The effect of severe plastic deformation on the IF steel properties, evolution of structure and crystallographic texture after dual rolls equal channel extrusion deformation

This paper presents some results of the influence of severe plastic deformation on the microstructure evolution, grain refinement aspect, and mechanical properties of ultra-low carbon steel. Ti-stabilized experimental IF steel was deformed at a room temperature with unconventional SPD process—dual rolls equal channel extrusion (DRECE). Mechanical properties and structure of ferritic steel in initial state and after selected steps of deformation were investigated. The mechanical properties were determined by static tensile tests carried out at a room temperature and microhardness research. The structural investigations involved using scanning transmission electron microscopy observations, electron back scattered diffraction and measurements of the crystallographic texture. The DRECE process affects the evolution of the structure. The microstructural investigations revealed that the processed strips exhibited a dislocation cell and grain structures with mostly low angle grain boundaries. The electron backscattering diffraction (EBSD) examination showed that the processed microstructure is homogeneous along the strips thickness. The mechanical properties of the DRECE-processed IF steel strips increased with an increase the number of passes.