Hot deformation behavior, microstructural evolution, and dynamic recrystallization mechanism of TiC_p/Q690E composite

Abstract

The TiC_p/Q690E composite offers excellent strength, toughness, and corrosion resistance, making it promising for marine engineering and shipbuilding. Investigating its hot deformation behavior and microstructure evolution is crucial for optimizing hot working processes and improving the material’s performance. In this study, isothermal compression tests were performed at temperatures ranging from 1000 to 1150 °C and at strain rates from 0.001 to 10 s⁻¹ to investigate the influence of titanium carbide (TiC) particles on flow behavior, microstructure evolution, and dynamic recrystallization (DRX) mechanisms. The results indicate that the peak stress increases with the addition of TiC particles. The flow curves show DRX characteristics at strain rates ⩽1 s⁻¹, whereas dynamic recovery (DRV) dominates at 10 s⁻¹. A strain-compensated Arrhenius constitutive model was developed, which demonstrated high prediction accuracy with a correlation coefficient (R) of 0.9784 and an average absolute error (AARE) of 5.44%. TiC particles refine the grain structure and promote DRX via particle-stimulated nucleation (PSN). As the deformation temperature increases or the strain rate decreases, low-angle grain boundaries (LAGBs) transform into high-angle grain boundaries (HAGBs), and the volume fraction of DRX grains also increases. The DRX mechanism evolves with increasing strain from an initial combination of continuous DRX (CDRX) and discontinuous DRX (DDRX) to a synergistic interaction among PSN, CDRX, and DDRX, with the contribution of PSN becoming more pronounced at higher strains.

Keywords

TiC_p/Q690E composite / hot deformation / constitutive model / microstructural evolution / dynamic recrystallization mechanism

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