Hybrid (plasma + gas tungsten arc) weldability of modified 12% Cr ferritic stainless steel

This paper deals with the hybrid (plasma + gas tungsten arc) welding properties of 12 mm thick modified 12% Cr ferritic stainless steel complying with EN 1.4003 and UNS S41003 steels with a carbon content of 0.01% to improve the weldability. The root passes of the butt welds were produced with plasma arc welding (PAW) without filler metal while gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) was used to accomplish filler passes with 309 and 316 austenitic stainless steel type of consumables, respectively. The joints were subjected to tensile and bend tests as well as Charpy impact toughness testing at −20 °C, 0 °C and 20 °C. Examinations were carried out in terms of metallography, chemical analysis of the weld metal, ferrite content, grain size and hardness analyses. Although 309 consumables provided higher mean weld metal toughness values compared to 316 (90 J vs. 75 J), 316 type of consumables provided better mean HAZ toughness data for the joints (45 J vs. 20 J) at −20 °C. Toughness properties of the welds correspond with those of microstructural features including grain size and ferrite content.     

Anomalous steam oxidation behavior of a creep resistant martensitic 9 wt. % Cr steel

The efficiency of thermal power plants is currently limited by the long-term creep strength and the steam oxidation resistance of the commercially available ferritic/martensitic steel grades. Higher operating pressures and temperatures are essential to increase efficiency but impose important requirements on the materials, from both the mechanical and chemical stability perspective. It has been shown that in general, a Cr wt. % higher than 9 is required for acceptable oxidation rates at 650 °C, but on the other hand such high Cr content is detrimental to the creep strength. Surprisingly, preliminary studies of an experimental 9 wt. % Cr martensitic steel, exhibited very low oxidation rates under flowing steam at 650 °C for exposure times exceeding 20,000 h. A metallographic investigation at different time intervals has been carried out. Moreover, scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) analysis of a ground sample exposed to steam for 10,000 h at 650 °C revealed the formation of a complex tri-layered protective oxide comprising a top and bottom Fe and Cr rich spinel layer with a magnetite intermediate layer on top of a very fine grained zone.     

Microstructure evolution and texture formation of 16 % chromium ferritic stainless steel following simulated batch annealing treatments in mass production

Batch annealing technique is mainly used in industry for improving productivity as a few steel coils were stacked and heated in a bell-type furnace. The microstructure evolution, texture formation and mechanical properties of 16 % chromium ferritic stainless steel under different simulated batch annealing and subsequent cold-rolled annealing conditions were investigated in this work. Results showed that batch annealing process applied in mass production could not produce fully recrystallized and homogenously equiaxed grains even at very high temperatures up to 900 °C for 30 hours. With increased batch annealing temperature, a large number of chromium carbides precipitated in ferrite, while some unstable Fe-carbide precipitates were gradually dissolved. Relatively lower cold-rolled annealing temperature (830 °C) led to finer grains and superior mechanical properties of 16 % chromium ferritic stainless steel. Increased batch annealing temperature improved the intensity of {111}//normal direction γ-fiber textures at the expense of other orientations including {hkl}<110> α-fiber, {334}<4 3>, thus improving the formability of ferritic stainless steel.     

Precipitation and mechanical properties of Nb-modified ferritic stainless steel during isothermal aging

The influence of isothermal aging on precipitation behavior and mechanical properties of Nb-modified ferritic stainless steel was investigated using Thermo-calc software, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. It was observed that TiN, NbC and Fe₂Nb formed in the investigated steel and the experimental results agreed well with the results calculated by Thermo-calc software. During isothermal aging at 800 °C, the coarsening rate of Fe₂Nb is greater than that of NbC, and the calculated average sizes of NbC and Fe₂Nb of the aged specimen agreed with the experimental results. In addition, the tensile strength and micro-hardness of the ferritic stainless steel increased with increased aging time from 24 h to 48 h. But aging at 800 °C for 96 h caused the coarsening of the precipitation, which led to a decrease of tensile strength and micro-hardness.     

Microstructures and mechanical properties of friction stir welds on 9% Cr reduced activation ferritic/martensitic steel

In this study,the microstructures and mechanical properties of 9%Cr reduced activation ferritic/martensitic(RAFM) steel friction stir welded joints were investigated.When a W-Re tool is used,the recommended welding parameters are 300 rpm rotational speed,60 mm/min welding speed and10 kn axial force.In stir zone(SZ),austenite dynamic recrystallization induced by plastic deformation and the high cooling rates lead to an obvious refinement of prior austenite grains and martensite laths.The microstructure in SZ contains lath martensite with high dislocation density,a lot of nano-sized MX and M_3C phase particles,but almost no M_(23)C_6 precipitates.In thermal mechanically affect zone(TMAZ)and heat affect zone(HAZ),refinement of prior austenite and martensitic laths and partial dissolution of M_(23)C_6 precipitates are obtained at relatively low rotational speed.However,with the increase of heat input,coarsening of martensitic laths,prior austenite grains,and complete dissolution of M_(23)C_6 precipitates are achieved.Impact toughness of SZ at-20?C is slightly lower than that of base material(BM),and exhibits a decreasing trend with the increase of rotational speed.     

Cytocompatibility and mechanical properties of novel porous 316 L stainless steel

Novel 316 L stainless steel (SS) foam with 85% porosity and an open pore diameter of 70–440 μm was developed for hard tissue application. The foam sheet with a 200-μm diameter had superior cell proliferation and penetration as identified through in vitro experiments. Calcification of human osteosarcoma cells in the SS foam was observed. Multi-layered foam preparation is a potential alternative technique that satisfies multi-functional requirements such as cell penetration and binding strength to the solid metal. In tensile tests, Young's modulus and the strength of the SS foam were 4.0 GPa and 11.2 MPa respectively, which is comparable with human cancellous bone.     

Creep behaviour of a 25wt % Cr-20wt % Ni austenitic stainless steel doped with antimony

The effect of antimony on the steady state creep rates, , of a 25 wt% Cr-20wt% Ni austenitic stainless steel with 0.005 wt % C is studied. The effect on vacancy viscous creep (Coble creep) is shown to be different to that on dislocation creep (power law creep). The effect on Coble creep is particularly striking. The threshold stress is significantly increased by antimony additions.     

Fabrication of ultrafine grained FeCrAl-0.6 wt.% ZrC alloys with enhanced mechanical properties by spark plasma sintering

Low mechanical strength, especially at high temperatures, is the key problem that limit the application of FeCrAl alloys as the accident tolerance fuel (ATF) cladding materials. Dispersion strengthening by carbide nanoparticles is an effective way to improve mechanical properties at high temperatures. In this work, an ultrafine grained FeCrAl-0.6 wt.% ZrC alloys with excellent mechanical properties were fabricated successfully by mechanical milling and spark plasma sintering. The effect of milling speed on powder characteristics, microstructure and mechanical properties of FeCrAl alloys were investigated. The particle size of the powders increase significantly after milling at 400 rpm, while it has a lower oxygen content. Increasing the milling speed decreased the resultant grain size and improved relative density. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) demonstrated the nano ZrC particles uniformly distributed in the matrix at higher milling speed, which effectively promotes grain refinement and dispersion strengthening. The results of mechanical properties show that the tensile strength, percentage elongation and hardness of FeCrAl-0.6 wt.% ZrC alloys at room temperature (RT) reached up to 1.05 GPa, 349.86 HV and 12.1%, respectively, after milling at 400 rpm. It is worth noting that the FeCrAl-0.6 wt.% ZrC alloy also exhibited a good high-temperature strength more than 110 MPa at 800 ℃, which is about 55.4% and 24.7% higher than previously reported FeCrAl-0.5 wt.% ZrC and FeCrAl-1.0 wt.% ZrC alloys, but the plasticity is reduced. The results demonstrated that the excellent mechanical properties were not only attributed to the dispersion strengthen by nanosized ZrC, a good interface bonding between Fe matrix and nanosized ZrC, but also the ultra-fine grained structure induced by the milling process.     

Pore filling in graphite particle compacts infiltrated with Al–12 wt.%Si and Al–12 wt.%Si–1 wt.%Cu alloys

The drainage curves (saturation versus applied pressure) that characterize pressure infiltration of Al–12 wt.%Si and Al–12 wt.%Si–1 wt.%Cu alloys into particulate preforms made out of carbon particles of three sizes have been determined. The results show that, no matter the alloy or the particle preform, saturation (pore filling) varies with pressure much faster at low than at high pressures. Besides, the drainage curves at high and low pressures, can be reasonably fitted with the semi-empirical model of Brooks and Corey, although with significantly different model parameters.     

Resistance spot welding of AISI 430 ferritic stainless steel: Phase transformations and mechanical properties

The paper aims at investigating the process–microstructure–performance relationship in resistance spot welding of AISI 430 ferritic stainless steel. The phase transformations which occur during weld thermal cycle were analyzed in details, based on the physical metallurgy of welding of the ferritic stainless steels. It was found that the microstructure of the fusion zone and the heat affected zone is influenced by different phenomena including grain growth, martensite formation and carbide precipitation. The effects of welding cycle on the mechanical properties of the spot welds in terms of peak load, energy absorption and failure mode are discussed.     

Microstructure and mechanical behavior in dissimilar 13Cr/2205 stainless steel welded pipes

This work aims to investigate the microstructure and the mechanical behavior of dissimilar 13Cr Supermartensitic/2205 Duplex stainless steel welded pipes. A wide variety of microstructures resulting from both solidification and solid state transformation is induced by the fusion welding process across the weld joint. The tensile tests show that the deformation process of the dissimilar weld joint is mainly controlled by the two base materials: the duplex steel at the beginning of the deformation and the supermartensitic one at its end. This is confirmed by the micro-tensile tests showing the overmatching effect of the weld metal. The fatigue tests conducted on dissimilar welded specimens led us to conclude that the weld metal is considered as a weak link of the weld joint in the high cycle fatigue regime. This is supported by its lower fatigue limit compared to the two base materials that exhibit a similar fatigue behavior.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of duplex stainless steel subjected to hydrostatic extrusion

The nanostructure and mechanical properties of ferritic-austenitic duplex stainless steel subjected to hydrostatic extrusion were examined. The refinement of the structure in the initial state and in the two deformation states (ε = 1.4 and ε = 3.8) was observed in an optical microscope (OM) and a transmission electron microscope (TEM). The results indicate that the structure evolved from microcrystalline with a grain size of about 4 μm to nanocrystalline with a grain size of about 150 nm in ferrite and 70 nm in austenite. The material was characterized mechanically by tensile tests performed in the two deformation states. The ultimate strength appeared to increase significantly compared to that in the initial deformation stages, which can be attributed to the grain refinement and plastic deformation. The heterogeneity observed in microregions results from the dual-phase structure of the steel. The results indicate that hydrostatic extrusion is a highly potential technology suitable for improving the properties of duplex steels.     

Structure morphology effect of Ti and Nb stabilized austenitic stainless steel welds on corrosion properties

In this preliminary study the microstructure morphology of the austenitic stabilized stainless steel deposited by manual metal arc (MMA) welding on corrosion has been investigated as part of a study attempting to establish a quantitative correlation between the morphology and corrosion properties. It was found that corrosion resistance of the developed complex microstructure depends on the particular structure morphology at the parent metal-weld bead interface. For a given composition, the developed morphology is controlled by the interrelated parameters of heat input, cooling rate and joint geometry. Extensive precipitation of -ferrite results in a significant reduction of corrosion resistance.     

Analysis of the microstructure,texture and magnetic properties of strip casting 4.5 wt.% Si non-oriented electrical steel

The microstructure, texture and magnetic properties of 4.5 wt.% Si electrical steel fabricated by the processes of twin-roll casting, warm-rolling and final annealing were systematically investigated with the aim of introducing a remarkable and promising electrical steel with extensive potential applications. The results show that unusually sharp {411} < 148 > texture is obtained in addition to common Cube, rotated Cube, Goss and {111} < 112 > orientation after final annealing. Excellent magnetic inductions of 1.518 T (B₈) and 1.703 T (B₅₀), and iron losses of 24.92 W/kg (W_10/400) and 24.47 W/kg (W_5/1000) have been achieved.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of a rapid solidified boron- modified duplex stainless steel

Two duplex stainless steels 2205 and 2205 with 2.5?wt-% B addition prepared by a fast solidification technique were investigated. The samples were arc melted and cast in a cylindrical mould with varying diameters in a single cavity that provided different cooling rates. The hardness increased in both cases for smaller diameters, however, there was a different profile from the surface to the centre in case of 2205 with 2.5?wt-% B. The microstructural investigation indicated that boron addition led to the formation of hard borides and grain refinement. Different boride morphologies that varied with the cooling rates were identified. The compression strength at room temperature improved by a factor of 3.5 with boron addition without considerably decreasing the ductility.     

Creep properties of 12% Cr and improved 9% Cr weldments

Martensitic Cr-alloyed high-temperature materials offer interesting opportunities for design and construction of advanced power plants. An extensive research programme has been carried out at the Research Centre of the Belgian Welding Institute and Laborelec on martensitic 12% Cr steel for gaining a better understanding of the failure mode and the deformation mechanism of welded joints under uniaxial and multiaxial loads. A large number of pipe girth welds were realized by three Belgian manufacturers (Cockerill Mechanical Industries, Fabricom and Mannesmann-Carnoy). Different filler metals were used and the influence of the welding regime (austenitic and martensitic), the post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) (single or double) and the base metal wall thickness on the high-temperature properties of the different weldments was evaluated. It was found that the creep properties of a 12% Cr weldment are not influenced by the welding regime and the base metal wall thickness. As would be expected, the creep strengths of the original 12% Cr base metal as well as the temperature of the PWHT have some effect. The existence of a typical failure in the intercritical zone (type IV region) is demonstrated and explained. The consequences for the design of welded 12% Cr components are indicated. More recently the research was extended towards improved 9% Cr steel (T91). A rather small preliminary programme for the orientation of further research showed a similar failure location as for 12% Cr steel, although the observed loss in strength of the weldment compared to the base metal tended to be considerably lower. The so-called ‘half-tempering’ treatment was tried out and the effect on the creep strength of the weldment is shown. A more fundamental national research programme on P91 steel has been established and is actually running.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of as-deposited and heat-treated additive manufactured 9Cr steel

Wire arc additive manufacturing technology has been applied to fabricate 9Cr ferritic/martensitic steel. The steel is widely used in the power industries because of good performances. The effects of different heat treatment conditions on microstructure, hardness, tensile properties, and Charpy impact toughness were investigated. The results show that the microstructure of the as-deposited condition consists of untempered lath martensitic with high strength and low toughness. It was found that heat treatment can change the microstructure characteristics. Moreover, samples after heat treatment have been observed with high elongation and impact toughness but relatively low hardness and tensile strength. The better combination of strength, ductility and microstructure were obtained for the normalising temperature of 1323?K and tempering temperature of 1033?K.     

Evolution of microstructure and mechanical properties for 9Cr18 stainless steel during thixoforming

Hot compression tests were carried out in the semi-solid state of 9Cr18 stainless steel on Gleeble-1500 thermal simulation testing machine to investigate the effects of thixoforming parameters on its microstructure and mechanical properties. In this paper, microstructure was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and analyzed using energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), and true stress–stain curves of the specimens with different initial microstructures after thixoforming were obtained to study the deformation mechanism. The results showed that thixoforming parameters such as reheating temperature and the strain rate had a significant influence on microstructure and mechanical properties evolution of 9Cr18 semi-solid billet. With increasing reheating temperature or decreasing strain rate, average size of carbides decreased from 2 μm to 0.5 μm, and the phenomenon of liquid extrusion during thixoforming became more obvious. During thixoforming, carbon atoms diffused to molten metal from austenite in the centre of specimens. When thixoforming temperature reached 1300 °C, martensitic transformation occurred after rapid cooling. Flow stress of semi-solid billet was lower than traditional ingot casting and hot rolled state steel, when reheated to the semi-solid range, due to their different original microstructure.