Recrystallization in oxide-dispersion strengthened mechanically alloyed sheet steel

Systematic annealing at temperatures between 1,300 C and 1,380 C was applied to sheets of INCOLOY MA-956, an oxide-dispersion strengthened (ODS), mechanically alloyed, iron-base steel containing (in mass percent) 20.8Cr, 5.0Al, 0.5Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}, and 0.5Ti. The billets, comprised of hot isostatically pressed (hipped), mechanically alloyed powder, were hot- and cold-rolled to produce a 0.5-mm-thick sheet with a strong (100) deformation texture. Light and transmission electron microscopy established that recrystallization initiated by nucleation at the sheet centerline. Initial rapid growth of the centerline-nucleated grains, designated stage 1, resulted in plate-shaped grains oriented parallel to the rolling plane at the sheet centerline. Subsequent growth, designated stage 2, was developed by planar growth fronts through the sheet thickness at a slower rate. The final product was a very coarse grain structure, sometimes with only a single grain through the sheet thickness. The recrystallization kinetics were typified by an incubation time, a temperature dependence characterized by an activation energy of 506 kJ/mole, and a decreasing rate of boundary migration with increasing time at temperature. The microstructural evolution is discussed in terms of the influences of deformation texture, residual stress, dislocation substructure, and oxide dispersion on the recrystallization process.