INVESTIGATION ON THE ASSESSMENT OF THE ANEALING EVALUATION OF THE 430E FERRITIC STAINLESS STEEL

Ferritic stainless steels may require good stamping properties. In order to achieve the best performance it is necessary to know its texture behavior during hot and cold processing. The present work, investigated the microstructural evolution of niobium-stabilized ferritic stainless annealed steel after 80% thickness reduction. Samples were taken from work hardened condition and isochronous annealed at the temperature range of 400°C to 1000°C. The recrystallized volume fraction has been reported as the softened fraction measured by Vickers microhardness in each temperature. Data analysis was also supported electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). Results show that the crystallization begins at 700°C for a soaking time of 900s. At about 750°C the steel is fully recrystallized and having grain size of 8,5 µm