Evolution of textures in hot rolled Nb-Ti and V-Nb microalloyed steels

A considerable texture gradient in the through thickness direction was observed during hot rolling of Nb-Ti and V-Nb microalloyed steels. The most intense deformation texture for Nb-Ti steels was {113}<110> at all depths, whereas for V-Nb steels the plane was shifted to {115}<110>; the angular difference between {113} and {115} is about a degree. The recrystallisation texture of austenite, {100}<001>, transformed into {100}<011> component in the ferrite and indicated an increase in the intensity with increase in depth for both Nb-Ti and V-Nb steels. However, the intensity of this {100}<011> texture was less for Nb-Ti steels compared to V-Nb steels at all depths. The reduced intensity of {100}<011> texture in Nb-Ti steels is likely to be the reason for the superior formability and improved toughness of Nb-Ti steels as compared with V-Nb steels. The {001}<011> type of texture has an undesirable effect on the edge formability of steels.