Effect of hot deformation mode on the microstructure evolution of lean duplex stainless steel 2101

Microstructure and crystallographic texture evolution of lean duplex stainless steel 2101 (LDX 2101) during single- and multi-pass hot compressions were studied by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The flow curve characteristics of LDX 2101 were interpreted by coupling behaviors of the microstructure evolution in austenitic and ferric phases. The softening of both the phases during straining is caused by continuous dynamic recrystallization by the gradual transformation of low-angle grain boundaries into high-angle grain boundaries, without obvious changes in the phase ratio. The hot compression textures of the constituent phases show that the brass-type texture, which is typical of face-centered cubic materials with low stacking fault energy, is developed in the austenitic phase, and the rotated-cube texture is developed in the ferric phase. The differences in the microstructures and texture evolution features under different hot deformation modes can be explained by the differences in softening mechanisms.