An investigation on the effect of carbon and silicon on flow behavior of steel

The effect of carbon and silicon on the occurrence of dynamic recrystallization as well as on the flow stress of steel was investigated. For this purpose, three grades of steels including low carbon, medium carbon and high silicon low carbon steel were examined. Single hit experiments at temperatures of 900-1200 degreesC and strain rate of 0.01-2 s(-1) were performed to determine the phase transformation kinetics. Different socking times were utilized to detect the effect of initial austenite grain size on the kinetics of dynamic recrystallization and flow behavior of the steels. It was found that increasing, the carbon content leads to a higher rate of dynamic recrystallization at high temperatures and low strain rates, while silicon causes postponement of the occurrence of dynamic recrystallization. Moreover, increasing the initial austenite grain size postpones the onset of dynamic recrystallization and leads to a higher flow stress at equivalent deformation conditions. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.