The deformation resistance would be increased with the addition of Nb and Ti, which makes it difficult to accurately control the rolling process, resulting in mixed grains and cracks. The hot deformation behavior of Nb–Ti microalloyed high strength steel was investigated in the temperature range of 900–1100 °C with the strain rate between 0.1 and 5 s−1. The recrystallization active energy was obtained by regression calculation, and the thermal deformation equation was established. The dynamic recrystallization critical strain model was established by changing the work hardening rate. The results show that a higher deformation temperature and lower strain rate are conducive to dynamic recrystallization. The active energy of dynamic recrystallization is 386.30 kJ mol−1, εp = 1.23 × 10−2Z0.087, and εc = 1.95 × 10−3Z0.111. The high strength steel is strengthened by the strengthening of grain refining and precipitation of Nb–Ti microalloys. The second phase particles are TiN with a size of about 100 nm, (Nb, Ti)C with the size between 50 and 80 nm, and NbC with the size between 10 and 20 nm.

The study aimed to identify a moderate degree of Ce addition to improve the toughness in the simulated coarse-grained heat-affected zone (CGHAZ) of high-strength low-alloy steels, based on the effect of the Ce content on particle characteristics, microstructure and impact toughness. Three steels with 0.012 wt.%, 0.050 wt.% and 0.086 wt.% Ce content were subjected to 100 kJ/cm heat input in their thermal welding cycles. The particles and microstructures in the simulated CGHAZ of each steel were characterized and the impact-absorbance energy levels were measured at −20 °C. The results indicated that Ce₂O₂S inclusion compounds were gradually modified to CexSy-CeP and CeP with the increasing of the Ce content. A higher fraction of acicular ferrite was formed in the 0.012 wt.%-Ce-treated steel due to the lower mismatch between Ce₂O₂S and α-Fe. Furthermore, a lower fraction of M-A constituent was obtained in the 0.012 wt.%-Ce-treated steel. As a result, superior toughness and a typical amount of ductile fracture were detected in the simulated CGHAZ of the 0.012 wt.%-Ce-treated steel. Compared with the 0.012 wt.%-Ce-treated steel, a smaller prior austenite grain was observed in the 0.086 wt.%-Ce-treated steel because of the segregation of CeP at the grain boundary. However, the larger size and density of CeP led to poor toughness in the CGHAZ of the 0.086 wt.%-Ce-treated steel.

In this study, niobium was added into grain-oriented silicon steels, four Nb-bearing hot-rolled bands with Nb content range from 0–0.025 wt% were prepared and a detailed study of the micro characterization (microstructure, texture and precipitates) of hot-rolled bands was carried out by various analysis methods, such as EBSD and TEM. The results indicate that the precipitates in Nb-free steel are MnS and AlN; however, in the Nb-bearing steel they are MnS, AlN and Nb(C, N). The precipitates are finer and more dispersed in Nb-bearing steel, and a stronger pining force was obtained, which contributes to the finer microstructure and less recrystallization fractions of the hot-rolled bands. A larger volume fraction and stronger intensity of Goss texture is presented in steel with 0.025 wt% Nb due to the effective inhibiting effect. However, it has little effect on the changes of microstructure and texture when the Nb content is more than 0.009 wt%.

AlCoCrFeNiTi_0.5 high-entropy alloy (HEA) shows excellent properties in hardness and corrosion resistance. AlCoCrFeNiTi_0.5 HEA was prepared using a non-consumable vacuum arc furnace. Hot-deformation behavior of AlCoCrFeNiTi_0.5 HEA was explored under 1073–1373 K with a strain rate between 0.001 and 1 s⁻¹ using a Gleeble-3800 thermomechanical simulator. The constitutive equation was established using the Arrhenius model, and the deformation activation energy and material constant were obtained. The processing map of HEA within 0.3–0.6 deformation was drawn according to dynamic material model (DMM). The results show that the hot-deformation process of HEA is dominated by work hardening combined with dynamic recovery, and dynamic recrystallization. The flow stress of HEA is significantly affected by deformation temperature and strain rate. The constitutive equation was constructed and verified, and the correlation coefficient of R² = 0.9873 indicated that the constitutive equation can be used to accurately predict the flow stress of HEA. The processing map of HEA shows that the optimal hot-working process parameters are in the range of temperature 1150–1300 K and strain rate 0.002–0.05 s⁻¹. This work will provide theoretical guidance for the hot-processing of HEA, which effectively promotes the application of the HEA in industry.

This study employs synchrotron polychromatic X-ray microdiffraction (micro-XRD) to resolve the dynamic interplay between deformation mechanisms and stress redistribution in a commercial Mg-3Al-1Zn (AZ31) alloy under uniaxial tension. Submicron-resolution mapping across 13 incremental load steps (12–73 MPa) reveals sequential activation of deformation modes: basal slip initiates at 46 MPa, followed by tensile twinning at 64 MPa, and non-basal slip accommodation during twin propagation at 68 MPa. Key findings include accelerated parent grain rotation (up to 0.275° basal plane tilt) between 43–46 MPa, stress relaxation in parent grains coinciding with twin nucleation, and a ~35 MPa stress reversal within twins. The critical resolved shear stress (CRSS) ratio of twinning to basal slip is experimentally determined as 1.8, with orientation-dependent variations attributed to parent grain crystallography. These results provide unprecedented insights into microscale deformation pathways, critical for optimizing magnesium alloy formability and performance in lightweight applications.

A solid solution treatment (SST) followed by single-stage aging (0–30 h, 140 °C) was performed on 7075 aluminum alloy specimens with longitudinal axes oriented at 0°, 45° and 90° to the rolling direction. The mechanical properties and microstructure were analyzed by tensile testing, optical microscope (OM), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The results show that the average tensile strengths of the as-received 7075 aluminum alloy in the three directions were 304 MPa (0°), 295 MPa (45°) and 297 MPa (90°), respectively, with an anisotropy index (AI) of 0.97, indicating that the as-received samples exhibited negligible anisotropic mechanical properties. After SST, elongated grains with coarse size were formed, which is primarily attributed to the inheritance of the deformed fiber texture introduced by hot rolling. EBSD analysis of the 30 h aged specimens revealed that, within the same analyzed area, the total grain-boundary length in the 45° direction (16.4 cm) was much larger than that in the 0° (10.4 cm) and 90° (13.5 cm) directions. As the grain morphology showed no significant change between the SST and aged conditions, this grain-boundary distribution was representative of the microstructural state established during SST and persisted throughout the artificial aging process, contributing to the anisotropic mechanical properties. During artificial aging, prolonged aging time significantly facilitated the precipitation, with the 30 h aged sample exhibiting a significantly higher density of precipitates compared to the 6 h aged sample, leading to enhanced mechanical properties. The tensile strengths of the 30 h aged samples increased to 165 MPa, 236 MPa and 196 MPa in the three directions, respectively. Meanwhile, due to the fixed crystallographic orientation relationship between the precipitates and the Al matrix, the precipitates tended to form on specific planes, which enhanced the anisotropic mechanical properties. Consequently, the AI value increased from 0.97 (as-received) to 1.43 (30 h aged) with prolonged aging time.