Surface energy controlled α–γ–α transformation texture and microstructure character study in ULC steels alloyed with Mn and Al

In this article, an ultralow-carbon steel grade alloyed with Mn and Al has been investigated during α–γ–α transformation annealing in vacuum. Typical texture and microstructure has evolved as a monolayer of grains on the outer surface of transformation-annealed sheets. This monolayer consists of <100>//ND and <110>//ND fibre, which is very different from the bulk texture components. The selective driving force is believed to reside in the anisotropy of surface energy at the metal–vapour interface. The grain morphology is very different from the bulk grains. Moreover, 30–40% of the grain boundary interfaces observed in the RD–TD surface sections are tilt incoherent <110> 70.5° boundaries, which are known to exhibit reduced interface energy. Hence, the conclusion can be drawn that the orientation selection of surface grains is strongly controlled by minimization of the interface energy; both metal/vapour and metal/metal interfaces play a roll in this.