Dsilva, P.C.Padasale, B.Vasavada, J.Mishra, S.Hegde, S.R.2026-02-042024Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance, 2024, 33, 19, pp. 10264-1027910599495https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-023-08681-zhttps://idr.nitk.ac.in/handle/123456789/20911Present study investigates isothermal annealing behavior of prior cold-worked Inconel 601 (aka, IN 601) sheets. The study comprehensively covers the annealing response of the material over wide cold-reduction and temperature ranges. Using structural characterization and mechanical testing, the study tracks strain-hardening, strain-aging, recovery, and recrystallization stages of IN 601 sheets as a function of degree of cold-reduction and annealing temperature. Using X-Ray diffraction analysis, hardness measurements, and tensile tests, the study reveals that prior cold-worked IN 601, irrespective of the degree of cold-reduction, consistently exhibits strain-aging during low-temperature (~ 0.4T<inf>m</inf>) annealing. The investigation establishes that the ‘recovery stage’ is preceded by ‘strain-aging-stage’ during which the alloy exhibits superior strength and hardness than the strain-hardened and recovered states. Based on the thermomechanical experimental results, the current work proposes a recrystallization map that integrates the ‘strain-hardening’ and ‘strain-aging’ stages with the recovery and recrystallization stages. Additionally, microstructural analysis and SEM-EBSD analysis presented in this work indicate that, by suitably controlling strain-hardening and the recrystallization annealing, a refined microstructure comprising high aspect-ratio grains having high-angle grain-boundaries can be obtained that may improve both fatigue and creep properties of IN 601 sheets. © ASM International 2023.Aspect ratioGrain boundariesHardnessMetal claddingRecoveryRecrystallization (metallurgy)Sheet metalStrain hardeningSuperalloysTemperatureTensile testingX ray powder diffractionAnnealing behaviorCold reductionCold workedCold-rolledElongated grainsInconel 601Recovery and recrystallizationRecrystallisationRecrystallization mapStrain ageingCold rolling