Papers by Author: Gonzalo Varela-Castro

Abstract: The knowledge of the flow behavior of metallic alloys subjected to hot forming operations is of particular interest for designers and engineers in the practice of industrial forming processes simulations (i.e. rolling mill). Nowadays dynamic recrystallization (DRX) is recognized as one of the most relevant and meaningful mechanisms available for the control of microstructure. This mechanism occurs during hot forming operations over a wide range of metals and alloys and it is known to be as a powerful tool which can be used to the control of the microstructure and properties of alloys. Therefore is important to know, particularly in low stacking fault energy (SFE) materials, the precise time for which DRX is available to act. At constant strain rate such time is defined by a critical strain, εc. Unfortunately this critical value is not directly measurable on the flow curve; as a result different methods have been developed to derive it. Focused on steels, in the present work the state of art on the critical strain for the initiation of DRX is summarized and a review of the different methods and expressions for determining εc is included. The collected data is suitable to feeding constitutive models.

Abstract: The unbending operation is a critical stage of steel continuous casting because it is carried out at thermomechanical conditions for which embrittlement mechanisms can appear leading to transverse cracking. The hot tensile test is commonly used to simulate such thermomechanical conditions, at the surface of the slab, and, the reduction in area of the samples tested to fracture is taken as a measure of the susceptibility to cracking of the steel. However, a further metallographic and fractographic evaluation of the samples is required in order to identify the embrittlement mechanisms. These mechanisms are usually related to transformations in the microstructure, such as precipitation or the appearance of deformation induced ferrite, which imply changes in the strength of the material and should therefore be detectable in the flow curves. However, the features of tensile curves are not usually analyzed when evaluating the hot ductility because necking makes the interpretation of the curves complicated. In this work the hot ductility of a C-Mn steel will be discussed by means of hot tensile and compression tests. The embrittlement mechanism identified for this steel is the appearance of a ferrite layer at austenite grain boundaries. The effect of this mechanism on the features of the tensile curves will be discussed. Moreover, these curves will be compared to compression curves obtained under the same testing conditions to see whether transformation induced ferrite can be detected by means of hot compression testing. The possibility of assessing the ductile behavior of different steel grades through hot compression, which requires less material and is easier to control, will be discussed.

Abstract: The microstructural control of rolled products is based on managing the austenite phase transformations during and after hot deformation to attain the desired microstructure after the cooling step. Therefore, it is very important an appropriate description of the kinetics of the hardening and softening phenomena taking place during the deformation at high temperatures, namely, dynamic recovery (DRV) and recrystallization (DRX). This investigation examines the effect of manganese contents on the hot flow behaviour of plain carbon steels. For this purpose, uniaxial hot compression tests were carried out in carbon steels in an extensive range of temperatures, from 1123 to 1373 K and strain rates, from 510-4 to 110-1 s-1. This work is focused in determining the physically-based constitutive equations that govern the plastic behaviour of plain carbon steels. Experimental results were compared with the predictions of the model and an excellent agreement over a broad range of temperatures and strain rates was obtained.