Hot deformation behavior of vanadium-microalloyed medium-carbon steel for fracture splitting connecting rod

Single compression tests were carried out with a Gleeble-3800 thermal simulator to investigate hot deformation behavior of two vanadium-microalloyed medium-carbon steels for fracture splitting connecting rod. The tests were performed to a total true strain of 0.92 at true strain rates ranging from 10−2 to 10 s−1 and deformation temperature of 900–1150 °C. The results show that hot deformation behavior of the tested steels is similar to that of conventional medium-carbon microalloyed steels and dynamic recrystallization is easier to occur at higher deformation temperature and lower strain rate. The austenite deformation resistance and activation energy of deformation increase with increasing vanadium content from 0. 15% to 0. 28% and thus the starting time of dynamic recrystallization was delayed. Finer recrystallized austenite grain could be obtained at higher strain rate, lower deformation temperature and higher vanadium content. TEM observation of the specimens quenched just before and after deformation reveals that vanadium is mainly in dissolved solute condition in austenite and thus affects the dynamic recrystallization behavior of the tested steels mainly through solute-drag effect.