Microstructural evolution and microhardness in a low carbon steel processed by high-pressure torsion

A low-carbon triple-alloyed steel was processed by high-pressure torsion at room temperature for up to 5 turns under a pressure of 6.0 GPa. Microhardness, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to investigate the hardness and microstructural evolution of the steel. Values of the Vickers microhardness were recorded across the sample diameters. The results show that there is a gradual evolution in both the hardness and the microstructure with increasing numbers of turns. However, the microhardness does not become fully homogeneous across the sample diameter after five turns and there remain significantly lower values in the center of the disk. These results indicate that complete homogeneity across the disks for this steel requires applied pressures higher than 6.0 GPa and/or torsional straining through more than 5 turns.