Mesoscale simulation of the high-temperature austenitizing and dynamic recrystallization by coupling a cellular automaton with a topology deformation technique

This paper reports on work in developing a cellular automaton (CA) model coupling with a topology deformation technique to simulate the microstructural evolution of 30Cr2Ni4MoV rotor steel during the high-temperature austenitizing and dynamic recrystallization (DRX). The state transition rules for simulating the normal grain growth was established based on the curvature-driven mechanism, thermodynamic driving mechanism and established based on the curvature-driven mechanism, thermodynamic driving mechanism and the lowest energy principle. To describe the compression effect on the topology of grain deformation more accurately, the update topology deformation model was proposed in which a cellular coordinate system and a material coordinate system were established separately. The cellular coordinate system remains unchangeable, but the material coordinate system and the corresponding grain boundary shape will change with deformation in the update topology deformation model. The effects of a wide range of thermomechanical parameters (e.g., temperature and strain rate) on the DRX kinetics and mean grain size were investigated. It was found that increasing the temperature and/or decreasing the strain rate can reduce the incubation period, and decreasing the temperature and/or increasing the strain rate can refine the DRX grain size. The simulation results are validated by comparing the experimental results.