Modelling of the variant selection mechanism in the phase transformation of HSLA steel produced by compact strip production Original Research Article

The ferrite and residual austenite textures of a microalloyed steel (HSLA) produced by Compact Strip Production (CSP) were determined by X-ray diffraction. At the same time, the individual orientations of neighbouring inherited ferrite grains and austenite grains were measured by EBSD. Orientation relations between the parent austenite and the inherited ferrite have been assessed. Knowing these orientation relations and the parent austenite texture, the simulation of the texture of the inherited ferrite texture has been performed without variant selection. The comparison of this calculated texture with the experimental ferrite texture shows differences due to a variant selection mechanism occurring during the phase transformation at cooling. A modelling of a variant selection mechanism based on the elastic anisotropy of the parent austenite leads to a simulated inherited texture with the main characteristics of the experimental ferrite texture.