Effect of nitrogen on tensile flow behaviour of type 316 LN austenitic stainless steel

Abstract

The influence of nitrogen content on the tensile flow behaviour of type 316 LN austenitic stainless steel has been studied. Nitrogen content in the steel has been varied in the range 0·07 to 0·22 wt-%. Tensile tests were carried out over the temperature range of 300–1123 K at a nominal strain rate of 3×10^?3 s^?1. The tensile flow behaviour of the steels has been analysed based on the constitutive equation proposed by Voce. The Voce’s parameters of initial stress (σ_i) and saturation stress (σ_s) were found to increase linearly with increase in nitrogen content at all the test temperatures. Tensile properties of the steels were predicted from Voce constitutive equation parameters.     

Application of Taguchi method in optimizing the microstructure of 316LN austenitic stainless steel

The hot deformation behavior of AISI 316LN austenitic stainless steel was studied through isothermal hot deformation tests conducted on Gleeble 1500 thermo‐simulation machine. By using Taguchi method with an L16 (4³) orthogonal array, the hot deformation conditions including deformation temperature, strain rate and strain were optimized for obtaining minimum mean grain size of the steel. Analysis of variance was used for determining the effect of the hot deformation parameters on the mean grain size. The results suggested that the strain had the most significant effect on the mean grain size among the three factors. The percent contributions of deformation temperature, strain rate and strain to the mean grain size were 0.80 %, 2.45 % and 93.32 %, respectively. Finally, the confirmation experiment under the optimum conditions, i.e., 1050 °C temperature, 0.01 s^–1 strain rate and 0.7 strain was carried out. The observational mean grain size (11.4 μm) is approximately twelve times smaller than that of the initial microstructure.     

Microstructural and electrochemical studies in thermally aged type 316LN stainless steels

Abstract

The effects of nitrogen (680 and 1600 ppm) on the microstructure and electrochemical behaviour of thermally aged type 316LN stainless steels is discussed. Electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation tests indicated a decrease in chromium depleted regions with increasing nitrogen addition in austenitic stainless steels. Secondary precipitates developed in these alloys during aging at 873 K for 500 h were extracted by an electrochemical method. The precipitates were analysed by X-ray diffraction method. Further TEM investigation on 1600 ppm nitrogen steel was also carried out to help understand the precipitation behaviour. The presence of nitrogen resulted in precipitation of mostly Cr₂ N and χ (chi) phases in the alloy that contained 1600 ppm of nitrogen, in contrast to M₂₃C₆ precipitates in the alloy that contained 680 ppm of nitrogen. The influence of the microstructural evolution and its effect on chromium depletion observed in the present investigation is discussed.     

Effect of nitrogen content on dynamic strain ageing behaviour of type 316LN austenitic stainless steel during tensile deformation

Abstract

The effect of nitrogen content on the dynamic strain ageing (DSA) behaviour of type 316LN austenitic stainless steel has been studied. The nitrogen content was varied from 0·07 to 0·22 wt-%. The tensile tests were carried out over a temperature range of 300–1123 K and at three strain rates in the range 3×10^?3–3×10^?5 s^?1. Serration was observed in the load elongation curves in the intermediate test temperature range and has been considered due to DSA phenomenon. The critical strain to onset of serrated flow increased with increase in nitrogen content and strain rate. The temperature for onset of DSA and the temperature of disappearance of DSA were found to increase with the increase in nitrogen content. The variations in tensile strength and work hardening rate of the steel with temperature exhibit peak values in the intermediate temperature range and have been attributed due to DSA phenomenon. The activation energy for DSA, estimated based on the temperature and strain rate dependences of the strain to onset of serrated flow, was found to increase from 111 to 218 kJ mol^?1 with the increase in nitrogen content from 0·07 to 0·22 wt-% and the increase has been attributed to the possible enhanced interaction of the DSA causing interstitial nitrogen with substitutional chromium.     

Low-temperature carburised AISI 316L austenitic stainless steel: Wear and corrosion behaviour

Low temperature carburising (LTC) is a thermochemical treatment designed so as to achieve a good combination of wear and corrosion resistance in stainless and duplex steels. In this work, the influence of LTC on both corrosion and dry sliding behaviour of AISI 316L was investigated. LTC significantly enhanced surface hardness, due to the formation of the carbon-supersaturated S-phase. Consequently, the wear behaviour (evaluated against different countermaterials) improved, due to increased resistance to plastic deformation, as well as to decreased tendency towards adhesion. In order to evaluate the corrosion behaviour, electrochemical measurements were performed both in conventional environments and in reference conditions for the food industry. The results showed a significantly improved corrosion resistance in chloride environments, where the formation of a C-rich surface layer ennobles the treated steel, even though pitting corrosion was observed at very high anodic potentials. Conversely, the treated steel showed comparable (in acetic acid) or worse (in a sanitising solution) behaviour than the untreated one. In sulphuric acid the treated steel did not passivate, but it corroded at a limiting current density much lower that the critical current density for AISI 316L passivation.     

Creep behavior of nuclear grade 316LN austenitic stainless steel at 873 K and 923 K

Mechanics of Time-Dependent Materials - Creep deformation and rupture behavior of nitrogen-alloyed (0.14 wt.%) nuclear grade 316LN austenitic stainless steel were investigated for the varying...     

Study on hot deformation behaviour of 316LN austenitic stainless steel based on hot processing map

Abstract

316LN is a type of austenitic stainless steel whose grain refinement only depends on hot deformation. The true stress–strain curves of 316LN were obtained by means of hot compression experiments conducted at a temperature range of 900–1200°C and at a strain rate range of 0·001–10 s^?1. The influence of deformation parameters on the microstructure of 316LN was analysed. Both the constitutive equation for 316LN and the model of grain size after dynamic recrystallisation were established, and the effect of different deformation conditions on the microstructure was analysed. The results show that the suitable working region is the one with a relatively higher deformation temperature and a lower strain rate, in which the dynamic recrystallisation is finely conducted. Moreover, the working region that should be avoided during hot deformation was indicated.     

Precipitation behaviour of a sensitized AISI type 316 austenitic stainless steel in hydrogen

The purpose of this study was to characterize the precipitation behaviour of AISI type 316 steel in hydrogen. The different precipitates (M₂₃C₆, M₆C), the intermetallicχ-phase and the martensitic phase (α′,ε) were determined by using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction techniques. All the specimens were sensitized at 650? C for 24 h. Some samples were carburized up to 2 wt% C. Additions of carbon content decrease the time required for sensitization. Short-term (24 h) exposure of this steel to sensitization temperature results in a complex precipitation reaction of various carbides and intermetallic phases. Hydrogen was introduced by severe cathodic charging at room temperature. This study indicates that by conventional X-ray techniques it is possible to detect those precipitates and their behaviour in a hydrogen environment. The zero shift as observed by X-ray diffraction from the carbides (M₂₃C₆, M₆C) and the intermetallicχ-phase, indicates that those phases absorb far less hydrogen than the austenitic matrix. TEM studies reveal that hydrogen inducesα′ martensite at chromium-depleted grain-boundary zones, near the formation of the carbides.     

Strong relation between corrosion resistance and nanostructure of compound layer of treated 316 austenitic stainless steel

Nanometric-sized carbide-based crystallites have been synthesized successfully through the pulsed nanocrystalline plasma electrolytic carburizing method on the surface of 316 austenitic stainless steel. It was found that the corrosion resistances of coated samples has a direct relation ship with the average size of complex carbide-based nanocrystallites. The synthesized carbide-based crystallites exhibit average sizes at around 37–80 nm. Furthermore, the surface response method (including Box–Behnken design) was applied to deal with the effective conditions of the coating process. This method reveals that the optimal conditions were obtained at 700 V for the peak applied cathodic voltage, 15 kHz for the frequency of pulsed current, 40 °C for the temperature of the electrolyte and 10 min for the treatment time. These results indicate that the corrosion resistances of the resulting layers are a direct function of the average size of the nanocrystallites.     

Metallurgical changes and mechanical behaviour during high temperature aging of welds between Alloy 800 and 316LN austenitic stainless steel

Abstract

In the use of ferritic to austenitic stainless steel transition joints for power plant applications, the difference in coefficients of thermal expansion constitutes a serious problem. One way to mitigate this is to use a trimetallic configuration by interposing a material with a coefficient of thermal expansion intermediate between the ferritic and austenitic steels. Modified 9Cr - 1Mo steel has been joined to 316LN austenitic stainless steel using Alloy 800 as an intermediate piece. In the work herein reported, welds between Alloy 800 and 316LN have been produced using Inconel 182 filler material. These have been subjected to high temperature exposure for up to 5000 h at 625 ° C. Results have shown that up to 500 h of aging the structure and mechanical properties remain unaffected. On treatment for 2000 and 5000 h, however, there is a noticeable increase in hardness and reduction in toughness. These have been found to be caused by precipitation of Ni₃Ti and carbide phases including NbC and M₂₃C₆.     

Effect of heat input on cryogenic toughness of 316LN austenitic stainless steel NG-MAG welding joints with large thickness

In this paper, Narrow Gap Metal Active Gas (NG-MAG) arc welding system was introduced, aiming at efficiently jointing AISI 316LN thick plate used in International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) device. Effect of heat input on cryogenic impact toughness of the WM was investigated and suitable welding parameters were explored to optimize the cryogenic toughness of weld metal (WM) and avoid weld defects simultaneously. Impressively, the maximum low temperature toughness of the NG-MAG arc welded WM could reach more than 100 J, which could be comparable with that of the Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) arc welded WM. More importantly, the NG-MAG arc welding showed much higher efficiency than the counterpart TIG. The less compositional segregation, and smaller dendrite size due to the lower level of heat input in NG-MAG arc welding were believed to play the critical role in enhancing the cryogenic toughness.     

Effect of post weld heat treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of ITER-grade 316LN austenitic stainless steel weldments

The effect of postweld heat treatment (PWHT) on the microstructure and mechanical properties of ITER-grade 316LN austenitic stainless steel joints with ER316LMn filler material was investigated. PWHT aging was performed for 1 h at four different temperatures of 600 °C, 760 °C, 870 °C and 920 °C, respectively. The microstructure revealed the sigma phase precipitation occurred in the weld metals heat-treated at the temperature of 870 °C and 920 °C. The PWHT temperatures have the less effect on the tensile strength, and the maximum tensile strength of the joints is about 630 MPa, reaching the 95% of the base metal, whereas the elongation is enhanced with the rise of PWHT temperatures. Meanwhile, the sigma phase precipitation in the weld metals reduces the impact toughness.     

Mitigation of chloride driven stress corrosion cracking susceptibility of 316L austenitic stainless steel using plasma sprayed TiO2 coating

The present study proposes a protective TiO₂ coating against chloride driven stress corrosion cracking problem of 316L austenitic stainless steel. To test the performance of the proposed coating, the severe chloride-based boiling magnesium chloride solution at 155 °C was chosen. For experimentation, the constant strain-based U-bend specimens were coated with TiO₂ using atmospheric plasma spray method. The results indicated higher resistance by TiO₂ coated specimens against stress corrosion cracking problem, while the bare specimens experienced severe damage in the boiling magnesium chloride solution under various strain loading configurations. The coating-electrolyte system of TiO₂ coated sample demonstrated over seven times higher resistance, eventually led to reduction in corrosion rate over fifteen times compared to the bare 316L stainless steel in the boiling magnesium chloride solution. This improved performance of the coated 316L stainless steel is attributed to inhibition of outward diffusion of iron-chromium-nickel in the corrosive environment and the high chemical stability of TiO₂.     

Thermal shock testing of type 316 stainless steel using sodium

The growth of cracks from spark-machined slits and gouged grooves under thermal shock conditions has been studied in 316 stainless steel using sodium as the heat transfer medium. The cycles consisted of a step increase in temperature followed by a tensile hold at 600°C. Comparative uniaxial creep-fatigue tests have been performed isothermally at 600°C. Differences in the stress distributions in the uniaxial and thermal shock specimens led to higher crack growth rates in the uniaxial tests. These have been taken into account in theoretical predictions based on the creep parameter C*. This led to very reasonable upper bounds to the experimentally observed increase in crack growth rate due to hold time for both types of specimen.     

High temperature tensile properties of 316LN stainless steel investigated using automated ball indentation technique

Type 316LN stainless steel (SS) is the principal structural material for the components of sodium cooled fast reactors operating under elevated temperature conditions. In order to assess the degradation in strength of service exposed components using a small specimen testing technique such as automated ball indentation (ABI), it is necessary to carry out prior detailed ABI studies on the virgin material. In this investigation, the tensile behaviour of as-received 316LN SS were investigated at several temperatures in the range 298–973 K using ABI technique. The load-depth of indentation data measured from ABI tests was analyzed using semi-empirical relationships to obtain the tensile properties. The yield stress and the flow curves were determined by correlating ABI results with corresponding uniaxial tensile test results. Trend curve for tensile strength with temperature, as estimated from ABI tests, exhibited a plateau region in the temperature around 823 K, similar to uniaxial tensile tests. The variations of strength coefficient, strain hardening exponent, yield ratio, hardness and uniform ductility with temperature were evaluated from ABI tests. The ABI technique was found to estimate the influence of temperature on tensile properties sensitively.     

Detection and analysis of microbiologically influenced corrosion of 316 L stainless steel with electrochemical noise technique

Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (MIC) is a specific type of corrosion caused or promoted by microorganisms usually chemoautotrophs. In recent years, there has been growing interest in the exploitation of electrochemical noise technique to investigate and monitor biocorrosion. The advantages of Electrochemical Noise (EN) technique includes the possibility to detect and study the early stages of localized corrosion; however the comprehension of EN signals still remains very limited. In the present work an attempt has been made to analyze the current and potential noise records for type 316 L stainless steel (SS) specimen immersed in Iron oxidizing bacteria inoculated medium amended with different concentrations of NaCl. All the potential and current noise data collected in the time domain were transformed in the frequency domain, using MATLAB software. Shot noise parameters like frequency of corrosion events (f_n), average charge in each event (q), true coefficient of variation and noise resistance (R_N) were analyzed. Low frequency events and high charge were observed for the specimen after the exposure of 3 weeks in microbial medium with 1% NaCl when compared to control. It indicates that microbes can influence the pitting corrosion over the specimen which was also evidenced by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). In addition to this, the probabilistic failure model for MIC on 316 L SS was predicted using Weibull distribution.     

Effect of high temperature post-oxidizing on tribological and corrosion behavior of plasma nitrided AISI 316 austenitic stainless steel

In this research, the microstructure, tribological and corrosion properties of plasma nitrided-oxidized AISI 316 austenitic stainless steel at high oxidation temperature were studied and compared with conventional plasma nitride. The structural, tribological and corrosion properties were analyzed using XRD, SEM, microhardness testing, pin-on-disk tribotesting and electrochemical polarization. Plasma nitriding was conducted for 5 h at 450 °C with gas mixture of N₂/H₂ = 1/3 to produce the S-phase. The nitrided samples were post-oxidized at 500 °C with gas mixture of O₂/H₂ = 1/5 for 15, 30 and 60 min. X-ray diffraction confirmed the development of CrN, ? and γ′ nitride phases and magnetite (Fe₃O₄) oxide phase under plasma nitriding-oxidizing process. In addition, it was found that oxidation treatment after plasma nitriding provides an important improvement in the friction coefficient and the corrosion resistance. The optimized wear and corrosion resistance of post-oxidized samples were obtained after 15 min of oxidation.