Over-relaxation effect of deformed austenite on ageing behavior of an Nb-bearing microalloyed steel

The ageing behavior of an Nb-bearing microalloyed steel at 525℃was investigated by thermo-simulation test, hardness measurements and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Prior to ageing, the steel was deformed in austenite zone followed by a long relaxation. Experimental results indicate that the hardness decreases gradually in the initial stage until ageing for 120 min, and then increases continuously until 1200 min. The coarsened precipitates (>10 nm) formed in deformed austenite remain nearly unchanged in size, even after ageing for long time, while the further precipitates, which nucleate in a phase, contribute to the increasing of hardness. By comparison, the undeformed samples in austenite subjected to the same ageing process display a very similar hardness change trend to that of over-relaxation ones and have higher hardness values at each corresponding period.