Microalloying effects on microstructure and mechanical properties of 18Cr–2Mo ferritic stainless steel heavy plates

The microstructure, including grain size and precipitation, tensile strength and Charpy impact toughness of (Nb + V) 18Cr–2Mo ferritic stainless steel heavy plates with/without Ti were investigated by means of optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and standard tensile strength and Charpy impact toughness testing. It was found that for 18Cr–2Mo heavy plate, a good combination of Nb–V stabilized method without Ti induces refinement of grain sizes due to the precipitation of amounts of fine Nb carbonitrides and V nitrides. Meanwhile, the mechanical testing results indicate that optimal transformation of grain size, precipitation that Nb–V composition system brings to 18Cr–2Mo heavy plate is beneficial to improvement of strength and impact toughness.     

Effect of annealing temperature on the pitting corrosion resistance of super duplex stainless steel UNS S32750

The pitting corrosion resistance of commercial super duplex stainless steels SAF2507 (UNS S32750) annealed at seven different temperatures ranging from 1030 °C to 1200 °C for 2 h has been investigated by means of potentiostatic critical pitting temperature. The microstructural evolution and pit morphologies of the specimens were studied through optical/scanning electron microscope.Increasing annealing temperature from 1030 °C to 1080 °C elevates the critical pitting temperature, whereas continuing to increase the annealing temperature to 1200 °C decreases the critical pitting temperature. The specimens annealed at 1080 °C for 2 h exhibit the best pitting corrosion resistance with the highest critical pitting temperature. The pit morphologies show that the pit initiation sites transfer from austenite phase to ferrite phase as the annealing temperature increases. The aforementioned results can be explained by the variation of pitting resistance equivalent number of ferrite and austenite phase as the annealing temperature changes.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir welded 18Cr–2Mo ferritic stainless steel thick plate

In this study, microstructure and mechanical properties of a friction stir welded 18Cr–2Mo ferritic stainless steel thick plate were investigated. The 5.4 mm thick plates with excellent properties were welded at a constant rotational speed and a changeable welding speed using a composite tool featuring a chosen volume fraction of cubic boron nitride (cBN) in a W–Re matrix. The high-quality welds were successfully produced with optimised welding parameters, and studied by means of optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) and standard hardness and impact toughness testing. The results show that microstructure and mechanical properties of the joints are affected greatly, which is mainly related to the remarkably fine-grained microstructure of equiaxed ferrite that is observed in the friction stir welded joint. Meanwhile, the ratios of low-angle grain boundary in the stir zone regions significantly increase, and the texture turns strong. Compared with the base material, mechanical properties of the joint are maintained in a comparatively high level.     

Intergranular corrosion behavior and mechanism of the stabilized ultra-pure 430LX ferritic stainless steel

Intergranular corrosion (IGC) behavior of the stabilized ultra-pure 430LX ferritic stainless steel (FSS) was investigated by using double loop electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation (DL-EPR) and oxalic acid etch tests to measure the susceptibility of specimens given a two-step heat treatment. The results reveal that IGC occurs in the specimens aged at the temperature range of 600–750 °C for a short time. The aging time that is required to cause IGC decreases with the increase of aging temperature. A longer aging treatment can reduce the susceptibility to IGC. The microstructural observation shows that M₂₃C₆ precipitates form along the grain boundaries, leading to the formation of Cr-depleted zones. The presence of Cr-depleted zones results in the susceptibility to IGC. However, the atoms of stabilizing elements replace chromium atoms to form MC precipitates after long-time aging treatment, resulting in the chromium replenishment of Cr-depleted zones and the reduction of the susceptibility to IGC.     

Stabilisation of ferritic stainless steels with Zr and Ti additions

Abstract

Traditional 11·5 wt-%Cr ferritic stainless steels are single stabilised with Ti or dual stabilised with Ti–Nb additions. A dual-stabilised ferritic stainless steel 409 with Zr–Ti additions was studied, which was selected through thermodynamic and kinetics analysis. The alloy was subjected to thermomechanical processing using both hot and cold rolling and annealing. The intergranular corrosion resistance and microstructure of this alloy was evaluated. Of particular interest was to study the stabilisation behaviour of this alloy under all processing conditions. The results showed that the precipitation of Cr_xC_y was effectively prevented; hence, the alloy used in this investigation had an excellent resistance to intergranular corrosion.     

润滑条件对温轧含磷IF钢组织性能的影响

为研究润滑条件对热轧高强钢板的组织和性能的影响机理,对热轧坯料分别进行了润滑和不润滑两种轧制,并对两种轧制条件下的钢板进行了显微组织观察及力学性能测试.结果表明：润滑条件对铁素体区热轧高强IF钢的屈服强度（σs）、抗拉强度（σb）、总延伸率（η）和n值影响不大,但对r值和Δr值有显著的影响.在未润滑条件下轧制的钢板的r...     

The effect of repeated repair welding on mechanical and corrosion properties of stainless steel 316L

The purpose of this study is to evaluate changes in the mechanical, micro structural and the corrosion properties of stainless steel 316L under repeated repair welding. The welding and the repair welding were conducted by shielded metal arc welding (SMAW). The SMAW welding process was performed using E316L filler metals. Specimen of the base metal and different conditions of shielded metal arc welding repairs were studied by looking in the micro structural changes, the chemical composition of the phases, the grain size (in the heat affected zone) and the effect on the mechanical and corrosion properties. The microstructure was investigated using optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The chemical composition of the phases was determined using energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). The corrosion behavior in 1 M H₂SO₄ + 3.5% NaCl solution was evaluated using a potentiodynamic polarization method. Tensile tests, Charpy-V impact resistance and Brinell hardness tests were conducted. Hardness of the heat affected zone decreased as the number of repairs increased. Generally an increase in the yield strength (YS) and the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) occurred with welding. After the first repair, a gradual decrease in YS and UTS occurred but the values of YS and UTS were not less than values of the base metal. Significant reduction in Charpy-V impact resistance with the number of weld repairs were observed when the notch location was in the HAZ. The HAZ of welding repair specimen is more sensitive to pitting corrosion. The sensitivity of HAZ to pitting corrosion was increased by increasing the number of welding repair.     

Improvement of pitting corrosion resistance of stainless steel by electric current pulse

ABSTRACT

The electric current pulse (ECP) was applied on the liquidus of 304 stainless steel during solidification and the pitting corrosion of the water-quenched specimens was explored in the present work. The results revealed that the utilisation of ECP can inhibit manganese sulphide from segregating around oxide inclusions during solidification and consequently, the pitting corrosion resistance of ECPed steel was significantly improved. Hence, the application of ECP during solidification might be an efficient way to improve the pitting corrosion resistance of the 304 stainless steel.

This paper is part of a themed issue on Materials in External Fields.     

Biofilm inhibition and corrosion resistance of 2205-Cu duplex stainless steel against acid producing bacterium Acetobacter aceti

Acid producing bacterium Acetobacter aceti causes pitting corrosion of stainless steel(SS).This work investigated the enhanced resistance of 2205-Cu duplex stainless steel(DSS) against biocorrosion by A.aceti in comparison with 2205 DSS using electrochemical and surface analysis techniques.With the addition of Cu to 2205 DSS,biofilms on the 2205-Cu DSS surface were inhibited effectively.The largest pit depth on 2205-Cu DSS surface in the presence of A aceti was 2.6 μm,smaller than 5.5 μm for 2205 DSS surface.The i_(corr) was 0.42±0.03 μA cm~(-2) for 2205-Cu DSS in the biotic medium,which was much lower than that for 2205 DSS(3.69±0.65 μA cm~(-2)).All the results indicated that the A aceti biofilm was considerably inhibited by the release of Cu~(2+) ions from the 2205-Cu DSS matrix,resulting in the mitigation of biocorrosion by A aceti.     

Interplay of microbiological corrosion and alloy microstructure in stress corrosion cracking of weldments of advanced stainless steels

This paper presents an overview of the phenomenon of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of duplex stainless steels and their weldments in marine environments and the potential role of microbial activity in inducing SCC susceptibility. As a precursor to the topic the paper also reviews the performance of the traditional corrosion-resistant alloys and their weldments and the necessity of using duplex stainless steels (DSS), in order to alleviate corrosion problems in marine environments. Given that the performance of weldments of such steels is often unsatisfactory, this review also assesses the research needs in this area. In this context the paper also discusses the recent reports on the role of microorganisms in inducing hydrogen embrittlements and corrosion fatigue.     

The effect of surface roughness on the efficiency of the cyclic potentiodynamic passivation (CPP) method in the improvement of general and pitting corrosion resistance of 316LVM stainless steel

The influence of surface roughness on the efficiency of a cyclic potentiodynamic passivation (CPP) method employed to increase the general and pitting corrosion resistance of 316LVM stainless steel was investigated. The results show that a decrease in surface roughness of both the surface on which the passive film was formed naturally and by the CPP method, results in an increase in general corrosion resistance of the material, while for the CPP-modified surface, a notable increase in pitting corrosion resistance was also observed. It was further demonstrated that the CPP method is highly effective in increasing the general and pitting corrosion resistance of 316LVM, and that its efficiency does not depend on the surface roughness.     

Effect of tool pin eccentricity on microstructure and mechanical properties in friction stir welded 7075 aluminum alloy thick plate

Four different tools with the pin eccentricity of 0.1 mm, 0.2 mm, 0.3 mm and 0.4 mm were designed to friction stir weld 10 mm thick AA7075-O plate. The effect of pin eccentricity on microstructure, secondary phase particles transformation and mechanical properties of the joints was investigated. The results show that the nugget area (A_NZ) increases firstly and then decreases with increasing the pin eccentricity. When the pin with 0.2 mm eccentricity is applied, the A_NZ is the largest; meanwhile the grains size is the smallest which is about 3 μm and secondary phase particles are the most dispersive in nugget zone compared with other tools. While the grains are coarsened to 7–11 μm as the eccentricity is more than 0.4 mm, some coarse hardening particles get to cluster in the thermo-mechanically affected zone. The joints produced by the pin with 0.2 mm eccentricity perform the highest tensile strength and elongation, which is attributed to better interfaces, finer grains and more dispersive secondary phase particles.     

Effect of trace HA on microstructure,mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of Mg-2Zn-0.5Sr alloy

Effect of the addition of trace HA particles into Mg-2Zn-0.5Sr on microstructure, mechanical properties, and bio-corrosion behavior was investigated in comparison with pure Mg. Microstructures of the Mg-2Zn-0.5Sr-xHA composites(x = 0, 0.1 and 0.3 wt%) were characterized by optical microscopy(OM),scanning electron microscopy(SEM) equipped with energy dispersion spectroscopy(EDS) and X-ray diffraction(XRD). Results of tensile tests at room temperature show that yield strength(YS) of Mg-2Zn-0.5Sr/HA composites increases significantly, but the ultimate tensile strength(UTS) and elongation decrease with the addition of HA particles from 0 up to 0.3 wt%. Bio-corrosion behavior was investigated by immersion tests and electrochemical tests. Electrochemical tests show that corrosion potential(Ecorr)of Mg-2Zn-0.5Sr/HA composites significantly shifts toward nobler direction from-1724 to-1660 m VSCE and the corrosion current density decreases from 479.8 to 280.8 μA cm~(-2) with the addition of HA particles. Immersion tests show that average corrosion rate of Mg-2Zn-0.5Sr/HA composites decreases from11.7 to 9.1 mm/year with the addition of HA particles from 0 wt% up to 0.3 wt%. Both microstructure and mechanical properties can be attributed to grain refinement and mechanical bonding of HA particles with second phases and α-Mg matrix. Bio-corrosion behavior can be attributed to grain refinement and the formation of a stable and dense CaHPO_4 protective film due to the adsorption of Ca~(2+)on HA particles. Our analysis shows that the Mg-2Zn-0.5Sr/0.3HA with good strength and corrosion resistance can be a good material candidate for biomedical applications.     

The effect of TiN inclusions and deformation-induced martensite on the corrosion properties of AISI 321 stainless steel

Stainless steel of type 321 is commonly used for the production of exhaust systems because of its temperature resistance and welding properties, which are better than those of AISI 304 or similar steels. AISI 321 is a titanium stabilized austenitic stainless steel, where this element is added to form carbides in order to avoid chromium impoverishment due to chromium carbide formation. Cold shaping can, in the case of austenitic stainless steel, cause the formation of deformation induced martensite, which can improve its mechanical properties, but unfortunately can also spoil its good resistance to corrosion. Titanium nitride inclusions are cathodic with respect to steels, and therefore cause their anodic dissolution. Martensite is, however, more susceptible to the corrosion than austenite in steels. The main aim of this study was to analyze the pitting corrosion and stress corrosion cracking which is initiated on prototype cold-formed outer exhaust sleeves during the testing of different cleaning procedures before chromium plating. Various microscopic methods were used to identify the initiation of corrosion and its propagation.     

Effect of sintering temperature on microstructures and mechanical properties of spark plasma sintered nanocrystalline aluminum

Organic-coated aluminum nano-powders were consolidated by spark plasma sintering technique with low initial pressure of 1 MPa and high holding pressure of 300 MPa at different sintering temperature. The effect of sintering temperature on microstructures and mechanical properties of the compact bulks was investigated. The results indicate that both the density and the strain of the nanocrystalline aluminum increase with an increase in sintering temperature. However, the micro-hardness, compressive strength and tensile stress of the compact bulks increase initially and then decrease with increasing sintering temperature. The nanocrystalline aluminum sintered at 773 K has the highest micro-hardness of 3.06 GPa, the best compressive strength of 665 MPa and the supreme tensile stress of 282 MPa. A rapid grain growth of nanocrystalline aluminum sintered at 823 K leads to a decrease in micro-hardness, compressive strength and tensile stress. After annealing, a remarkable increase in strain and a slight rise in strength were obtained due to the relief of the residual stress in nanocrystalline Al and the formation of composite structure.     

Effect of heat-input on pitting corrosion behavior of friction stir welded high nitrogen stainless steel

In this study, different welding parameters were selected to investigate the effects of heat-input on the microstructure and corrosion resistance of the friction stir welded high nitrogen stainless steel joints. The results showed that, the welding speed had major influence on the duration at elevated temperature rather than the peak temperature. The hardness distribution and tensile properties of the nugget zones (NZs) for various joints were very similar while the pitting corrosion behavior of various NZs showed major differences. Large heat-input resulted in the ferrite bands being the pitting location, while tool wear bands were sensitive to pitting corrosion in the low heat-input joints. Cr diffusion and tool wear were the main reasons for pitting. The mechanisms of pitting corrosion in the NZs were analyzed in detail.     

Effect of heat input on microstructure and mechanical properties of dissimilar joints between super duplex stainless steel and high strength low alloy steel

In the present study, microstructure and mechanical properties of UNS S32750 super duplex stainless steel (SDSS)/API X-65 high strength low alloy steel (HSLA) dissimilar joint were investigated. For this purpose, gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) was used in two different heat inputs: 0.506 and 0.86 kJ/mm. The microstructures investigation with optical microscope, scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction showed that an increase in heat input led to a decrease in ferrite percentage, and that detrimental phases were not present. It also indicated that in heat affected zone of HSLA base metal in low heat input, bainite and ferrite phases were created; but in high heat input, perlite and ferrite phases were created. The results of impact tests revealed that the specimen with low heat input exhibited brittle fracture and that with high heat input had a higher strength than the base metals.     

离子注入Nb不锈钢双极板的耐孔蚀性能研究

为了探索离子注入Nb不锈钢双极板在模拟质子交换膜燃料电池(PEMFC)中的性能,采用极化曲线、恒电位试验和电化学阻抗谱等方法研究了离子注入铌316不锈钢在PEMFC环境中耐孔蚀性能的影响.研究表明:模拟PEMFC环境中316不锈钢和离子注入铌316不锈钢试样均发生孔蚀;Nb离子的注入提高了抗孔蚀性能,且随着介质温度的升高,孔蚀倾向加剧.孔蚀的诱发是离子注入铌316不锈钢表面水解形成Nb(OH)+4,导致钝化膜局部溶解破坏所致.模拟PEMFC环境中316不锈钢表面注入铌层膜电阻Rcoat、电荷转移电阻Rct升高,而注入铌层的电容值Ccoat、双电层电容Cct下降,表明注入铌层成为高电阻、低电容的阻挡层,对基体起到良好的保护作用.     

A new resource-saving, high manganese and nitrogen super duplex stainless steel 25Cr–2Ni–3Mo–xMn–N

A new family of resource-saving, high manganese and nitrogen super duplex stainless steels (DSSs), with a composition of 25 wt.%Cr, 2 wt.%Ni, 3 wt.%Mo, 8–12 wt.%Mn, and 0.45–0.55 wt.%N, have been developed by examining the effect of Mn and N on the microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion properties. The results show that these alloys have a balanced ferrite–austenite relation. The ferrite content increases with the solution treatment temperature, but it decreases with an increase in Mn and N. The element Mn accelerates σ phase precipitations. The increases in manganese and nitrogen, especially nitrogen, enhance the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and ductility of the material. The pitting corrosion potential increases first and then decreases with an increase in the amount of Mn, which is due primarily to the presence of a small amount of σ phase when the amount of Mn is 12 wt.%. Among the designed DSS alloys, 25Cr–2Ni–3Mo–10Mn–0.5N is found to be an optimum alloy with proper phase proportion, a better combination of UTS and elongation, and higher pitting corrosion resistance compared with those of the other alloys. The mechanical strength and corrosion resistance and lower production cost of the materials are better than those of SAF2507.     

Influence of Al7Cu2Fe intermetallic particles on the localized corrosion of high strength aluminum alloys

The development of aluminum alloys of the Al–Zn–Mg–Cu system is the primary factor that enabled the evolution of aircraft. However, it has been shown that these alloys tend to undergo pitting corrosion due to the presence of elements such as iron, copper and silicon. Thus, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the behavior of the Al₇Cu₂Fe precipitate in 7475-T7351 and 7081-T73511 alloys based on microstructural characterization and polarization tests. The corrosion and pitting potentials were found to be very similar, and matrix dissolution occurred around the Al₇Cu₂Fe precipitate in both alloys, revealing the anodic behavior of the matrix.