends on deformation conditions and the composition as
follows:
 
s Q app
t 0:5 ¼ C ep e_ q d exp ð18Þ
RT

where C is a constant dependent on chemical composition, e is the

true strain, e_ is the strain rate, d grain size, and Q app is the
apparent activation energy for the static recrystallization.
The exponents p, q and s are material dependent constants
describing the powers of strain, strain rate and the grain size,
respectively [43]. They have been determined very extensively for
microalloyed steels by Somani and Karjalainen [44].
The data for the fraction of SRX can be fitted reasonably well
with a sigmoidal shape, as seen in Fig. 16. Values of the Avrami
exponent n and the experimental t 0:5 times are presented in

Fig. 15. Intercept length between 21 boundaries in the normal direction as a

function of strain at 1 s  1.

When CDRX occurs, the size of the dynamically formed grains

decreases strongly up to a strain of  5 after which it decreases
slowly until a steady state is reached at very high strains ( 30)
[4]. In Fig. 15 is presented the average intercept length between
21 boundaries in the normal direction as a function of strain. It can
be seen that at 1050 and 950 1C the average intercept length, and
hence also the subgrain size, decreased with increasing strain as is
supposed to according to the CDRX theory. However, at 1000 1C a
slight increase was observed. In all cases, however, the differences
were relatively small. Because of the relatively low strains (0.2–
0.6) used in the present experiments, dynamically formed micro-
structures were mostly in recovered state while some boundaries
had increased their misorientation. A small number of dynami-
cally formed grains or crystallites were found in most of the Fig. 16. EBSD data for SRX fractions (strain 0.4, strain rate 1 s  1) and Avrami fits.
specimens, however they were not in all cases fully surrounded
by a high-angle grain boundary, which indicates that the CDRX
transformation and formation of new grains was incomplete.
Table 4
Further, the flow stress curves did not exhibit a softening stage Values of n and t 0:5 in the Avrami equation.
leading to a steady stage (Fig. 1), which is generally a common
feature for CDRX, however this does not mean that CDRX did 950 1C 1000 1C 1050 1C
not occur.
n 1.5 2.2 2.2
The effect of CDRX on the subgrain size, misorientation t 0:5 [s] 118 34 21
distribution and flow stress in the current study was very slight.
10 S.V. Mehtonen et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 571 (2013) 1–12
Table 4. The Avrami exponent provides information about the
nucleation mechanism in the recrystallization event. It is gener-
ally independent of temperature, but here some variation of n is
seen in the Table 4, presumably reflecting the contribution of
recovery in softening by reducing the driving force for recrystal-
lization. Particularly at 950 1C, n is smaller than at higher
temperatures, although values as low as 0.9 have been reported
[45] for dynamically recovered a-iron. However, a typical value
for n in dynamically recovered material would be  2 [45].
The dependence of t 0:5 on the deformation temperature is
presented in Fig. 17. The value for the apparent activation energy
for recrystallization Qapp determined from this data is 221 kJ/mol,
which is slightly lower than the 280 kJ/mol reported for a-iron [33].
The last 5% fraction of the grains seemed to recrystallize more
slowly than expected from the Avrami fits (see Fig. 16). This
‘‘sluggish’’ recrystallization in ferritic stainless steels has also
been noticed by Sinclair et al. [46], who concluded that it was
caused by heterogeneity in the microstructure and texture, which
was ultimately a result of two different types of recovered grains.
Also small precipitates were found to play a major role by
affecting the movement of grain boundaries through Zener drag
and ultimately cause the ‘‘sluggish’’ recrystallization behavior
towards the end of the recrystallization. The first type of recov-
ered grain had a heterogeneous subgrain structure, but the grain
type was prone to abnormal subgrain growth. The abnormally
large subgrains were able to act as nuclei for static recrystalliza-
tion (SRX). The second grain type had generally a larger subgrain
size and lower misorientation spread within the grain but the
substructure was not able to form large subgrains suitable for
recrystallization nuclei. This type of mechanisms could explain
the slowing down of the recrystallization rate also observed here,
since the heterogeneity of substructure between grains was
present in the current study as well (see Fig. 12). The amount of
substructure and the size and location of subgrains varied
between the grains, which could be due to the different orienta-
tion of the grains regarding the direction of deformation. Because
the test specimens used in the present work were axisymmetric
and hence no rolling direction existed in the deformation, the
effect of grain orientation and texture on the deformation and
restoration mechanisms could not be verified. However, it is likely
that grain orientations play a significant role in explaining the
different substructures observed. Also it is known that the
CDRX kinetics is strongly dependent on the crystallographic
orientation [4]. Hinton and Beynon [32] proposed the possibility
of two different recrystallization kinetics for AISI 430 ferritic
Fig. 17. Determination of the apparent activation energy for the SRX.
stainless steel, in which n depended on the fraction recrystallized:
when the recrystallized fraction was below 70%, n was 2.85,
whereas for recrystallized fraction exceeding 70%, n was 1.03. The
limit of 70%, where the recrystallization rate slowed down, is
substantially lower than the 95% observed here and e.g. by
Sinclair et al. [46]. However, it was concluded that the banded
austenite present in the structure of the AISI430 was a reason to
retard the SRX kinetics [32].
Complex recrystallization kinetics of ferrite in an IF steel was
also observed by Akbari et al. [47]. In fact, in their study, SRX
ceased after reaching a certain recrystallized fraction. The critical
fraction was found to be dependent on the deformation tempera-
ture, varying between 500 and 800 1C after 50% of deformation:
the lower the deformation temperature the higher the recrystal-
lized fraction achieved. The authors concluded that this behavior
was caused by precipitation interacting with the recrystallization.
Precipitation might have retarded the recrystallization kinetics
also in the present study, since the investigated steel is highly
alloyed with precipitate forming elements. Because of the stabi-
lization, at least TiN and NbC precipitates are present in the
microstructure. Further, other precipitates, such as chromium
carbides, might have formed during the deformation and holding
periods and thereby affected the recrystallization kinetics.
The recrystallization rate is generally strongly dependent on
the degree of deformation. Here, the effect of strain is shown in
Fig. 18 revealing that the recrystallization rate is faster (t 0:5 ¼ 34 s)
at 0.4 strain compared to that at 0.2 strain (t 0:5 ¼ 109 s). However,
there is no accelerating effect between strains 0.4 and 0.6,
indicating that no more deformation is stored beyond 0.4 strain
at 1000 1C, which is in line with the observation of Akbari et al.
[47] that in the ferrite region of an IF steel the strain had an
accelerating effect on the SRX kinetics but only to a certain point.
Glover and Sellars noted [45] that in a-iron, the SRX rate is
independent of strain in the ‘‘steady-state’’ region of the flow
curve. However, at low strains, where work hardening occurs, the
accelerating effect is very strong. Further, it has been proposed
that the strain exponent is constant at low strain values, but
decreases when the strain approaches the critical strain for the
initiation of DRX [48]. The lack of an accelerating effect of strain
could be because strong DRV prevents dislocation storage in the
microstructure such that increasing strain in the ‘‘steady-state’’
region does not increase the driving force for recrystallization.
The power of strain, p in Eq. (18), on t 0:5 between the strains of
0.2 and 0.4 was calculated to be  1.7, which is significantly
smaller than values previously proposed for austenitic steels;
 3.81 to  3.55 [49], 4 [48] and 2.2 [50].
3.7. Static microstructure evolution
Typical examples of the partially recrystallized microstruc-
tures are illustrated in Fig. 18, where the effect of strain on the
deformed and annealed microstructures at 1000 1C is shown
together with the recrystallization rate. The recrystallized grain
size depended on the deformation conditions but it was always
quite coarse ( 140–400 mm), i.e. roughly equal to or even larger
than the initial grain size (157 mm). As seen in Fig. 18, the
recrystallized grains are larger in the 0.2 strain specimen after
120 s of soaking than in the 0.4 strain specimen after 180 s of
soaking. In the first instance, some of the recrystallized grains
were several hundred microns in diameter, whereas after
0.6 strain at 1000 1C and complete SRX, the recrystallized grain
size was  140 mm. Also, in the partially recrystallized structures,
the number of recrystallized grains was higher in the 0.6 strain
specimens compared to the 0.2 specimens. Overall though, the
recrystallization resulted in only little or no grain refinement
under the deformation conditions used.
 S.V. Mehtonen et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 571 (2013) 1–12
Fig. 18. The effect of strain on the SRX rate at 1 s  1 at 1000 1C, and the corresponding SEM-EBSD maps of the partly recrystallized microstructures: (a) 0.6 strain, 10 s
holding, (b) 0.6 strain, 30 s holding, (c) 0.4 strain, 30 s holding, (d) 0.4 strain, 180 s holding and (e) 0.2 strain, 120 s holding.
The recrystallized grains appeared first at the original grain
boundaries, which is the site where the dynamically formed new
grains were mainly detected (Figs. 10 and 13). Further, in order
for the nucleus to be able to grow, it must have a high-angle grain
boundary, which in many cases was formed dynamically during
the deformation. Hence, it is likely that the dynamically formed
small grains grew statically during the holding period.
Increasing the degree of deformation beyond the strain of
0.4 is not likely to promote SRX kinetics because of the intense
DRV as shown above. In order to promote SRX after hot deforma-
tion, the amount of stored energy in the microstructure should be
increased so that the driving force for SRX would be as high as
possible. This can be achieved by using deformation conditions
not favorable for DRV, i.e. low deformation temperature and high
strain rate followed by annealing at a higher temperature.
Increasing the degree of deformation would, however, result in
smaller recrystallized grain size as was the case after 0.6 strain:
the SRX rate was not accelerated from that of after 0.4 strain but
the higher strain resulted in smaller recrystallized grain size.
4. Summary
The hot deformation behavior at different temperatures (950–
1050 1C) and strain rates (0.01–1 s  1) of a stabilized 21Cr ferritic
stainless steel has been studied. Because of the composition, the
investigated steel is in ferritic state in the hot working tempera-
ture range. The results can be summarized as follows:
1. Under low Zener–Hollomon parameter deformation condi-
tions, no work hardening was seen above the strain of  0.05
11
in flow stress curves because of extensive dynamic recovery
and continuous dynamic recrystallization. At high Zener–
Hollomon parameter, work hardening continued up to max-
imum strains of 0.4–0.6 used.
2. Under low Zener–Hollomon parameter deformation condi-
tions, the formation of new grains by continuous dynamic
recrystallization was detected but without a drop in the flow
stress level, presumably due to the small fraction of dynami-
cally formed grains in the microstructure.
3. Under high Zener–Hollomon parameter deformation condi-
tions, microstructures were dynamically recovered, but no
dynamic formation of new grains occurred.
4. The parameters of the constitutive equation for deformation
varied as a function of strain and therefore the effect of strain
was incorporated in the constitutive equation. The strain
modified constitutive equation was successfully used for pre-
dicting the flow stress.
5. The average activation energy for deformation, Qdef, was
determined to be 397 kJ/mol and the apparent activation
energy for static recrystallization, Qapp, 221 kJ/mol.
6. The rate of static recrystallization was increased by increasing
strain up to 0.4, but beyond this value the rate of recrystalliza-
tion remained unchanged. Increasing the strain to 0.6 did,
however, lead to finer recrystallized grain size when hardly
any refinement of grain size was to be achieved after straining
to 0.2 or 0.4.
7. In order to promote static recrystallization after hot deforma-
tion, the stored energy in the microstructure, i.e. the driving
force for static recrystallization, should be increased. This can
be achieved by using deformation conditions, which are
unfavorable for dynamic recovery, i.e. low deformation
temperature and high strain rate. Carrying out the subsequent
12 S.V. Mehtonen et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 571 (2013) 1–12
annealing at a higher temperature than the deformation would
further promote static recrystallization.
Acknowledgments
The financial support from the Finnish Funding Agency for
Technology and Innovation (Tekes) in Project CSP1 of the
Demanding Applications program of the Finnish Metals and
Engineering Competence Cluster (FIMECC Ltd.) is gratefully
acknowledged. The authors would also like to thank Outokumpu
Oyj for providing experimental materials and for supporting the
research. S.M. also express her gratitude for the support provided
by the Academy of Finland through the Graduate School on
Advanced Materials and Processes.
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