Heating rate effects during non-isothermal annealing of AIK steel

The effects of heating rate on microstructural size and shape parameters during annealing of cold rolled aluminum killed steel strips have been examined under non-isothermal condition. It is shown that decrease in the heating rate results in accelerated grain growth behavior compared with the prediction by quasi-isothermal based kinetics. The {111} and {112} crystallographic orientations, which enhance the normal anisotropy and deep drawability of cold rolled annealed sheets, are found to exhibit a strong correlation with the grain shape anisotropy. This grain shape anisotropy itself is strongly dependent on heating rates. Lower heating rates result in higher aspect ratios and thus better drawability of the cold rolled sheets. A Hall-Petch type relationship is observed between grain size and hardness of the annealed samples.