Over-relaxation effect of deformed austenite on ageing behavior of an Nb-bearing microalloyed steel

The ageing behavior of an Nb-bearing microalloyed steel at 525℃ was investigated by thermo-simulation test, hardness measurements and transmission electron microscopy （TEM）. Prior to ageing, the steel was deformed in austenite zone followed by a long relaxation. Experimental results indicate that the hardness decreases gradually in the initial stage until ageing for 120 min, and then increases continuously until 1200 min. The coarsened precipitates （>10 nm） formed in deformed austenite remain nearly unchanged in size, even after ageing for long time, while the further precipitates, which nucleate in a phase, contribute to the increasing of hardness. By comparison, the undeformed samples in austenite subjected to the same ageing process display a very similar hardness change trend to that of over-relaxacion ones and have higher hardness values at each corresponding period.