Hot deformation and dynamic recrystallization behavior of C56E2 bearing steel

To investigate the flow behavior and dynamic recrystallization (DRX) characteristics of C56E2 bearing steel, hot compression tests were performed using a Gleeble-3800 thermal simulator at deformation temperatures ranging from 900 to 1200 °C and strain rates of 0.01 to 10 s −1 . The corresponding true stress–strain curves were obtained, and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) was employed to characterize the misorientation distribution and kernel average misorientation (KAM) under various hot deformation conditions. The results indicate that discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (DDRX) is the dominant mechanism under low-temperature and high-strain-rate conditions. In this regime, DRX remains incomplete, and the flow stress stays relatively high due to pronounced work hardening. With increasing deformation temperature and decreasing strain rate, continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX) gradually develops within the deformed grains, resulting in enhanced DRX softening and an overall reduction in flow stress. Optical microscopy (OM) observations reveal that, at a given temperature, the average DRX grain size decreases with increasing strain rate, whereas at a constant strain rate, grain growth becomes more pronounced with increasing temperature. Based on the experimental results, models for the critical DRX condition, DRX volume fraction, and average DRX grain size were established for C56E2 steel, providing a theoretical basis for process optimization and industrial production.