Cold unidirectional/cross-rolling of austenitic stainless steels: a review.

The effects of cold unidirectional/cross-rolling on the development of substructure, strain-induced martensitic transformation, crystallographic texture (preferred orientation), and mechanical properties, as well as the microstructure after subsequent annealing of metastable austenitic stainless steels were overviewed. First, the deformed state was discussed. Compared to unidirectional rolling, it was revealed that cross-rolling leads to the formation of a greater amount of deformation-induced martensite, which is related to the generation of numerous intersecting shear bands and nano-twins, as well as a higher dislocation density in the austenite phase (activation of higher number of slip/twinning systems). It was concluded that these effects are more pronounced at low reductions in thickness. Regarding texture evolution, cross-rolling tends to strengthen the Brass component in the retained austenite phase. Subsequently, the mechanical properties were reviewed, where it was concluded that a more rapid work-hardening and higher strength/hardness at low strains can be obtained due to the effects of cross-rolling on the microstructure. Moreover, while the effects of cross-rolling on the strength at high rolling reductions might not be significant, it is possible to decrease the anisotropy of the sheet due to the alternate change in the rolling direction. Afterward, the annealing of cold-rolled sheets was discussed. It was deduced that cross-rolling might be used for more intense grain refinement based on the thermomechanical processing of cold-rolling and reversion/recrystallization annealing, where the activation of greater number of slip systems, higher dislocation density, and greater martensite content in the deformed state are responsible in this regard. Finally, the suggestions for future works were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]