The recrystallization of cold-rolled uranium

This paper gives the results of investigations into the effect of rolling and annealing in the region on the structure and mechanical properties of uranium. The initial material was uranium which had been cast, rolled in the region and quench-hardened from the ß region. Smallgrain recrystallized uranium has much higher strength than the initial coarse-grained uranium. Approximate recrystallization diagrams are plotted for 5–40% degrees of reduction and annealing at temperatures of 350–650 °C with soaking for 10 hr. The recrystallization is almost independent of the investigated initial states of the material. Data are given on the kinetics of the recrystallization processes. The addition of 0.1 wt.% of molybdenum slows down considerably the recrystallization of uranium and increases the strength of the small-grained uranium by 20%.