Influence of pre-strain on thermal stability of non-equilibrium microstructures in a low alloy steel

► High pre-strain and low pre-strain influence differently on thermal stability of non-equilibrium microstructures. ► High pre-strain, in which dislocation sources can be actuated and dislocation density is increased excessively, will markedly promote recrystallization. ► Low pre-strain, in which dislocations are induced to redistribute into a low-energy structure, can slow down microstructure evolution. Non-equilibrium microstructures in steels including martensite and bainite, which are main phases in current high strength steels, possess high strength and hardness. However, these microstructures are metastable due to their high density of crystal defects. In the present investigation, hardness test, optical microscopy and electron microscopy have been carried out to detect microstructure evolution in a low alloy steel, which was reheated and held isothermally at 550°C. Special emphasis was put on influence of pre-strain on thermal stability of non-equilibrium microstructures. It is found that high pre-strain, in which dislocation sources can be actuated and dislocation density is increased excessively, will markedly promote recrystallization of non-equilibrium microstructures at 550°C, while low pre-strain, in which only can mono-glide of dislocations can be operated in each grain and dislocations are induced to redistribute into a low-energy structure, can slow down microstructure evolution.