Strain Rate Dependence and Recrystallization Modeling for TC18 Alloy during Post-Deformation Annealing

In this paper, the dependence of dynamic recrystallization (DRX) and post-dynamic recrystallization (PDRX) of TC18 alloy on strain rate within the range of 0.001 s(−1)~1 s(−1) was investigated through isothermal compression and subsequent annealing in the single-phase region. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) characterization was employed to quantify microstructure evolution and to reveal the recrystallization mechanism. At the thermo-deformation stage, the DRX fraction does not exceed 10% at different strain rates, due to the high stacking fault energy of the β phase. During the subsequent annealing process, the total recrystallization fraction increases from 10.5% to 79.6% with the strain rate increasing from 0.001 s(−1) to 1 s(−1). The variations in the geometrically necessary dislocation (GND) density before and after annealing exhibit a significant discrepancy with the increasing strain rate, indicating that the GND density is a key factor affecting the PDRX rate. The PDRX mechanisms, namely meta-dynamic recrystallization (MDRX), continuous static recrystallization (CSRX) and discontinuous static recrystallization (DSRX), were also revealed during the annealing process. A new kinetic model coupling DRX and PDRX was proposed to further describe the correlation between recrystallization and the strain rate during continuous deformation and annealing. This new model facilitates the prediction of recrystallization fraction during isothermal deformation and annealing of titanium alloys.