Effect of redundant shear strain on microstructure and texture evolution during accumulative roll-bonding in ultralow carbon IF steel

Accumulative roll-bonding (ARB) is a severe plastic deformation process that can effectively produce ultrafine grained (UFG) structures in metals and alloys. In previous investigations, the ARB process has often been carried out under high-friction conditions without any lubricant between materials and rolls, which may cause a large amount of redundant shear strain near the sheet surface. Owing to repetition of cutting, stacking and roll-bonding in the ARB, a complicated redundant shear strain distribution is expected through the sheet thickness. The purpose of the present study is to clarify the effect of the redundant shear strain on the microstructure and texture evolution during ARB. A Ti-added ultralow carbon interstitial free steel was deformed by up to seven cycles of ARB (a thickness reduction of 99.2%) at 500 °C, with or without lubrication, in order to investigate the effect of shear strain. Microstructural characterization by electron backscatter diffraction analysis was carried out at various thickness locations of the ARB processed sheets. The sheet processed by one cycle of ARB with good lubrication showed typical deformation microstructures uniformly throughout the thickness. In contrast, the specimen processed by one ARB cycle without lubrication had an inhomogeneous microstructure, and the fraction of deformation-induced high-angle boundaries increased close to the surface. Non-lubricated ARB caused through-thickness microstructural heterogeneity in low numbers of cycles, but repetition of ARB above five cycles finally produced quite uniform UFG structures. It was established that the microstructural parameters of the deformation structures can be basically understood in terms of the total equivalent strain, taking account of the redundant shear strain.