Tensile deformation behavior of ferrite-bainite dual-phase pipeline steel

In-situ tensile test accompanied by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analyses were performed on polygonal ferrite (PF) and bainite dual-phase steel, selected regions of interest were analyzed following plastic deformation of the steel. Deformation-induced crystal orientation evolution, localized strain concentration, slip transfer, and geometrically necessary dislocation (GND) density were tracked. Results revealed that heterogeneity deformation facilitated formation subregions with crystal orientation deviation in grain and fragmented the grain by the new low angle grain boundaries (LAGBs) or medium angle grain boundaries (MAGBs). The PF grains with ND// <111> preferred crystal orientation exhibited high orientation stability, and almost all load axes of the selected PF grains moved to the [101] pole, resulting in enhancing {111} <110> orientation component at high strain levels. With the lattice rotation during deformation, the high angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) can change to MAGBs, which was beneficial to maintain coordination deformation among grains. Localized strain concentration can be decreased by the slip transfer across the PF grain boundaries or bainite/PF phase boundaries, which reduced the risk of micro-void formation. Additionally, the variation of alpha 12 GND tensor average value (Ave. alpha 12) revealed that the ferrite was continuous plastic deformation, while the bainite occurred stage hardening. The required strain for the coordination deformation was controlled by strain hardening behavior.