Flow characteristics and hot workability studies of a Ni-containing Fe‑Mn‑Al‑C lightweight duplex steel
Highlights: • Hot deformation behavior of Fe-9Al-10Mn-4Ni-0.7C duplex steel has been investigated. • Yield-point like behavior and multiple peaks are observed at high strain rates. • The critical, recovery and steady-state stress exhibit linearity with peak stress. • The optimum processing domain is identified as 1223–1350 K and 0.001–0.01 s{sup −1}. • Micro-crack, micro-band and wedge crack are the instability features in the steel. The high temperature deformation behavior of Fe‑9Al‑10Mn‑4Ni‑0.7C duplex steel has been investigated in the range of temperatures 1223–1423 K and strain rates 0.001–10 s{sup −1}. The multistage work hardening behaviors are analysed using Kocks-Mecking model and the correlations among various characteristic parameters of dynamic softening (viz. peak stress, recovery stress, steady-state stress and critical stress/strain) are evaluated. The processing and activation energy maps are constructed to identify the optimum processing domains. The microstructural responses towards various processing parameters are considered to correlate the dynamic softening phenomena and high efficiency domain of the processing map. The optimum hot working domain is obtained as 1223–1350 K and 0.001–0.01 s{sup −1} which is identified by low apparent activation energy value and dominant continuous dynamic recrystallization mechanism in where typical transition of low-angle to high-angle boundary is observed. At lower temperature (< 1373 K) and higher strain rate (≥1 s{sup −1}) unstable domain, material exhibits micro-bands and cracks along the austenite/ferrite interphase boundaries. Furthermore, at lower strain rate (0.001 s{sup −1}) and higher temperature (≥1373 K) unstable domain, wedge crack at the triple junction is revealed as the sign of deformation instability.