Recrystallization Kinetics of the ECAP processed stainless steel 316L

Austenitic stainless steels are widely used in different industries because of their attractive mechanical properties as well as their reasonable corrosion resistance. While different works have been focused on the severe plastic deformation of austenitic stainless steels, recrystallization kinetics of these alloys after the imposition of severe plastic deformation is remained less studied. The aim of this work is to study the recrystallization kinetic of austenitic stainless steels 316L after the imposition of severe plastic deformation using equal channel angular pressing. For this purpose, the alloy is processed by 0, 1, 2, and 4 passes of the mentioned process at 310 ºC by route BC. Afterwards the processed specimens are subjected to annealing at 800 ºC for a duration of 9 to 30 min. During these procedure, the kinetic of recrystallization is studied using the optical microscopy while the optical microscopy results are analyzed by the MIP5 image analyzing software. Also, the volume fraction of recrystallization is interpreted using the JMAK model. Results show that the exponent of recrystallization duration in the JMAK model is between 3 and 4. The mechanism probably involving these phenomena are discussed.