Beneficial effects of nitrogen Atomization on an Austenitic Stainless Steel

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A - Fully dense nitrogenated austenitic stainless steels were produced by gas atomization and HIP consolidation. The base alloy, 304L, contained about 0.15...     

The microstructural,mechanical, and fracture properties of austenitic stainless steel alloyed with gallium

The mechanical and fracture properties of austenitic stainless steels (SSs) alloyed with gallium require assessment in order to determine the likelihood of premature storage-container failure following Ga uptake. AISI 304 L SS was cast with 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 wt pct Ga. Increased Ga concentration promoted duplex microstructure formation with the ferritic phase having a nearly identical composition to the austenitic phase. Room-temperature tests indicated that small additions of Ga (less than 3 wt pct) were beneficial to the mechanical behavior of 304 L SS but that 12 wt pct Ga resulted in a 95 pct loss in ductility. Small additions of Ga are beneficial to the cracking resistance of stainless steel. Elastic-plastic fracture mechanics analysis indicated that 3 wt pct Ga alloys showed the greatest resistance to crack initiation and propagation as measured by fatigue crack growth rate, fracture toughness, and tearing modulus. The 12 wt pct Ga alloys were least resistant to crack initiation and propagation and these alloys primarily failed by transgranular cleavage. It is hypothesized that Ga metal embrittlement is partially responsible for increased embrittlement.     

Characterization of stainless steels melted under high nitrogen pressure

Mechanical properties of stainless steels increase with increasing nitrogen concentration. Currently, the maximum nitrogen concentration in commercial stainless steels is 0.8 wt pct. In this study, type 304 and 316 stainless steels were melted and cooled in a hot-isostatic-pressur(HIP) furnace using nitrogen as the pressurizing gas, producing alloys with nitrogen concentrations between 1 and 4 wt pct. These nitrogen levels exceeded the alloys’ solubility limits, resulting in the formation of nitride precipitates with several different microstructures. A new phase diagram for high nitrogen stainless steel alloys is proposed. Several properties of these nitrogen stainless steel alloys with chromium nitrides present were studied: tensile strength was proportional to the interstitial nitrogen concentration; hardness, wear, and elastic modules were proportional to the total nitrogen concentration. Formerly Research Scientist, National Institute of Science and Technology, Boulder, CO, is retired.     

Development of Duplex Stainless Steels by Field-Assisted Hot Pressing: Influence of the Particle Size and Morphology of the Powders on the Final Mechanical Properties

The feasibility of processing duplex stainless steels with promising properties using a powder metallurgical route, including the consolidation by field-assisted hot pressing, is assessed in this investigation. The influence of the particle size and morphology of the raw austenitic and ferritic powders on the final microstructure and properties is also evaluated for an austenitic content of 60 wt pct. In addition, the properties of a new microconstituent generated between the initial constituents are analyzed. The maximum sintered density (98.9 pct) and the best mechanical behavior, in terms of elastic modulus, nanohardness, yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, and ductility, are reached by the duplex stainless steel processed with austenitic and ferritic gas atomized stainless steel powders.

     

Structure and properties of corrosion and wear resistant Cr-Mn-N steels

Steels containing about 12 pct Cr, 10 pct Mn, and 0.2 pct N have been shown to have an unstable austenitic microstructure and have good ductility, extreme work hardening, high fracture strength, excellent toughness, good wear resistance, and moderate corrosion resistance. A series of alloys containing 9.5 to 12.8 pct Cr, 5.0 to 10.4 pct Mn, 0.16 to 0.32 pct N, 0.05 pct C, and residual elements typical of stainless steels was investigated by microstructural examination and mechanical, abrasion, and corrosion testing. Microstructures ranged from martensite to unstable austenite. The unstable austenitic steels transformed to α martensite on deformation and displayed very high work hardening, exceeding that of Hadfield’s manganese steels. Fracture strengths similar to high carbon martensitic stainless steels were obtained while ductility and toughness values were high, similar to austenitic stainless steels. Resistance to abrasive wear exceeded that of commercial abrasion resistant steels and other stainless steels. Corrosion resistance was similar to that of other 12 pct Cr steels. Properties were not much affected by minor compositional variations or rolled-in nitrogen porosity. In 12 pct Cr-10 pct Mn alloys, ingot porosity was avoided when nitrogen levels were below 0.19 pet, and austenitic microstructures were obtained when nitrogen levels exceeded 0.14 pct.     

Influence of strain-induced phase transformation on the surface crystallographic texture in cold-rolled-and-aged austenitic stainless steel

Stainless steels (SSs) having a stable and metastable austenitic phase were studied to see the influence of strain-induced phase transformation in the metastable austenitic stainless steel on the evolution of texture during cold rolling and aging. AISI 304L and 316L SS plates were unidirectionally cold rolled up to a 90 pct reduction and aged at different aging temperatures. The strain-induced transformation of austenite to α′-martensite phase and the evolution of texture in both the phases were studied as a function of rolling reduction as well as aging temperature in the metastable 304L austenitic stainless steel. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique was employed to quantify the volume fractions and characterize the texture of austenite and martensite phases in the rolled and aged conditions. Results are compared with the texture evolution in the stable austenitic 316L SS.     

Development and application of nitrogen-alloyed austenitic stainless steels in Baosteel

In recent years,nitrogen-alloyed stainless steels have been a research hotspot in the field of stainless steel product and technology. Nitrogen-alloyed austenitic stainless steels developed by Baosteel and their applications are introduced. These steels are nitrogen-controlled products 304 N and 316 LN,nitrogen containing economical products BN series and high-nitrogen stainless steel( HNS) series. The results show that the presence of nitrogen can significantly improve the strength and corrosion resistance of steel produced. By nitrogen alloying,economical austenitic stainless steels w ith considerably less nickel than 304 can be obtained; the corrosion resistances of these steels are almost the same as 304. Furthermore,by a scientific approach of nitrogen alloying,high-nitrogen steel of0. 8% nitrogen content is fabricated under the non-pressurized conditions,and the pitting potential of this steel is 1. 0 V. At present,nitrogen-alloyed steels developed by Baosteel are w idely utilized in the manufacture of cryogenic storage containers,transportation containers,and many household w ares.     

Magnetic susceptibility of an atomized 304L stainless steel powder: Particle size effect

The magnetic susceptibility of a nitrogen atomized 304L stainless steel powder is measured as function of external magnetic field intensity and particle size using the Faraday method. The dependence on field strength reveals a varying additional ferromagnetic contribution to the para-magnetic susceptibility. With increasing mean diameter of either size fractions or individual particles, it first decreases steeply to a minimum value and then increases more steadily to finally level off. This results from the precipitation of a small, size-dependent amount of primary ferrite during the atomization process, as a consequence of a modification of the solidification mode with particle diameter, i.e., with particle cooling rate. The calculated ferrimagnetic contribution of surface iron oxide is negligible.     

Solute segregation behavior in spray-atomized Pd-Rh-V(Co) powders

In the present study, two palladium-based ternary alloys, with nominal compositions of Pd-4.9 wt pct Rh-0.72 wt pct V and Pd-5 wt pct Rh-1 wt pct Co, were spray atomized into micron-sized powders using a high-energy gas atomization technique. Solute segregation in the spray-atomized powders was systematically investigated. It was found that, as the powder size decreases, the solute segregation level decreases, either in terms of standard deviation of solute content from the average value, or in terms of the percentage of segregation-free regions in the powder, or in terms of the maximum (Rh)/minimum (Co, V) solute content in the powder. Moreover, theoretical analyses were carried out to evaluate the percentage of segregation-free regions, as well as the maximum/minimum solute content, in each powder. The theoretical analysis indicated that, among the different mechanisms governing the solute segregation behavior, undercooling levels experienced by the droplets, both prior to and after nucleation, played the most important role in decreasing the solute segregation level as the powder size decreased.     

Observations of the columnar-to-equiaxed transition in stainless steels

Observations are reported for the columnar-to-equiaxed transition (CET) in stainless steel bars which have been solidified slowly and progressively in a horizontal configuration. For ferritic, austenitic, and ferritic/austenitic stainless steels containing more than 0.085 wt pct carbon, CETs occur at about the same distance from the start of solidification at a given growth rate. With increasing growth rates, the transition occurs closer to the start of solidification. At low carbon levels, near 0.02 wt pct carbon, the ferritic/austenitic steel is entirely columnar, in most cases. Adding nickel to the ferritic/austenitic steel, which makes the leading phase austenitic, produces a CET with small equiaxed grains. This suggests that different particles which are effective with austenitic growth become operative as nucleants. The transition from a columnar to an equiaxed structure occurs abruptly across the diameter of the sample. There is extensive fluid flow in the bulk melt, which produces shallow temperature gradients in the melt prior to the onset of solidification. The bulk melt flow does not appear to interact significantly with the melt in the interdendritic region or the melt immediately ahead of this region. The width of the solid/liquid region in the present experiments is observed to be between 10 and 20 mm, depending on the growth velocity and the distance from the start of solidification.     

The critical amount of nitrogen on the formation of nitrogen gas pores during solidification of 25Cr-7Ni duplex stainless steels

The effects of casting thickness, nitrogen contents, cooling rate, and Mn contents on the formation of nitrogen gas pores during solidification of 25Cr-7Ni-1.5Mo-3W duplex stainless steels (DSS) were quantitatively investigated. In the case of a sand mold, the formation of nitrogen gas pore was not affected by the thickness of castings, which ranged from 13 to 52 mm, and the critical initial nitrogen content for the formation of gas pore was 0.30 wt pct. In the case of the molds made of a stainless steel (STS) and water-cooled Cu, the critical initial nitrogen content did not change much compared to the sand mold. The amount of nitrogen gas pores increased with initial nitrogen contents of castings. The segregation of nitrogen and alloying elements was calculated with Thermo-Calc. The calculated data and the experimental results were compared to estimate the critical nitrogen partial pressure in the residual melt for the nucleation of gas pores. The effect of Mn content on the formation of gas pores was also investigated. The increase of Mn content from 1 wt pct to 2.6 wt pct changed the critical initial nitrogen content 0.30 wt pct to 0.40 wt pct.     

Microstructure Formation in a Gas-Atomized Drop of Al-Pb-Sn Immiscible Alloy

Al-Pb-Sn alloy is rapidly solidified by using the high-pressure gas-atomization technique. A model describing the microstructure evolution in an atomized drop is developed. This model takes into account the concurrent actions of the nucleation, diffusional growth, spatial motions of the minority-phase droplets, and the solidification of the matrix liquid. The microstructure formation in the gas-atomized drop is simulated by coupling the thermodynamic and kinetic calculations. The numerical results show a favorable agreement with the experimental results. They demonstrate that under the rapid cooling conditions of gas atomization, the spatial phase separation due to the Marangoni migration of the minority-phase droplets mainly affects the microstructure formation in a small region close to the atomized drop surface. All the minority-phase droplets are nucleated during the liquid?Cliquid phase decomposition period. For an Al-(5-9)?wt?pct Pb-3?wt?pct Sn alloy, the average radius and number density of the minority-phase particles depend exponentially on the powder diameter. The microstructure formation process is discussed in detail.     

Corrosion Behavior of High Nitrogen Nickel-Free Fe-16Cr-Mn-Mo-N Stainless Steels

The purpose of the current study is to develop austenitic nickel-free stainless steels with lower chromium content and higher manganese and nitrogen contents. In order to prevent nickel-induced skin allergy, cobalt, manganese, and nitrogen were used to substitute nickel in the designed steel. Our results demonstrated that manganese content greater than 14 wt pct results in a structure that is in full austenite phase. The manganese content appears to increase the solubility of nitrogen; however, a lower corrosion potential was found in steel with high manganese content. Molybdenum appears to be able to increase the pitting potential. The effects of Cr, Mn, Mo, and N on corrosion behavior of Fe-16Cr-2Co-Mn-Mo-N high nitrogen stainless steels were evaluated with potentiodynamic tests and XPS surface analysis. The results reveal that anodic current and pits formation of the Fe-16Cr-2Co-Mn-Mo-N high nitrogen stainless steels were smaller than those of lower manganese and nitrogen content stainless steel.     

Sensitization and Intergranular Corrosion Behavior of High Nitrogen Type 304LN Stainless Steels for Reprocessing and Waste Management Applications

High nitrogen 304LN stainless steels (SS) intended for chloride and nitric acid environments in spent nuclear fuel reprocessing and waste management applications were evaluated for their sensitization and intergranular corrosion (IGC) resistance. For this purpose, high nitrogen (0.132 pct, 0.193 pct and 0.406 pct) containing, impurity-controlled, vanadium-added 304LN SS alloys were developed. For comparison, 304L SS, which is currently used in reprocessing plants, was also studied. These stainless steels were subjected to heat treatment at 948 K (675 °C) for various durations ranging from 1 to 1000 hours and tested for susceptibility to IGC as per ASTM A262 Practice A and E tests. The degree of sensitization was estimated with the double loop electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation technique. The increase in nitrogen content resulted in higher hardness and finer grain size. Based on the detailed microstructural and corrosion studies, it was determined that an addition of 0.132 pct and 0.193 pct nitrogen showed better IGC resistance and an additional increase in nitrogen resulted in deterioration resulting from chromium nitride precipitation, which was confirmed by electrochemical phase separation and X-ray diffraction studies. The onset of desensitization was faster for the alloy with 0.132 pct nitrogen as well as 0.406 pct nitrogen because of the lower nitrogen content in the former case and the finer grain size in the latter case. The higher hardness and superior IGC resistance of 0.132 pct and 0.193 pct nitrogen containing Type 304LN SS suggests the suitability of this alloy for nitric acid- and chloride-containing environments of reprocessing and waste management plants.     

双相沉淀硬化粉冶不锈钢的开发

不锈钢可通过压制与烧结水雾化粉末来制取.粉冶品级的不锈钢有铁素体、奥氏体、马氏体、两相(铁素体+奥氏体)、双相(铁素体+马氏体)以及沉淀硬化(马氏体)等不锈钢.开发双相粉冶不锈钢反映了对较高强度、较高延性与韧性的需求在增长.在本研究中,开发出一种新的低成本粉冶不锈钢,它将双相(铁素体+马氏体)显微结构与沉淀硬化的优点结合在一起.它与其他沉淀硬化合金不同,尽管这种不锈钢在时效后强度与韧性有所提高,但延性与冲击韧度的提高更大.借助组成与显微结构评估了新合金的力学性能.     

粉末冶金制备高氮不锈钢的研究进展

概述了加压冶炼制备高氮不锈钢存在的问题,介绍了粉末冶金制备高氮不锈钢的发展现状,其中包括高压气雾化法、机械合金化法等高氮不锈钢粉末制备技术,和注射成形、热等静压成形、热挤压、粉末包套烧结–自由锻造、等离子烧结成形等高氮不锈钢粉末致密化及成形技术,指出了粉末冶金制备高氮不锈钢存在的问题,并对其未来的发展趋势进行了预测。     

Fabrication of ultrahigh nitrogen austenitic steels by nitrogen gas absorption into solid solution

For the purpose of fabricating ultrahigh nitrogen austenitic steels (>1 mass pct N), the phenomenon of nitrogen absorption into solid solution was thermodynamically analyzed and applied to Fe-Cr-Mn system ternary alloy. During the annealing of the steel in a nitrogen gas atmosphere of 0.1 MPa at 1473 K (nitrogen absorption treatment), the nitrogen content of the steel was increased with the absorption of nitrogen gas from the material surface and then saturated when the system reached a state of equilibrium. Effect of the steel composition on an equilibrium nitrogen content was formulated taking account of interactions among Cr, Mn, and N atoms, and the condition for fabrication of ultrahigh nitrogen austenitic steels was clarified. The nitrogen addition to ultrahigh content markedly increased proof stress and tensile stress of the austenitic steels without losing moderate ductility. For example, Fe-24Cr-10Mn-1.43N (mass pct) alloy has 830 MPa in 0.2 pct proof stress, 2.2 GPa in true tensile stress, and 75 pct in total elongation. As a result of tensile tests for various nitrogen-bearing austenitic steels, it was found that the proof stress is increased in proportion to (atomic fraction of nitrogen)^2/3.     

大功率多雾化电弧喷枪的研制

设计二进四出多雾化电弧喷枪,改变雾化气流场和流速,使雾化气流场合理分布,提高了喷涂粒子的射流速度,改善了雾化效果,使雾化粒子更细小更均匀,降低了涂层孔隙率,获得更大喷涂幅宽。应用对比试验标明,其性能已达到甚至超过国际同类产品。     

Effect of N addition on tensile and corrosion behaviors of CD4MCU cast duplex stainless steels

The effect of N addition on the microstructure, tensile, and corrosion behaviors of CD4MCU (Fe-25Cr-5Ni-2.8Cu-2Mo) cast duplex stainless steel was examined in the present study. The slow strain rate tests were also conducted at a nominal strain rate of 1 × 10⁻⁶/s in air and 3.5 pct NaCl+5 pct H₂SO₄ solution for studying the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behavior. It was observed that the volume fraction of austenitic phase in CD4MCU alloy varied from 38 to 59 pct with increasing nitrogen content from 0 to 0.27 wt. pct. The tensile behavior of CD4MCU cast duplex stainless steels, which tended to vary significantly with different N contents, appeared to be strongly related to the volume changes in ferritic and austenitic phases, rather than the intrinsic N effect. The improvement in the resistance to general corrosion in 3.5 pct NaCl+5 pct H₂SO₄ aqueous solution was notable with 0.13 pct N addition. The further improvement was not significant with further N addition. The resistance to SCC of CD4MCU cast duplex stainless steels in 3.5 pct NaCl+5 pct H₂SO₄ aqueous solution, however, increased continuously with increasing N content. The enhancement in the SCC resistance was believed to be related to the volume fraction of globular austenitic colonies, which tended to act as barriers for the development of initial pitting cracks in the ferritic phase into the sharp ones.     

Structural Characterization of Sputter-Deposited 304 Stainless Steel+10 wt pct Al Coatings

An SS304?+?10?wt pct Al (with a nominal composition of Fe-18Cr-8Ni-10Al by wt pct and corresponding to Fe-17Cr-6Ni-17Al by at. pct) coating was deposited on a 304-type austenitic stainless steel (Fe-18Cr-8Ni by wt pct) substrate by the magnetron sputter-deposition technique using two targets: 304-type stainless steel (SS304) and Al. The as-deposited coatings were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and three-dimensional (3-D) atom probe techniques. The coating consists of columnar grains with ?? ferrite with the body-centered cubic (bcc) (A2) structure and precipitates with a B2 structure. It also has a deposition-induced layered structure with two alternative layers (of 3.2 nm wavelength): one rich in Fe and Cr, and the other enriched with Al and Ni. The layer with high Ni and Al contents has a B2 structure. Direct confirmation of the presence of B2 phase in the coating was obtained by electron diffraction and 3-D atom probe techniques.