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Kinetics and Numerical Simulation of Dynamic

Recrystallization Behavior of Medium Mn Steel in Hot
Working
Xiaoyun Sun, Mei Zhang,* Yang Wang, Yuyang Sun, and Yunhao Wang

toughening mechanisms.[3–5] However,

Thermal deformation leads to controllable and effective grain refinement and the phase transformation strengthening
microstructure optimization in medium Mn steel. To study the appropriate hot mechanism plays an important role in the
deformation parameters, the dynamic recrystallization (DRX) behavior and grain promotion of strength and plasticity of
medium Mn steel.[6–9] The stability of
size evolution of medium Mn steel (0.15C-7Mn) are investigated by thermal-
retained austenite which depends on grain
compression tests. Two types of DRX flow behaviors are observed on the flow size and morphology is the key factor
curve, that is, single peak and cyclic behaviors. Based on the linear regression of in phase-transformation-induced-plasticity
characteristic points, dynamic recovery (DRV) model and DRX model are mechanism.[10,11] In the actual hot forging
established. The predicted flow stress using the model established conforms well or rolling process of medium Mn steel,
the dynamic recrystallization (DRX) can
to experimental results. The correlation coefficient (R ) and average absolute
refine the initial martensite grains, thus
relative error (AARE ) are 0.99% and 4.95%, confirming the accuracy of the model. altering the stability of austenite after
After obtaining the value of DRX grain sizes by metallographic observation, grain annealing and influencing the mechanical
size evolution model is developed to estimate the microstructure evolution. In properties of the materials.[12–16] In addi-
addition, the established models are incorporated into DEFORM-3D to simulate tion, the DRX behavior can effectively
the kinetics and microstructure evolution of DRX. The simulation values are in improve the hot working property of the
material and reduce the possibility of crack
good agreement with the experimental results, indicating that the finite element
generation.[17,18] As we all know, medium
method (FEM) is an effective and accurate way for the analysis of thermal Mn steel is prone to edge crack during
compression. the rolling or forming process.[19,20]
The cracking problem seriously retrains the
development and application of the
medium Mn steel in the automobile indus-
1. Introduction try. However, the DRX behavior is influenced by many factors,
including deformation temperature, strain rate, strain, etc.[21]
Medium Mn steel has received tremendous attention because of Therefore, it is meaningful to study the appropriate deformation
attractive combinations of the ultra-high strength, excellent elon- parameters to control the microstructure and optimize mechani-
gation, and high strain hardening capacity.[1,2] The origin of the cal properties.
excellent mechanical properties of medium Mn steel is the ultra- In recent years, there are many studies on the kinetics and
fine dual-phase microstructure and multiple reinforcing and microstructure evolution of DRX in common steel or metal
materials, such as die steel,[22] nickel-based superalloy,[23] and
so on. In 2002, McQueen and Ryan[24] introduced a creep
Dr. X. Sun, Dr. M. Zhang, Dr. Y. Wang, Y. Sun, Y. Wang equation including dynamic activation energy, strain rate, and
School of Materials Science and Engineering temperature to describe the influence of deformation behavior
Shanghai University on DRX process. Since then, this method has been widely used
Shanghai 200444, China
E-mail: zhangmei3721@shu.edu.cn
to study the hot deformation behavior. Wang et al.[25] built the
physically based constitutive model and found that the relation-
Dr. X. Sun
School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering ship between peak stress, compression temperature, and strain
Anhui Polytechnic University rate could be expressed by a hyperbolic-sine type equation. Reyes-
Wuhu 241000, Anhui, China Calderón et al.[26] introduced the electron back-scattering diffrac-
Dr. M. Zhang tion technique (EBSD) to analyze hot deformed microstructures
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Special Steel and considered that Ti is the most important micro-alloyed
Shanghai University element of recrystallized grain refinement. With the develop-
Shanghai 200444, China
ment of computer technology, numerical simulation method has
The ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article been applied to the establishment of DRX models. Combining
can be found under https://doi.org/10.1002/srin.201900675. the material kinetic data with finite element method (FEM),
DOI: 10.1002/srin.201900675 Li et al.[22] studied the microstructure evolution of a

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micro-alloyed plastic mold steel. Cho et al.[27] applied finite
element model to predict dynamic and static recrystallization
as well as grain size evolution during thermomechanical process-
ing of die steel. Zhang et al.[28] developed a mesoscopic cellular
automaton model to analyze the DRX behavior of a medium
carbon Cr–Ni–Mo alloyed steel. However, only a few studies have
focused on DRX behavior and microstructural evolution of
medium Mn steel. For example, Li et al.[21] investigated DRX
characteristics of the austenite and the δ-ferrite in low-density
Fe–Mn–Al–C Steel. Li et al.[29] studied the DRX characteristics
of Fe-8Mn-6Al-0.2C steel and concluded that an increase in tem-
perature or a decrease in the strain rate promoted DRX and grain
growth for both austenite and α-ferrite. However, only the Z
parameter was calculated and obtained without in-depth study
of DRX behavior and kinetics. In addition, the microstructure
evolution of DRX was only qualitatively analyzed and no
quantitative model of recrystallization grain size was obtained.
Liu et al.[16] focused on the analysis of deformation microstruc-
ture during DRX process in a Fe-11Mn-10Al-0.9C duplex low-
density steel, and the microstructure characteristics were further
verified by processing maps. However, there was still no inten-
sive analysis of constitutive equation and DRX kinetics. It is nota-
ble that DRX model combined with computational simulation
has barely been applied to the study of medium Mn steel.
It is necessary to carry out systematic research on the kinetics
and simulation verification of DRX in medium Mn steel.
In the present work, the 0.15C-7Mn steel was used to research
the DRX behavior and microstructure evolution during isother-
mal compression. The effects of deformation temperature and
strain rate on the DRX behavior and grain size were systemically
studied. The DRX model and grain size evolution model
were built to obtain the optimum hot working parameters.
Combined with the important material genome data, an elastic–
plastic FEM model of hot deformation was built to simulate
kinetics and microstructure evolution of DRX. This work aims
to achieve a perfect processing window of medium Mn steel,
which is critical in obtaining fine DRX grains as well as
microstructure optimization and further providing basic theories
for practical production.
2. Results and Discussion
2.1. Flow Stress–Strain Curves
The flow stress–strain curves of the 0.15C-7Mn steel under vari-
ous conditions are shown in Figure 1. Due to the effect barreling
on the flow stress, the flow curves represent an increasing type
after reaching steady stress at the low strain.[30] In a previous
study, the flow behavior and characteristics of stress–strain
curves have been described in detail,[31] and the DRX behavior
and types are introduced emphatically in here. DRX flow curves
can be classified as three types: single peak, multiple transient
steady state (MTSS), and multiple peak (cyclic) behavior.[32] At
low temperatures and high strain rates, the flow curves are
identified as single peak, shown as Figure 1a–d. In this type,
before the completion of the first DRX, more cycles of DRX ini-
tiate, showing continuous DRX.[33] As can be seen, the flow
curves exhibit a single and smooth maximum stress and followed
by a decreasing. In contrast, at high temperatures and low strain
rates, the repetition of stress fluctuations can be observed, which
is called the multiple peak behavior (see in Figure 1a,b). This
phenomenon is attributed to the occurrence of several indepen-
dent cycles of DRX.[32] However, the MTSS between single and
multiple peak behaviors is not found in the studied conditions, in

(a) (b) 200

Strain rate: 0.001s-1 Strain rate: 0.01s-1
120
True Stress (MPa)

150 Single peak

True Stress(MPa)

90 Single peak Multiple peak Multiple peak

900°C 100 900°C

60 950°C 950°C
1000°C 1000°C
1050°C 1050°C
30 1100°C 50
1150°C 1100°C
1150°C
0 0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
True Strain True Strain
(c) 300 (d)
Strain rate: 0.1s-1 320 Strain rate:1s-1
240
True Stress(MPa)

True Stress(MPa)

Single peak
240 Single peak
180
900°C 900°C
160 950°C
120 950°C 1000°C
1000°C 1050°C
1050°C 1100°C
60 1100°C 80 1150°C
1150°C

0 0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
True Strain True Strain

Figure 1. True stress–true strain curves of the 0.15C-7Mn steel deformed at strain rate of a) 0.001 s
1, b) 0.01 s
1, c) 0.1 s
1, d) 1 s
1.

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which several plateaus (horizontal stress lines) followed by a selected for nonlinear fitting to determine the value of σs, σ0,
decrease in flow stress after each plateau can be observed. and Ω under different deformation conditions. According to
This condition was detected in plain carbon steel and stainless- the multiple linear regression, the coefficients in the correspond-
steel alloy[34] and regarded as an intermediate state between ing models of σs and σ0 are calculated, and the σs and σ0 models
single and multiple peak. are be written as
2 !1 3

332950 4.5
1
332950 4.5
2
2.2. Kinetic Model of 0.15C-7Mn Steel 1 ε̇ expð Þ ε̇ expð Þ 2

σs ¼ ln4 RT
þ RT
þ1 5
0.0122 4.45  10 11
4.45  10 11
2.2.1. Zener–Hollomon Parameter and Kinetic Model of DRV
(8)
In general, the underlying relationship among deforming 2 !1 3

1
2
temperature and strain rate can be described by a temperature- 1 ε̇ expð243065
RT Þ
4.56 ε̇ expð243065
RT Þ
4.56 2

modified strain rate factor, Zener–Hollomon parameter (Z ).[35] σ0 ¼ ln4 þ þ1 5

0.034 3.64  10 7
3.64  10 7
In previous study, the Z parameter of 0.15C-7Mn steel and
expressions of peak stress as well as critical stress have been (9)
established,[31] as shown below

 The softening coefficient Ω is obtained by nonlinear regres-
320984 sion. It is found that Ω decreases with an increase in strain rate
Z ¼ ε̇exp ¼ 5.15  1010 ½sin hð0.0156σ P Þ4.01 (1)
RT or a decrease in compression temperature. The softening coeffi-
"
1

2 1 # cient can be expressed by Avrami equation
1 Z 4.01 Z 4.01 2


σP ¼ ln þ þ1 Q
0.0156 5.15  1010 5.15  1010 Ω ¼ Ω0 ε̇
mΩ exp
mΩ Ω (10)
RT
(2)

 where Ω0 and mΩ are the material constants, and QΩ is the DRV
69833
εp ¼ 8.675  10
4 ε̇0.22 exp (3) activation energy. By regression analysis, the values of Ω0, mΩ,
RT
and QΩ are determined to be 11, 0.174, and 52 424, respectively.
εc ¼ 0.826εP (4)

In this article, the recrystallizing model of the steel is studied.
The variation of flow stress curve is closely related to the evolu-
tion of dislocation density, which is caused by the interaction
between dislocation multiplication and annihilation.[36] The
dislocation density evolution can be described by an Estrin
and Mecking (EM) mathematic model.[36–38] The EM model is
written as
dρ
¼ U
Ωρ
dε
where ρ is the dislocation density, Ω is the softening coefficient
caused by dislocation disappearance and rearrangement during
dynamic recovery (DRV), U is a function of strain, which is a
multiplication term representing the work hardening, dρ/dε is
the increase rate of dislocation density with strain. The flow
stress can be expressed as a function of the dislocation density
pffiffiffi
σ ¼ αμb ρ (6)
where α is the material constant, the general value is 0.5. When
the flow stress increases to the saturation value in DRV stage, the
DRV softening and work hardening counteract each other.
Meanwhile, the dislocation density maintains a dynamic equilib-
rium and no longer changes with the increase in strain, that is,
dρ/dε ¼ 0. Combined with Equation (5) and (6), the relationship
between DRV flow stress (σDRV) and ε can be expressed as
σ DRV ¼ ½σ 2s
ðσ 2s
σ 20 Þe
Ωε 1=2 ðε < εc Þ
where σs and σ0 are the saturated stress and initial yield stress,
respectively. The experimental data before critical strain are
2.2.2. Kinetic Model of DRX
As the strain increases, the dislocations move and pile up at the
grain boundary, resulting in stress concentration. The accumu-
lation and rearrangement of dislocations leads to the formation
of sub-grain boundaries, which will develop into high-angle grain
boundaries and cause the initiation of DRX. The occurrence of
DRX is driven by the decrease in storage free energy, resulting in
the formation and growth of new undistorted and equiaxed
(5)
grains. With the increase in flow strain, the DRX softening frac-
tion increases gradually until it reaches complete DRX. Then the
flow stress reaches the steady-state stress (σss). In this investiga-
tion, the DRX softening fraction of 0.15C-7Mn steel can be
described by the decrease in flow stress[39]
σ DRV
σ DRX
X DRX ¼ (11)
σ s
σ ss
where XDRX represents the DRX softening fraction, σDRX is flow
stress during the DRX period. The kinetics of DRX behavior can
be characterized by the Avrami equation[40–42]
"
 #
ε
εc K d
X DRX ¼ 1
exp
Bd (12)
ε0.5
where Bd and Kd are the material constants and ε0.5 is the flow
strain when the DRX softening fraction is 50%.
(7) The σss can be obtained directly by observing the flow stress
curve. Combining Equation (11) with Equation (12), the relation-
ship between DRX flow stress (σDRX) and flow strain (ε) can be
expressed as

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( 
 )
ε
εc 2.01 the data. From Figure 2d, a perfect linear correlation between the
σ DRX ¼ σ DRV
ðσ s
σ ss Þ 1
exp
4.12 predicted and the actual value is received and R is 0.99, which is
ε0.5 (13)
close to 1. Meanwhile, the AARE is only 4.95%, which shows an
ðε > εc Þ excellent predictive capability of the DRX kinetic model.
Therefore, the calculated results of the models can successfully
According to the multivariate linear regression, the coeffi- reproduce the evolution characteristics of the flow stress curves
cients in the corresponding models of σss are calculated, and on the hot deformation. DRX kinetic model is a reliable and
the steady stress σss models are written as effective method to predict the macro-mechanical changes and
2 !1 3 DRX behavior during the thermal deformation process. It can

334841 3.84
1
3348411 3.84
2
1 ε̇ expð Þ ε̇ expð Þ 2
play a guiding role in the optimization of the parameters during
σ ss ¼ ln4 RT
þ RT
þ1 5 the actual hot-working process.
0.0163 2.11  10 11
2.11  10 11

(14)
2.3. Microstructure Evolution

The initial microstructure of 0.15C-7Mn steel represents an

2.2.3. Verification of Flow Stress Model
equiaxed-grain structure with an average grain size of 100.6 μm.
In the absence of a special description, the grain size mentioned
The evolution of flow stress in 0.15C-7Mn steel during hot defor-
later refers to that of uniform deformation zone. The uniform
mation can be expressed by a segmental model, including DRV
deformation zone is the most probable deformation zone with
and DRX kinetic model, as shown in Table 1. Figure 2 is the com-
an angle of about 45 between the applied force. The DRX micro-
parison and correlation between the experimental and the pre-
structures of 0.15C-7Mn steel under strain rates of 0.1 s
1 with
dicted results under different deformation conditions. It can
different temperature are shown in Figure 3. Observations show
be found that, the predicted values are in good agreement with
that with the increase in deformation temperature, the DRX
the experimental values. To more intuitively evaluate the accu-
softening fraction increases, and the fine grains gradually grows.
racy and reliability of the model, the correlation coefficient (R)
The DRX grain dimension is in the range of 12.7–45.7 μm. It can
and average absolute relative error (AARE) are calculated accord-
be concluded that high Z parameters could result in finer DRX
ing to the following expressions
grains.[43,44] Research has shown that the size of complete DRX
PN grain at steady-state stage is irrelevant to the initial grain size.[45]
i¼1 ðX ei
X̄ e ÞðX pi
X̄ p Þ
R ¼ qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
PN PN (15) At the deformation temperature of 900  C, DRX grains with very
i¼1 ðX ei
X̄ e Þ i¼1 ðX pi
X̄ p Þ
2 2
fine grain size of only 6 μm have occurred in most of the
observed area, whereas some original grains with the large
N  
1X 
 X ei
X ci   100% and elongated grain size remain. When the temperature rises
AARE ¼  (16)
N i¼1 X ei  to 950  C, the initial bulk grains are basically recrystallized.
At the deformed temperature of 1000 and 1050  C, sufficient
where Xei and Xpi are the experimental value and predicted value. recrystallization leads to fine and uniform microstructure, and
X̄ e and X̄ p are the mean value of Xei and Xpi. N is the number of no significant growth of the grains is observed. It can be seen

Table 1. The kinetic model of thermal deformation of 0.15C-7Mn steel.

Item Equation

ε < εc DRV flow stress σ DRV ¼
ðσ 2s
σ 20 Þe
Ωε 1=2

½σ 2s
"
1
2 !1 #
2
ε̇ expð332950
RT Þ
4.5 ε̇ expð332950
RT Þ
4.5
Saturated stress σ s ¼ 0.0122
1
ln 4.4510 11 þ 4.4510 11 þ 1
"

 !1 #
1 2 2
RT Þ
ε̇ expð243065 4.56
RT Þ
ε̇ expð243065 4.56
Initial yield stress σ 0 ¼ 0.034
1
ln 3.64107
þ 3.64107
þ1


DRV soften coefficient Ω ¼ 11ε̇
0.174 exp
0.174  52425
RT
 
2.01 
ε > εc DRX flow stress σ DRX ¼ σ DRV
ðσ s
σ ss Þ 1
exp
4.12 ε
ε
ε0.5
c

"

 !1 #
1 2 2
RT Þ
ε̇ expð334841 3.84
RT Þ
ε̇ expð334841 3.84
Steady state stress σ ss ¼ 0.016
1
ln 2.111011
þ 2.111011
þ1


DRX rate ε0.5 ¼ 1.04  10
3 ε̇0.225 exp 72372
RT

2.18 
DRX softening fraction X DRX ¼ 1
exp
6 ε
ε
ε0.5
c


Peak strain εp ¼ 8.675  10
4 ε̇0.22 exp 69833
RT

Critical strain εc ¼ 0.826εP

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(a) 120 (b) 160

0.001s-1 Experiment 0.01s-1 Experiment
Pridiction 140 Pridiction
100
120
80 900°C
900°C 100
Stress (MPa)

Stress (MPa)
60 950°C 80 950°C
1000°C 1000°C
1050°C 60
40 1050°C
1100°C 40 1100°C
20 1150°C 1150°C
20
0 0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Strain Strain
(c) 220 (d) 260
-1 Experiment 240 1s -1 Experiment
200 0.1s
Pridiction 220 Pridiction
180
200 900°C
160 900°C 180
140 950°C
160
Stress (MPa)

Stress (MPa)
120 950°C 1000°C
140
100 1000°C 120 1050°C
80 1050°C 100 1100°C
60 1100°C 80 1150°C
1150°C 60
40 40
20 20
0 0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Strain Strain
(e) 200
Data point
180 linear fit
Prediction flow stress (MPa)

160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Experiment flow stress (MPa)

Figure 2. a–d) Comparison and e) correlation between the experimental and predicted flow stress.

that the DRX grain size remarkably increases at 1100 and To model the evolution of DRX grain size dependent on
1150  C (Figure 3e–f ) compared with 1050  C (Figure 3d). deformation temperature and strain rate, many authors have
Although complete DRX occurs at 950–1150  C, the DRX grain used Sellars’s power law exponent empirical formula[46]
sizes at different deformed temperatures have significant distinc-
tions, resulting in different macro-mechanical properties. To DDRX ¼ KZ nDRX (17)
obtain a uniform fine recrystallization structure, the optimum
deformation temperature is in the range of 950–1050  C. where K and nDRX are the material constants.
Figure 4 shows the DRX microstructures of 0.15C-7Mn steel From the aforementioned analysis, the obtained grain size
under deformation temperature of 1050  C with various strain after DRX increases accompanied by the increase in deformation
rates. Complete DRX occurs at all deformation rates. From temperature and the decrease in strain rate, but the prediction
Figure 4a,b, DRX grains are quite fine with some smaller grains accuracy of Equation (17) for DRX grain size is not high enough.
at the grain boundary. Combined with the stress–strain curve, it So, the Johnson–Mehl–Avrami–Kolmogorov (JMAK) model
reveals that this is continuous DRX behavior. New DRX grains with the temperature-dependent Q and m is adopted to predict
nucleate, and the recrystallized grains begin to grow up simulta- the evolution of DRX grain size because it can give more accept-
neously. From Figure 4c,d, it can be found that growth of the able results than semi-empirical and mesoscopic models.[47,48]
grain size and the disappearance of smaller grains at the grain In the JMAK model, the DRX grain size can be calculated as
boundary are evident. Thus, for the purpose of achieving fine

recrystallized grains and optimum mechanical properties, the QðTÞ
DDRX ¼ Bε̇mðTÞ exp (18)
studied steel is not suitable for processing with too low strain rate. RT

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Figure 3. Recrystallization microstructure of 0.15C-7Mn steel deformed at 0.1 s
1 with temperature of a) 900  C, b) 950  C, c) 1000  C, d) 1050  C,
e) 1100  C, and f ) 1150  C.

mðTÞ ¼ m1 þ m2 T þ m3 =T (19) 3. Numerical Simulation of DRX Behaviors Using

DEFORM-3D
QðTÞ ¼ Q 1 T 2 þ Q 2 T þ Q 3 (20) 3.1. Model Establishment

where B, m1, m2, m3, Q1, Q2, and Q3 are constants.
According to measured grain sizes, the quantitative relation-
ship between DRX grain size and the strain rate as well as defor-
mation temperature can be expressed as


QðTÞ
DDRX ¼ 4.03  10 ε̇ 3 mðTÞ
exp
RT
where m(T ) and Q(T ) are calculated as
mðTÞ ¼ 7.86
2.93  10
3 T
5.46  103 =T
QðTÞ ¼ 7.12  10
3 T 2
7.10  104
Combined with the calculated DRX model and the thermal
parameters, an elastic–plastic FEM model of hot compression
is built by the commercial code DEFORM. The 3D FEM model
of hot compression is shown in Figure 5. The size of the speci-
men model is a cylindrical rod of Φ10  15 mm, which is set as
plastic body. The dimension of upper and lower dies is a cylinder
(21)
of Φ20 mm5 mm, which is set as rigid body. To reduce compu-
tational time, according to the symmetrical features of cylindrical
specimen, a quarter of model is adopted instead of a whole spec-
imen to simulate the hot compression test. The tetrahedral mesh
(22) is used to divide the die and specimen. Besides the heat transfer
coefficient between the die and the specimen is assumed as
16 W (m·K)
1. The friction factor between the die and the speci-
(23) men is chosen as 0.7.[49]

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Figure 4. Recrystallization microstructure of 0.15C-7Mn steel deformed at 1050  C with strain rate of a) 1 s
1, b) 0.1 s
1, c) 0.01 s
1, and d) 0.001 s
1.

(a) (b)

Symmetrical planes

ĸ
Symmetrical planes

Figure 5. 3D model of hot compression simulation: a) before and b) after compression.

3.2. Numerical Simulation Results and Analysis
Figure 6 shows the strain field, DRX softening fraction, and the
average grain size at the strain rate of 0.1 s
1 under different
deformation temperatures. It can be seen from Figure 6a–c that
the strain field at different temperatures is almost the same,
indicating that the influence of deformation temperature is
inconspicuous. According to Figure 6d–f, it can be seen that DRX
occurs earlier and more completely in the deformation region.
With the increase in deformation temperature, the DRX region
enlarges, and the DRX softening fraction of the incomplete DRX
region increases. From Figure 6g–i, the average grain size of the
complete DRX region increases from about 15.8 to 46.7 μm
when deformation temperature increases from 950 to 1150  C.
In addition, as the temperature increases, the nonrecrystalliza-
tion region consisting of the initial grain shrinks. Changes in

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Figure 6. a–c) Predicted strain field, d–f ) DRX softening fraction, and g–i) average grain size distribution at strain rate of 0.1 s
1 under 950  C, 1050  C,
1150  C, respectively.

DRX softening fraction and grain size with deformation temper- Figure 7 shows the strain field, DRX softening fraction, and
ature is consistent with the result of the flow stress–strain curve the average grain size distribution at 1050  C under different
(Figure 1) and metallography observations (Figure 3). strain rates. Figure 7a–d show that the effect of strain rate on

Figure 7. a–d) Predicted strain field distribution, e–h) DRX softening fraction, and i–l) average grain size distribution under 1050  C with strain rate of
0.001, 0.01, 0.1, and 1 s
1, respectively.

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the strain field is the same as hot compression temperature and
also insignificant. According to Figure 7e–h, the increase in
strain rate leads to the reduction of complete DRX region and
expansion of incomplete DRX region. From Figure 7i–l, the aver-
age grain size of DRX grain decreases from about 55.5 to 18.9 μm
when strain rate increases from 0.001 to 1 s
1. The FEM results
are consistent with the stress–strain curve and microstructure
evolution.
Comparisons between experimental and simulated values
about the DRX softening fraction and the size of DRX grains
are shown as Figure 8 and 9. Figure 8 shows the comparison
between the actual and simulated values of DRX softening frac-
tion in different deformation regions. For the sake of contrast,
five places are selected as points for comparison. O, L2, and
H2 points are located in uniform deformation zone, free defor-
mation zone, and difficult deformation zone, respectively. L1 and
H1 are situated in transition zone. Actual and predicted DRX
softening fraction of these positions are marked on Figure 8.
From Figure 8, it can be seen that DRX happens thoroughly
in the uniform deformation zone, and seldom takes place near
the difficult deformation zone. The degree of DRX exhibits
considerable variation in different deformation regions, but is

Figure 8. Comparison of DRX softening fraction between the experimental and predicted values at 950  C and 0.1 s
1. a–d) and f ) The recrystallization
microstructures corresponding to the points in (e), e) the predicted DRX softening fraction.

(a) 1.0 (b) 100

0.1s-1 90 0.1s-1
0.8 950°C 950°C
Average grain size, µm

80
DRX volume fraction

1050°C 1050°C
70 1150°C
1150°C
0.6
60
50
0.4
40

0.2 30
20
0.0 10
0.0 1.5 3.0 4.5 6.0 7.5 9.0 0.0 1.5 3.0 4.5 6.0 7.5 9.0
Time, s Time, s
(c) 100 (d) 100
Experimental Experimental
90 90
Simulated Simulated
Average grain size, µm

Average grain size, µm

80 80
70 1050°C 70
60 0.001s-1 60 0.1s-1
50 50 1150°C
40 0.01s-1 40
30 0.1s-1 30 1050°C
1s-1 950°C
20 20
10 10
0 0

Figure 9. Variations of FEM simulation results: a) DRX softening fraction, b) average grain size, and c,d) comparison of average grain size between the
experiment and simulated data.

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relatively uniform in the same deformation region. Comparing
the simulation results with the experimental results at different
positions, it is found that the variation of DRX fraction obtained
by the simulation is very consistent with the experimental
results. Figure 9a,b exhibit the FEM evolution of DRX softening
fraction and average grain size with the increase in deformation
temperature under the strain rate of 0.1 s
1. The increase in
deformation temperature can contribute to the earlier occurrence
of DRX. Both the evolution trend and the numerical value of
grain size are in good agreement with the experimental results.
Considering the distribution of DRX softening fraction and
average grain size, a relatively small and more uniform average
grain size can be obtained under the deformation conditions of
0.1 s
1and 1050  C. Comparison between experimental and
simulated values about the size of DRX grains is shown as
Figure 9c,d. One can clearly see that the established DRX model
is consistent with experimental result. Similarly, the average
grain size obtained from FEM simulation conforms well to
the facts. The evolution of DRX can be well predicted by FEM
simulation.
4. Conclusions
In this article, a series of isothermal compression tests using
Gleeble-3500 thermo-mechanical simulator were carried out to
study the hot plastic deformation behavior and microstructure
evolution of the 0.15C-7Mn steel. The DRX models and the
evolution model of DRX grain size were established by analyzing
flow stress curves under various deformation conditions. Finite
element numerical simulation using DEFORM-3D was imple-
mented to evaluate macroscopic mechanical behavior and
DRX microstructure. An optimal process window of high
DRX softening fraction and fine DRX grains was obtained.
The main conclusions are summarized as follows: 1) Two types
of DRX flow behaviors were detected, namely single peak and
cyclic behaviors. At low temperatures and high strain rates,
the flow curves are identified as single peak. In contrast, at high
temperatures and low strain rates, multiple peak behavior char-
acterized by the repetition of stress fluctuations can be observed.
2) DRV and DRX kinetics models were established by multivari-
able linear regression and nonlinear fitting. The predicted values
are in good agreement with the experimental results, which
indicates the reliability of the model. The R and AARE are
0.99% and 4.95%. 3) The DRX microstructure at the evaluated
conditions was inspected, which reveals that with the increase
in deformation temperature or decrease in strain rate, the
DRX softening fraction increases, and the fine grains gradually
grows. The DRX grain size evolution model was built as follows:
QðTÞ
DDRX ¼ 4.03  103 ε̇mðTÞ exp RT , where mðTÞ ¼ 7.86
2.93
10
3 T
5.46  103 =T; QðTÞ ¼ 7.12  10
3 T 2
7.10  104 .
4) Based on material genome data, a FEM model for single pass
compression of 0.15C-7Mn steel was established to simulate the
evolution behaviors of strain field, DRX softening fraction, and
average grain size at various deformation conditions. Combined
with microstructure observations, DRX model and FEM
simulation, the moderate temperature and low strain rates
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(1000–1050  C and 0.1–1 s
1) are the appropriate deforming
parameters due to adequate DRX and relatively fine grain size.
5. Experimental Section
The investigated 0.15C-7Mn ingot with size of 160  120  25 mm was
obtained by vacuum melting and hot forging. The chemical composition of
the ingot is 0.15C-7.46Mn-0.2Si-0.032Al. Cylindrical specimens, 10 mm in
diameter and 15 mm in height, were cut from the center region of the hot-
forging slab. The isothermal compression tests were carried out with
Gleeble-3500 thermal simulator in the temperature range of 900–1150  C
and strain rates of 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1 s
1. All specimens were heated to
1200  C at a heating rate of 10  C s
1 for 300 s to eliminate microstructure
inhomogeneity, and then cooled to the designed deformation temperature
at a rate of 5  C s
1. The specimens were reduced 60% followed by the
water quenching immediately to keep high-temperature deformed
microstructure. To observe initial microstructure before compression,
specimens were heated to 1200  C at the same rate of 10  C s
1 and held
for 300 s followed by water quenching.
The deformed specimens were sectioned parallel to the compression
axis. After mechanical grinding and polishing, the quenched specimens
were boiled in the oversaturated solution of trinitrophenol for metallo-
graphic observation. The grain size under different deformation conditions
was calculated by the circle intercept method.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by National Key R&D Program of China
(2017YFB0304402).
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Keywords
dynamic recrystallization, finite element simulations, flow stresses, hot
compression, medium Mn steel
Received: December 24, 2019
Revised: March 30, 2020
Published online:
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