• Gradient thermal deformation induces significant microstructural inhomogeneity in GH141 superalloy, but post-dynamic recrystallization (PDRX) during delayed heat preservation effectively homogenizes the grain structure.
• The dominant dynamic recrystallization (DRX) mechanism shifts from continuous (CDRX) at low temperatures to discontinuous (DDRX) at higher deformation temperatures.
• PDRX is primarily governed by static recrystallization (SRX) with concurrent meta-dynamic recrystallization (MDRX), and twin-induced nucleation also contributes to recrystallization.
• Controlled heat preservation after deformation is a critical processing step to achieve uniform microstructure in industrial forging of GH141 superalloy components.