Metastable Phase Transformation in Ti-5Ta-2Nb Alloy and 304L Austenitic Stainless Steel under Explosive Cladding Conditions

Ti-5Ta-2Nb alloy was clad on 304L austenitic stainless steel (SS) using the explosive cladding process. Both Ti-5Ta-2Nb and 304L austenitic steel were severely deformed due to high pressure (in the gigapascal range) and strain rate (10⁵/s), which are characteristics of explosive loading conditions. Consequent changes produced in the microstructure and crystal structure of both the alloys are studied using electron microscopy techniques. The microstructure of both Ti-Ta-Nb alloy and 304L steel showed evidence for the passage of the shock waves in the form of a high number density of lattice defects such as dislocations and deformation twins. In addition, both the alloys showed signatures of phase transformation under nonequilibrium conditions resulting in metastable transformation products. 304L SS showed martensitic transformation to both ????(bcc) and ??(hcp) phases. Microscopic shear bands, shear band intersections, and twin boundaries were identified as nucleation sites for the formation of strain-induced phases. Ti-Ta-Nb alloy underwent metastable phase transformation to an fcc phase, which could be associated with regions having a specific morphology.     

冷轧变形量对304不锈钢力学性能的影响

 研究304奥氏体不锈钢薄板的硬度随冷轧变形量的变化规律,为奥氏体不锈钢薄板工业生产提供指导。同时,采用金相显微镜、维氏硬度测量、X-射线衍射仪和透射电镜研究了不同变形量冷轧对304不锈钢显微组织和机械性能的影响。在室温对0.5mm厚退火板材进行冷轧,使冷轧变形量从10%增加到52%。结果表明,形变诱发马氏体相变是导致304不锈钢冷轧时产生加工硬化的主要原因,冷轧可以显著提高钢的强度和硬度。当冷轧变形至40%时,304不锈钢的维氏硬度是未变形时的2.2倍,屈服强度、抗拉强度分别增大到未变形时的4.2倍（880MPa）和1.8倍（1312MPa）。     

Effect of Cyclic Thermal Process on Ultrafine Grain Formation in AISI 304L Austenitic Stainless Steel

As-received hot-rolled commercial grade AISI 304L austenitic stainless steel plates were solution treated at 1060 °C to achieve chemical homogeneity. Microstructural characterization of the solution-treated material revealed polygonal grains of about 85-μm size along with annealing twins. The solution-treated plates were heavily cold rolled to about 90 pct of reduction in thickness. Cold-rolled specimens were then subjected to thermal cycles at various temperatures between 750 °C and 925 °C. X-ray diffraction showed about 24.2 pct of strain-induced martensite formation due to cold rolling of austenitic stainless steel. Strain-induced martensite formed during cold rolling reverted to austenite by the cyclic thermal process. The microstructural study by transmission electron microscope of the material after the cyclic thermal process showed formation of nanostructure or ultrafine grain austenite. The tensile testing of the ultrafine-grained austenitic stainless steel showed a yield strength 4 to 6 times higher in comparison to its coarse-grained counterpart. However, it demonstrated very poor ductility due to inadequate strain hardenability. The poor strain hardenability was correlated with the formation of strain-induced martensite in this steel grade.     

不同冷轧压下量对亚稳态奥氏体不锈钢00Cr17Ni7织构的影响

 采用X射线衍射技术(XRD)研究了不同冷轧压下量对亚稳态奥氏体不锈钢00Cr17Ni7织构的影响,分析了亚稳态奥氏体不锈钢00Cr17Ni7中马氏体相和奥氏体相的织构变化情况。研究结果表明,不同冷轧压下量下,00Cr17Ni7中的奥氏体相织构主要由Brass{110}<112>、Goss{110}<001>和少量的Copper{112}<111>、S{123}<634>组成,并且随着压下量的增加Brass和Goss织构强度显著提高;同时马氏体相织构主要以{115}<110>、{112}<110> 、{111}<112>、{332}<113>组成,织构的形成主要归因于“Kurdjumov-Sachs取向关系”和“体心立方金属轧制织构类型演变的特点”共同作用的结果。     

The Effect of Cold Rolling on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of a New Cr–Mn Austenitic Stainless Steel in Comparison with AISI 316 Stainless Steel

In the present study the effect of room temperature rolling on microstructure and mechanical properties of a new Cr–Mn austenitic stainless steel (containing 12 %Cr, 23 %Mn and 0.13 %C) and AISI 316 steel was investigated. The specimens of these steels were cold rolled at various thickness reductions of 0, 12, 25, 37 and 50 %. Microstructural investigations were carried out using optical microscopy, magnetic field test and X-ray diffraction technique. Hardness and tensile test methods were also done to evaluate the mechanical properties. Results showed that some of austenite phase transformed to martensite during cold rolling in the 316 steel, while there was no strain induced transformation in the Cr–Mn steel. It was also found that the newly developed steel had higher strength and higher specific strength than those of the 316 steel, while its ductility was the same as that of the 316.     

冷轧变形量对高氮奥氏体不锈钢Mnl7Crl9N0.6组织和性能的影响

对感应炉-电渣重熔冶炼的节镍型高氮奥氏体不锈钢Mn17Cr19N0.6的3mm热轧板进行变形量10%～60%的冷轧及拉伸实验。结合金相组织观察及XRD物相分析,研究高氮奥氏体不锈钢冷变形过程中微观组织变化规律,得出结论:在冷轧过程中,随着变形量的增加,实验钢中晶粒的形状由块状到压扁拉长状,滑移从单滑移为主到交滑移,孪晶最终被分割破碎。实验钢在不同冷轧变形量后的组织均为单一的奥氏体相,并没有出现其他相,实验钢在冷变形过程中没有发生马氏体转变,因此,实验钢在冷轧过程中没有通过相变强化,以形变强化为主,抗拉强度从冷轧变形量为10%时的1045 MPa升高至变形量为60%时的1880MPa,因此通过冷变形可以制备出不同强度级别且组织为单一奥氏体的特种材料。     

Nanograined/Ultrafine-Grained Structure and Tensile Deformation Behavior of Shear Phase Reversion-Induced 301 Austenitic Stainless Steel

We describe here an electron microscopy study of shear reversion-induced nanograined/ultrafine-grained (NG/UFG) structure and evolution of tensile strained microstructure in metastable type 301 austenitic stainless steel. The NG/UFG structure with grain size in the range of 200 to 500 nm was obtained by severe cold deformation and controlled annealing in the narrow temperature range of 973 to 1073 K (700 to 800 °C). The different stages of annealing involve the following: (a) transformation of strain-induced martensite to highly dislocated lath-type austenite, (b) formation of dislocation-cell structure and transformation to recovered austenite structure with defect-free subgrains, and (c) coalescence of subgrains to form a NG/UFG structure concomitant with a completely recrystallized structure, and consistent with martensitic shear-type phase reversion mechanism. The optimized cold working and annealing treatment resulted in NG/UFG material with a high yield strength (~1000 MPa) and high ductility (~30 pct) combination. Multiple deformation mechanisms were identified from postmortem electron microscopy examination of tensile strained NG/UFG 301 austenitic stainless steel and include dislocation glide and twinning. The evidence of heterogeneous nucleation of overlapping stacking faults and partial dislocations points toward deformation     

冷轧退火温度对301L织构和晶界特征的影响

 利用电子背散射衍射技术,研究了冷轧后亚稳态奥氏体不锈钢301L的退火织构和晶界特征,分析了不同冷轧退火温度对织构和晶界特征的影响。结果表明,冷轧退火后奥氏体不锈钢301L的织构主要由Copper{112}<111>,Brass{110}<112>,Goss{110}<001>和S{123}<634>组成,并且随着退火温度的升高,织构强度逐渐减弱,重位点阵晶界Σ3晶界含量明显增加,其他重位点阵晶界含量没有明显变化。     

Advances in the Optimization of Thin Strip Cast Austenitic 304 Stainless Steel

This study is about the latest advances in the optimization of the microstructure and properties of thin strip cast austenitic stainless steel (AISI 304, 1.4301). Concerning the processing steps the relevance of different thin strip casting parameters, in‐line forming operations, and heat treatments for optimizing microstructure and properties have been studied. The microstructures obtained from the different processing strategies were analysed with respect to phase and grain structures including the grain boundary character distributions via EBSD microtexture measurements, the evolution of deformation‐induced martensite, the relationship between delta ferrite and martensite formation in austenite, and the texture evolution during in‐line deformation. It is observed that different process parameters lead to markedly different microstructures and profound differences in strip homogeneity. It is demonstrated that the properties of strip cast and in‐line hot rolled austenitic stainless steels are competitive to those obtained by conventional continuous casting and hot rolling. This means that the thin strip casting technique is not only competitive to conventional routes with respect to the properties of the material but also represents the most environmentally friendly, flexible, energy‐saving, and modern industrial technique to produce stainless steel strips.     

节镍无磁不锈钢Cr18Ni6Mn3N的组织及性能

研究了节镍无磁不锈钢Cr18Ni6Mn3N的热轧及固溶后的力学性能和耐蚀性能,分析了其固溶和时效析出后的组织演变规律、冷变形过程中形变诱发马氏体相变及其磁性能.结果表明:该不锈钢的固溶组织为单相奥氏体,其力学性能和耐蚀性能均高于SUS304不锈钢;800℃保温4 h后,在晶界析出粒状氮化物,随着保温时间延长,逐渐沿晶界凸起片层状析出物并向晶内生长,保温20 h后,凸出的片层状析出物直径达20μm.冷轧压下率18.3%时尚未发现形变诱发马氏体组织,随着变形量增大,马氏体含量增多,磁导率上升,但与相同条件下的SUS304不锈钢相比,冷轧板固溶后相对磁导率可降至1.002,因此可用于低成本无磁不锈钢领域.      

Phase Evolution During the Liquid-Phase Bonding of Zirconium and Austenitic Stainless Steel with Zinc Insertion

Liquid-phase bonding experiments were performed at 1073?K (800?°C) between ZIRCALOY-2 and type 316 austenitic stainless steel by inserting zinc as an interlayer. The evolution of the microstructure at the interface was studied and the formation of various phases was detected. On the zirconium side, the very rapid formation of Zn₃Zr was detected, whereas on the steel side, an unexpectedly large amount of the base austenitic steel was observed to react with liquid Zn. The reacted iron solidified into a nickel-poor ferritic phase containing around 10?mol?pct?zinc, which grew into the austenite accompanied by a formation of a zinc-rich phase containing nickel. The reaction stopped when the zinc-rich phase reached saturation with a nickel content between 20 and 25?mol?pct. Thermodynamic calculations showed that the addition of nickel to liquid zinc greatly decreases the free energy of the liquid phase, thus enabling a large stability range for the ferrite?+?liquid zone and reducing the stability range of the austenite. The primary equilibrium between the austenite and the liquid phase is thus metastable, and thus, the austenite transforms into ferrite and a high-nickel-content liquid. The transformation front then progresses until ternary equilibrium is reached between austenite, ferrite, and the zinc-rich phase.     

Effect of Rolling and Subsequent Annealing on Microstructure,Microtexture, and Properties of an Experimental Duplex Stainless Steel

A lean duplex stainless steel (LDSS) has been prepared with low-N content and processed by different thermo-mechanical schedules, similar to the industrial processing that comprised hot-rolling, cold-rolling, and annealing treatments. The microstructure developed in the present study on low-N LDSS has been compared to that of high-N LDSS as reported in the literature. As N is an austenite stabilizer, lower-N content reduced the stability of austenite and the austenite content in low-N LDSS with respect to the conventional LDSS. Due to low stability of austenite in low-N LDSS, cold rolling resulted in strain-induced martensitic transformation and the reversion of martensite to austenite during subsequent annealing contributed to significant grain refinement within the austenite regions. δ-ferrite grains in low-N LDSS, on the other hand, are refined by extended recovery mechanism. Initial solidification texture (mainly cube texture) within the δ-ferrite region finally converted into gamma-fiber texture after cold rolling and annealing. Although MS-brass component dominated the austenite texture in low-N LDSS after hot rolling and cold rolling, that even transformed into alpha-fiber texture after the final annealing. Due to the significant grain refinement and formation of beneficial texture within both austenite and ferrite, good combination of strength and ductility has been achieved in cold-rolled and annealed sample of low-N LDSS steel.     

Correlation between precipitation reactions and bulk density changes in type 18-12 austenitic stainless steels

Dimensional changes in austenitic stainless steels exposed to fast neutron fluxes have been attributed mainly to void formation and thermal and irradiation induced creep. In this in-vestigation, immersion bulk density measurements were performed on variously preheated AISI Types 304, 316L and 316 stainless steels. The results show that the density changes accompanying sequential precipitation of the various carbide (M₂₃C₈, M₆C) and intermetallic phases (sigma, chi, eta) during thermal aging can be comparable to those attributed to void formation at low fast neutron fluences. Vacuum melted Type 316 stainless steel always den-sified with aging at 725°C or 810°C and exhibited higher rates of precipitation and recovery of cold work during aging than the equivalent air melted steel. The direction of the density change in the air melted material was dependent upon the prior thermomechanical treat-ments. This behavior can be rationalized on the basis of a higher impurity content in the air melted material. A mathematical model was constructed which successfully explains the variation of bulk density due to sequential precipitation in Type 18-12 austenitic stain-less steels.     

TRIP钢 TMP和热处理过程中的组织演变

介绍了热轧TRIP钢TMP(形变热处理)的精轧阶段(奥氏体未再结晶区变形)、输送台冷却(γ-α两相区的相变)和卷取阶段(贝氏体转变)热轧TRIP钢组织演变的影响因素;冷轧TRIP钢临界区(γ-α区)退火和贝氏体转变区等温处理时的组织演变及其演变过程中TRIP钢残余奥氏体中碳的富集的研究进展。     

Textures and Properties of Hot Rolled High Strength Ti-IF Steels

The texture evolution in a high strength Ti-IF steel during the processing of hot rolling, cold rolling, and annealing is studied. For comparison, both ferrite rolling and austenite rolling are employed. It is found that the texture type is the. same after ferrite rolling and austenite rolling, but the texture intensity is much higher in the ferrite rolled sample. Furthermore, texture characteristics at the surface are absolutely different from those at the mid sec tion in both ferrite rolled and austenite rolled samples, as well as under the cold rolled and annealed conditions. The shear texture { 110 } 〈001 〉 disappears and orientation rotates along { 110 } 〈001 〉→ { 554 } 〈 225 〉→ { 111 } 〈 112 〉→{111}〈110〉→{223}〈110〉 during cold rolling. Compared to the austenite rolled sample, the properties of the cold rolled and annealed sheet which is subjected to ferrite rolling are higher.     

Mechanical Behaviors of Ultrafine-Grained 301 Austenitic Stainless Steel Produced by Equal-Channel Angular Pressing

The technique of equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) was used to refine the microstructure of an AISI 301 austenitic stainless steel (SS). An ultrafine-grained (UFG) microstructure consisting mainly of austenite and a few martensite was achieved in 301 steel after ECAP processing for four passes at 523 K (250 °C). By submitting the as-ECAP rods to annealing treatment in the temperature range from 853 K to 893 K (580 °C to 620 °C) for 60 minutes, fully austenitic microstructures with grain sizes of 210 to 310 nm were obtained. The uniaxial tensile tests indicated that UFG 301 austenitic SS had an excellent combination of high yield strength (>1.0 GPa) and high elongation-to-fracture (>30 pct). The tensile stress–strain curves exhibited distinct yielding peak followed by obvious Lüders deformation. Measurements showed that Lüders elongation increased with an increase in strength as well as a decrease in grain size. The microstructural changes in ultrafine austenite grains during tensile deformation were tracked by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscope. It was found that the strain-induced phase transformation from austenite to martensite took place soon after plastic deformation. The transformation rate with strain and the maximum strain-induced martensite were promoted significantly by ultrafine austenite grains. The enhanced martensitic transformation provided extra strain-hardening ability to sustain the propagation of Lüders bands and large uniform plastic deformation. During tensile deformation, the Lüders bands and martensitic transformation interacted with each other and made great contribution to the excellent mechanical properties in UFG austenitic SS.     

Effect of vanadium on the microstructure and properties of metastable austenitic stainless steel AISI 301LN

In this study,the effect of vanadium on the microstructure and properties of the metastable austenitic stainless steel AISI 301LN w as investigated. Results of the study show that the addition of vanadium can refine grains and increase the strength of AISI 301LN by solution treatment. After 60%cold-rolling reduction,the microstructure of the steel w as composed of w ork-hardened austenite bands and deformation-inducedɑ'martensite.Considerable w ork-hardening and phase transformation strengthening occurred. After cold rolling and subsequent annealing,the deformation-inducedɑ'martensite w as reversed into fine-grained austenite. The w orkhardened austenite bands underw ent recrystallization; how ever,the structure of the recrystallized austenite grains w as coarser than that of the reversed ones.Simultaneously,the strength of the experimental steels decreased w ith the increase in annealing temperature. The pinning effect of precipitates of vanadium inhibited the grow th of austenite grains.Thus,the desirable combination of strength and ductility w as obtained by grain refinement.     

Texture evolution during strain-induced martensitic phase transformation in 304L stainless steel at a cryogenic temperature

The strain-induced martensitic phase transformation during quasi-static uniaxial compression testing of a 304L stainless steel was investigated at 300 and 203 K using time-of-flight neutron diffraction to study the evolution of transformation texture. A number of specimens were precompressed to different strain levels at 300 and 203 K and the texture was investigated. At 203 K, the newly formed martensites are bcc and hcp phases and the texture analysis shows that the martensites are highly textured due to the grain-orientation-dependent phase transformation. The bcc {100} planes are mostly oriented with their plane-normal parallel to the loading direction at the beginning of the phase transformation and this texture is weakened during the subsequent compressive deformation. In the case of fcc to hcp transformation, it is less dependent on the grain orientation, although the fcc grains with {111} plane-normal at an angle close to 40 deg to the loading direction transform easier and the {0001} plane-normal of the newly formed hcp phase tends to rotate toward the loading direction during the texture evolution. The final texture of bcc and hcp martensites is the result of the interaction between deformation texture and transformation texture.     

Comparison of Hot Rolled Textures in Different Grades of High Formable Steels

During hot rolling of steels phase transformation takes place. Hot band texture and hot band grain size largely influence the texture formation of cold rolled and annealed steels. Generally, a strong crystallographic relationship exists between the parent austenite phase and the product ferrite phase. The present investigation incorporates a comparative study of hot band texture formation in austenitic zone in extra deep drawing (EDD), interstitial free (IF) and interstitial free‐ high strength (IF‐HS) steels. The intensities of hot band texture in IF‐HS steel [f(g) = 19.6] were found to be much stronger in comparison to EDD [f(g) = 3.9] and IF [f(g) = 1.4] steels.