The strain induced precipitation affecting the softening kinetics and flow stress of the microalloyed steel. During thermo-mechanical processing the deformed grains may be replaced by new strain-free grains via the recrystallization mechanism [1]. In contrast, precipitation of microalloying elements may harden the austenite; particularly the fine precipitates may retard the recrystallization. The volume fraction of static recrystallization and the extent of precipitation of microalloying elements, determine the flow stress of material in subsequent rolling pass[2]. In this paper, the stress relaxation technique has been utilized to study strain induced precipitation behaviour of microalloying elements in a high strength microalloyed pipeline steel. Establishment of the static softening kinetic and the effect of microalloying elements on this phenomenon lead to the better designing thermo-mechanical processes of microalloyed steels.
