Microstructural Evolution during Industrial Rolling of a Duplex Stainless Steel

The microstructural evolution of a duplex stainless steel EN 1.4462 during the industrial rolling process has been examined. The ferritic and austenitic phases were analyzed separately after each rolling and annealing step. Optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, together with texture measurements, have been used to characterize the morphology and the preferred crystallographic orientations of both phases. Additionally, the hardness evolution in ferrite and austenite after each industrial step was measured by instrumented indentation. The results show that microstructural features observed after hot rolling tend to remain during further processing and they are essentially present in the final cold rolled and annealed product.