Coupled simulation of ferrite recrystallization in a dual-phase steel considering deformation heterogeneity at mesoscale

Gang Shen, Baojia Hu, Chengwu Zheng*, Jianfeng Gu*, Dianzhong Li

Keywords: Dual phase steel; Static recrystallization; Deformation heterogeneity; Crystal plasticity; Cellular automaton; Mesoscale modeling

Abstract: Microstructure-based numerical modeling of ferrite recrystallization in a cold-rolled dual-phase (DP) steel during continuous annealing has been performed by considering the deformation heterogeneity with a coupled simulation method. The plastic deformation inside the two-phase structures is firstly simulated using the crystal plasticity finite element method (CPFEM) at the grain scale with the initial grain structures and crystallographic orientations inputted from EBSD maps based on a digital material representation algorithm. The predicted local stored deformation energy is then incorporated into the cellular automaton model as the driving force for subsequent ferrite recrystallization nucleation and growth. The simulations demonstrate inhomogeneous microstructural behaviors of ferrite recrystallization owing to the microstructural deformation heterogeneity inherited from the deformed multi-phase structures. Reliable predictions regarding the recrystallization kinetics, grain size distribution and microstructure morphology can be made compared with the experimental results. The influence of annealing temperatures and heating rates is also obtained by the simulation approach.