Modelling the hot deformation of a microalloyed steel

During the continuous casting process, alloys are exposed to mechanical and thermal stresses which might lead to damage. The strain hardening effect and dynamic softening behavior of a microalloyed steel are correlated to the damage behavior occurring during hot deformation.
The use of physically based models in modelling thermomechanical processes allows for a better understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the material properties. They are a powerful tool to improve industrial processes. In this work, a model featuring dislocation density as an internal variable was developed to capture the work-hardening and dynamic softening of a microalloyed steel at processing conditions. At higher temperature i.e. the Austenitic range as a low SFE material, dynamic recrystallization is the dominant softening mechanism during thermomechanical processing. DRX model is implemented, and the damage behavior is modelled by considering the effects of the microstructure evolution and the DRX fraction.