Optimization of Cellular Automata Model for the Heating of Dual-Phase Steel by Genetic Algorithm and Genetic Programming

This study considers a common metallurgical problem associated with the phase transformation of steel during heating where austenite grain tends to grow in size with time and results in poor mechanical properties in the final stages. This investigation was performed using a Cellular Automata model for dual-phase steel developed in house. Data-driven metamodels for a biobjective optimization problem involving minimizing average austenite grain size along with the maximizing of time of heating were constructed using Evolutionary Neural Network (EvoNN) and Biobjective Genetic Programming (BioGP). The input variables selected for this task were (i) heating rate, (ii) pearlite percentage, (iii) nucleation density of austenite, and (iv) the finish temperature of austenite formation. The analyses of the results led to the fact that heating rate is the most influencing factor and it needs to be large during transformation to obtain a refined microstructure. The comparison of Pareto front between EvoNN and BioGP reveals a better performance of the latter. Limited experimental confirmation was also carried out.