Synergistic effect of austenitizing temperature and hot plastic deformation strain on the precipitation behavior in novel HSLA steel

Vickers hardness data revealed that, in specimens austenitized at 1200 °C and deformed at 900 °C with strains of 10% and 30%, the ranges of hardness distribution were 250-360 HV 0.1 and 310-400 HV 0.1, respectively. For specimens austenitized at 1000 °C and deformed at 900 °C with strains of 10% and 30%, the ranges of hardness distribution were 220-250 HV 0.1 and 220-260 HV 0.1, respectively. Therefore, the average Vickers hardness increased with the austenitizing temperature and deformation strain. However, a wider range of hardness distribution occurred in specimens that underwent treatment at higher austenitizing temperatures. The wider Vickers hardness distribution reflects non-uniform precipitation in each ferrite grain.