Study of the recrystallization and crystallographic texture evolution during final annealing of UNS S32304 Lean Duplex stainless steel

The banded microstructure effects on the texture and recrystallization evolution in UNS S32304 Lean Duplex stainless steel was investigated by Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD), hardness and microhardness measurements. The annealed hot rolled band was cold rolled and annealed in the laboratory with interruptions at temperatures ranging from 900 °C to 1050 °C and according to industrial process conditions. The experimental results indicated that the nucleation during recrystallization occurred at high angle grain boundaries and phase boundaries. The austenite recrystallized independently of the ferrite and showed typical deformation texture. The inexistence of transition from α-fiber to γ-fiber and the prevalence of the recovery process in ferrite during annealing could be adequately explained by the presence of austenite lamellae acting as barriers to the growth of γ-fiber recrystallized grains.