A Physics-Based Mean-Field Model for Ferrite Recovery and Recrystallization

An original mean field model for the nucleation and the growth of new recrystallized grains during annealing treatments of deformed, low-carbon ferritic steels is proposed in this paper. The model was calibrated on two steels extensively studied in the literature under both isothermal annealing and continuous heating schedules. It permits one to predict not only recrystallization kinetics but also advanced microstructural features (such as dislocation density, dislocation cell size and grain size) during complex heat treatments. Once calibrated, the model was applied to the case of a third ferrite/pearlite steel and was shown to accurately capture the effect of cold-rolling ratio on the recrystallization kinetics.