Superior mechanical properties of microalloyed steels processed via a new technology based on austenite conditioning followed by warm deformation

In this paper we introduce the AC2WD-technology, which stands for Austenite Conditioning - Accelerated Cooling - Warm Deformation. This technology was tested in laboratory conditions using a Gleeble thermomechanical simulator. Two microalloyed steels processed via this technology have shown a superior combination of mechanical properties, compared to those obtained via the conventional thermomechanical processing routes.