Strain-induced precipitation in a Ti micro-alloyed HSLA steel

The strain-induced precipitation kinetics of TiC in a 0.05% C–0.10% Ti HSLA steel was investigated by two-stage interrupted compression method. The precipitation–time–temperature (PTT) diagram for TiC precipitation was obtained by analyzing the softening kinetics curves of deformed austenite, which was confirmed to be of validity by employing transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Experimental results showed that the PTT diagram for TiC precipitation exhibited a typical “C” shaped and the nucleation of strain-induced TiC precipitation was a very rapid process in the temperature range 900–925 °C. The relatively severe deformation applied on the steel was considered to be the main factor resulting in the fast kinetics of TiC precipitation. The TiC precipitates were heterogeneously distributed in either a chain-like or a cell like manner, implying that the precipitates nucleated on dislocations or on dislocation sub-structures, which were produced by deformation. The growth of TiC precipitates approximately followed a parabolic law. In addition, the coarsening of strain-induced TiC precipitates had already started before the completion of precipitation.