Static recrystallization kinetics in warm worked vanadium microalloyed steels

The effect of vanadium on static recrystallization kinetics of vanadium mic roalloyed carbon steels after simulating warm working conditions has been d etermined using the stress relaxation method in plane strain compression te sts. In the warm working regime, undissolved fine V(C,N) precipitates promo te a fine austenite grain size during reheating and interact with the recry stallization process after working, leading to longer recrystallization tim es in comparison with plain C-Mn steels. The interaction between precipitat es and recrystallization is different to that observed for hot working cond itions, retarding the total recrystallization process and thus resulting in a lower value of the Avrami exponent and a longer t(0.5) time. (C) 2001 El sevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.