Effects of annealing temperature on nano/ultrafine-grained structure in austenite stainless steel

A nano/ultrafine-grained (NG/UFG) structure was obtained by heavy cold deformation (80%) and annealing in the range between 700 and 950°C for 60?s to explore the effects of temperature on the development of NG/UFG structures in austenitic stainless steel. Results showed that martensite was reversibly transformed to austenite, with the accumulation of twins, dislocations and subgrain boundaries. At 700°C, the microstructure exhibited low elongation and consisted of 65% austenite. Above 750°C, the amount of reversed austenite was nearly 100%. The tensile strength of the sample decreased slightly, whereas the elongation increased further, showing co-dependent strengthening and toughening. At 850°C, micrometre-sized grains were embedded in the nanocrystalline/ultrafine grains. In this case, both the microstructure and mechanical properties were optimal.     

Effect of δ-ferrite co-existence on hot deformation and recrystallization of austenite

This work evaluates the effect of co-existence of a large volume fraction of δ-ferrite on the hot deformation and dynamic recrystallization (DRX) of austenite using comparative hot torsion tests on AISI 304 austenitic and 2205 duplex stainless steels. The comparison was performed under similar deformation conditions (i.e. temperature and strain rate) and also under similar Zener-Hollomon, Z, values. The torsion data were combined with electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis to study the microstructure development. The results imply a considerable difference between DRX mechanisms, austenite grain sizes and also DRX kinetics of two steels. Whereas austenitic stainless steel shows the start of DRX at very low strains and then development of that microstructure based on the necklace structure, the DRX phenomena in the austenite phase of duplex structure does not proceed to a very high fraction. Also, the DRX kinetics in the austenitic steel are much higher than the austenite phase of the duplex steel. The results suggest that at a similar deformation condition the DRX grain size of austenitic steel is almost three times larger than the DRX grains of austenite phase in duplex steel. Similarly, the ratio of DRX grain size in the austenitic to the duplex structure at the same Z values is about 1.5.     

The influence of reversion annealing behavior on the formation of nanograined structure in AISI 201L austenitic stainless steel through martensite treatment

Martensite treatment is one of the known thermo-mechanical processes that can be used for the grain refinement of metastable austenitic stainless steels. In this work, the martensite to austenite reversion behavior as well as its effect on the processing of nanocrystalline structure in an as-cast AISI 201L austenitic stainless steel was investigated. The as-cast specimens were first homogenized and then hot forged in order to prepare a suitable microstructure for the subsequent martensite treatment. The cold rolling was carried out to various reductions between 10% and 95% followed by annealing at temperature range of 750–900 °C for different times of 15–1800 s. The microstructure characterization was performed using optical and scanning electron microscopies, X-ray diffraction and Feritscope. Hardness measurements were also used for evaluating the mechanical properties of the experimental material. The results indicated that the specimen which was reversion-annealed at 850 °C for 30 s exhibited the smallest average austenite grain size of 65 nm with more than 86% austenite.     

Ball milling of stainless steel scrap chips to produce nanocrystalline powder

Nanocrystalline stainless steel powder was produced by ball milling of austenitic stainless steel scrap chips. The structural and morphological changes of samples during ball milling and after subsequent heat treatment were investigated by X-ray diffractometery, scanning electron microscopy and microhardness measurements. During ball milling the austenite in as-received chips partially transformed to the martensite phase with nanoscale size grains of ∼15 nm. This structure exhibited high microhardness value of about 850 Hv which is much higher than that for original samples. The deformation-induced martensite partially transformed to austenite after annealing at 700 °C for 1 h reducing the hardness of powder particles.     

奥氏体不锈钢晶粒细化对形变机制和力学性能的影响

利用相逆转变原理采用冷变形使得亚稳奥氏体转变为形变马氏体,采用不同温度和时间退火分别获得纳米晶/超细晶和粗晶奥氏体不锈钢。通过拉伸实验得到不同晶粒尺寸的奥氏体不锈钢力学性能,采用透射电镜观察形变组织结构并利用扫描电镜观察断口特征。结果表明:高屈服强度纳米晶/超细晶奥氏体不锈钢通过形变孪晶获得优良塑性;而低屈服强度的粗晶奥氏体不锈钢发生形变诱导马氏体效应,得到良好的塑性;两组具有不同形变机制的奥氏体不锈钢拉伸断口均为韧性断裂。形变机制由形变孪晶转变为形变诱导马氏体归因于晶粒细化导致奥氏体稳定性大幅度提高。     

Role of strain-induced martensite on microstructural evolution during annealing of metastable austenitic stainless steel

Metastable austenitic stainless steel of type AISI 304L was cold rolled to 90% with and without inter-pass cooling. Inter-pass cooling produced 89% of strain-induced martensite whereas no inter-pass cooling resulted in the formation of 43% of martensite in the austenite matrix. The cold-rolled specimens were annealed at various temperatures in the range of 750–1000 °C. The microstructures of the cold-rolled and annealed specimens were studied by the electron microscope. The grain size and low angle boundaries were determined from the orientation maps recorded by the scanning electron microscope-based electron backscattered diffraction technique. The observed microstructural changes were correlated with the reversion mechanism of martensite to austenite and volume fraction of martensite. It was noted that large volume fractions of martensite at low annealing temperatures, below 900 °C, were most suitable for the formation of fine grains. On the contrary, reversion of small volume fractions of martensite at critical annealing temperature of 950 °C resulted in grain refinement.     

Microstructure and properties of austenitic stainless steel reinforced with in situ TiC particulate

Austenitic stainless steel reinforced with 5 vol.% TiC particulate was in situ synthesized by in situ reaction during melting process successfully and its microstructure, mechanical properties as well as oxidation behavior were investigated. Microstructure observations revealed that in situ TiC particulates with an average size of 2–10 μm distributed uniformly in the matrix and the interface boundaries between TiC particulates and austenite matrix were clean without any impurities and contaminations. Addition of TiC particulates refined the grain structure of austenitic matrix, but did not cause formation of any new phases in microstructure. Beneficial effects of TiC addition to austenitic stainless steel on both mechanical properties and oxidation resistance were found. Both at ambient and elevated temperature, tensile strengths of the steel with TiC addition were notably higher than those of its matrix alloy, however, a decrease in ductility also appeared, as exhibited by other particulate reinforced alloys. Besides tensile strengths, creep resistance of austenitic stainless steel was also significantly increased by TiC addition at elevated temperature of 923 K. Oxidation test at 1073 K revealed that TiC addition to austenitic stainless steel raised the oxidation resistance of the steel remarkably.     

A new etching route for revealing the austenite grain boundaries in an 11.4% Cr precipitation hardening semi-austenitic stainless steel

A detailed metallographic characterization of a precipitation hardening semi-austenitic stainless steel is described. A new etching procedure based on the Lichtenegger and Blöch color etching solution, which is frequently used in duplex stainless steels to differentiate delta ferrite from austenite, has been used to differentiate martensite, austenite and the Chi-phase in this stainless steel. By changing the etching conditions, this etchant now reveals the austenite grain boundaries when the steel is in the austenitic state. Moreover, this solution is able to reveal also the prior austenite grain boundaries when the steel is in its martensitic state. This etching procedure represents a great advantage because it reveals, at the same time, different features of the microstructure.     

Irradiation behavior of nanostructured 316 austenitic stainless steel

In order to get information about radiation resistance of ultrafine grained austenitic stainless steels, a 316 steel was deformed by high pressure torsion. The mean diameter of the grain after deformation was 40 nm. This material was annealed at 350 °C for 24 h or irradiated with 160 keV iron ions at 350 °C. Changes in the microstructure during annealing or irradiation were characterised by transmission electron microscopy (grain size) and laser assisted tomographic atom probe (solute distribution). Results indicate that this annealing has no influence on the grain size whereas the grain diameter increases under irradiation. Concerning the solute distribution, atom probe investigations show evidence of radiation-induced segregation at grain boundaries. Indeed, after irradiation, grain boundaries are enriched in nickel and silicon and depleted in chromium. On the contrary, no intragranular extended defects or precipitation are observed after irradiation.     

The effect of processing parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of low-Si transformation-induced plasticity steels

A base low Si, high-Al transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) steel and one with 0.03Nb and 0.02Ti (wt%) additions were subjected to thermo-mechanical processing (TMP) and galvanising simulations. The microstructure and mechanical properties were analysed using a combination of optical and electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and tensile testing and the results compared with those from intercritically annealed–galvanised steels. The addition of Nb and Ti results in microstructure refinement and an increase in the amount of the retained austenite after TMP which in turn, leads to increases in the tensile strength (~750 MPa) and the total elongation (TE) (~29 %). A deterioration in the volume fraction of retained austenite and the mechanical properties was noted in both steels after the additional galvanising simulation. For the base steel, all TMP and galvanised samples presented with continuous yielding during tensile testing. The Nb–Ti steel exhibited discontinuous yielding and extended Lüders banding when TMP was followed by a longer coiling time. Both steels returned discontinuous yielding after the intercritical annealing–galvanising treatment. The discontinuous yielding behaviour was associated with the much finer ferrite grain size in the intercritically annealed steels and the ageing processes that take place during galvanising.     

Characterisation of severely deformed austenitic stainless steel wire

Abstract

The microstructure of 8 μm diameter wire produced by the severe deformation of 316L austenitic stainless steel has been examined using TEM and X-ray diffraction. The deformation imparted amounts to a true strain of 6·3. Data from previous studies on strain induced transformation of this steel have been combined with new results to show that true strains >2 are required in order to observe mechanical stabilisation, i.e. the cessation of martensitic transformation when the martensite/austenite interfaces are unable to propagate through the dislocation debris created in the austenite.     

低频电磁场对奥氏体不锈钢铸坯组织的影响

在工业实验中研究了低频电磁场对水平连铸奥氏体不锈钢组织的影响,结果表明:在低频电磁场作用下,合适的电磁搅拌参数使奥氏体不锈钢宏观组织在一定程度上得到了明显改善,铸坯的柱状晶和等轴晶得到了显著的细化,消除了穿晶现象,等轴晶区扩大,中心缩孔、中心疏松级别明显降低;多次实验发现:对于奥氏体不锈钢,所需的搅拌强度应高于一般钢种,即使搅拌器的中心磁感应强度达900GS平均值(幅值达到1413GS),采用3～4Hz的频率,搅拌后对钢液的组织影响较小;在同样的磁场强度下,不锈钢液由于粘度大,因而其转速比碳钢液的转速约低20%～30%。     

晶粒尺寸对304奥氏体不锈钢组织演变和性能的影响

研究了初始织构相近而晶粒尺寸不同的304奥氏体不锈钢在后续10%压缩变形和热处理过程中微观组织、力学和耐蚀性的变化。结果表明,具有相似织构而晶粒尺寸不同的样品变形热处理后其织构不同,粗晶在变形中织构的变化更大;织构相近时抗拉强度对晶粒尺寸的依赖较大;织构不同时,织构对硬度和抗拉强度的影响大于晶粒尺寸和微应变的影响;变形热处理后普通大角度晶界和晶内微应变的增大降低了试样的耐腐蚀性能;初始晶粒尺寸较小的试样在变形热处理后出现四种密排面平行于外表面的织构,其耐点蚀的性能更优。     

Austenitic stainless steel bearing Nb compositional and plastic deformation effects

Austenitic stainless steel has excellent ductility. Consequently, it has capability for heavily cold deformation, despite its high strength and high work hardening ability. Austenitic stainless steel predominantly contains high levels of chromium and nickel. Additional elements may be added to enhance performance. The target of this paper is to melt and cast several austenitic stainless steel alloys with different Nb contents. Furthermore the effects of the chemical composition on strength as well as the effect of cold rolling on the creation of induced martensite phase are also studied. The microstructural investigation shows that grain coarsening was observed on the as-cast structure accompanying with thick grain boundary carbides along with carbide agglomerations at the triple points. Hot deformation diminishes the grains as well as the carbide films surrounding the grains. Solution treatment creates austenitic grains free of grain boundary carbides. Cold deformation creates highly elongated grains associated with wavy pancaked structure. Numerical modeling extensively used to detect the proof strength at high temperatures (up to 600 °C). The detected proof strength decreases drastically by raising the deformation temperatures. Nb was found to increase the proof strength even at high temperatures. The measured mechanical properties of the alloys under investigation are higher than that of detected ones by Kimura model, where the model did not pay attention to the Nb effect. Elliason model for the flow curve of different alloys has been extensively studied and applied. The detected results have been verified by the microstructural changes during deformation.     

Elastic strain evolution and ε-martensite formation in individual austenite grains during in situ loading of a metastable stainless steel

The (hcp) ε-martensite formation and the elastic strain evolution of individual (fcc) austenite grains in metastable austenitic stainless steel AISI 301 has been investigated during in situ tensile loading up to 5% applied strain. The experiment was conducted using high-energy X-rays and the 3DXRD technique, enabling studies of individual grains embedded in the bulk of the steel. Out of the 47 probed austenite grains, one could be coupled with the formation of ε-martensite, using the reported orientation relationship between the two phases. The formation of ε-martensite occurred in the austenite grain with the highest Schmid factor for the active {111}<12¯1> slip system.     

Texture development and microstructure evolution in metastable austenitic steel processed by accumulative roll bonding and subsequent annealing

In this paper, microstructure and texture development in a Fe–24Ni–0.3C metastable austenitic steel processed by accumulative roll bonding (ARB) and subsequent annealing was studied. Microstructural observations and crystallographic analysis were carried out by FE-SEM/EBSD. The results showed that elongated ultrafine-grained austenite having 300 nm in thickness surrounded by high angle boundaries was obtained after 6 cycles of the ARB process. It was found that 1-cycle ARB-processed specimen exhibited Copper ({112} 〈111〉) component as main texture, while by increasing the number of ARB cycles, it deviated to S component ({123} 〈634〉) at 2 cycles or Brass component ({110} 〈112〉) at 6-cycle. Annealing of 6-cycle ARB-processed specimen at 873 K for 1.8 ks resulted in the formation of an austenite with mean grain size of 2.5 µm having strong Cube recrystallization texture ({100} 〈001〉).     

Cooling effects on microstructure and mechanical properties of 27Cr–4Mo–2Ni ferritic stainless steel

The effects of cooling manner on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 27Cr–4Mo–2Ni ferritic stainless steel were investigated. It was found that the Laves phase (except for the TiN and Nb(C, N) particles) was distributed both in the grains and at the grain boundaries in the furnace-cooled specimen. The water-quenched and air-cooled specimens showed only TiN and Nb(C, N) particles. After annealing at 1100°C, the furnace-cooled specimen showed significant grain coarsening as compared to the water-quenched and air-cooled specimens. Furthermore, the Vickers hardness of the furnace-cooled specimen increased, while the total elongation decreased because of the formation of the Laves phase. The precipitation of the Laves phase resulted in the brittle fracture of the specimen during the tensile test.     

High Manganese Steel Alloying Process and Its Influence on Microstructure and Properties of the Steel

The influence of two kinds of alloying processes, adding Nb (or Ti) and N-Mn alloy as well as adding Nb (or Ti) and spraying N2, on microstructures and properties of a high manganese steel has been studied. It has been found that adding Nb(or Ti), accompanying with N-Mn alloy, is unfavourable to microstructure compactness of the high manganese steel, but adding Nb (or Ti)and spraying N2 into the melt is good for refining austenitic grain, forming a lot of hard particles and improving microstructure compactness. The mechanical properties of the high manganese steel have relation to the content of elements Nb or Ti. Its fracture mode will turn ductile fracture into brittle cleavage fracture gradually. By X-ray and TEM analysis, it is proved that the austenite can be transformed to deformation-induced α martensite after adding a certain amount of element Nb (or Ti). The microstructure transformation of alloying high manganese steels through deformation is one of methods for strengthening austenite matrix and increasing the work-hardening rate as well as improving antiwear property.     

Formation of ultrafine grained microstructure in the austenitic stainless steel and its impact on tensile properties

Commercial grade AISI 316L austenitic stainless steel was heavily cold rolled to 90% of thickness reduction. The cold rolled material was subjected to repetitive annealing treatment for short duration of 45-60 s at various temperatures. The microstructure of the cold rolled and after annealing was studied by optical as well as transmission electron microscope. The microstructural examination of the specimens after repetitive annealing process revealed the formation of ultrafine grain size microstructure. It was also noted that depending on the processing condition the grain size distribution varied widely. The tensile testing of the annealed specimen showed that the yield strength increased by 4-5 times that of the coarse grained material. However, a loss in the strain hardening ability was observed in these specimens. A good combination of yield strength and ductility for ultrafine grained stainless steel as compared to the coarse grained material could be obtained by the optimization of the microstructure.     

Tensile deformation of a duplex Fe-20Mn-9Al-0.6C steel having the reduced specific weight

The room temperature deformation characteristics of a duplex Fe-20Mn-9Al-0.6C steel with the reduced specific weight of 6.84 g/cm³ in the fully solutionized state were described in conjunction with the deformation mechanisms of its constituent phases. The phase fraction was insensitive to annealing temperature in the range of 800-1100 °C. The ferrite grain size was also nearly unaltered but the austenite grain size slightly increased with increasing annealing temperature. This revealed that there is little window to control the microstructure of the steel by annealing. The steel exhibited a good combination of strength over 800 MPa and ductility over 45% in the present annealing conditions. Ferrite was harder than austenite in this steel. Strain hardening of both phases was monotonic during tensile deformation, but the strain hardening exponent of austenite was higher than that of ferrite, indicating the better strain hardenability of austenite. In addition, the strain hardening exponent of austenite increased but that of ferrite remained unchanged with increasing annealing temperature. The overall strain hardening of the steel followed that of austenite. Considering element partitioning by annealing, the stacking fault energy of austenite of the steel was estimated as ∼70 mJ/m². Even with the relatively high stacking fault energy, planar glide dominantly occurred in austenite. Neither strain induced martensite nor mechanical twins formed in austenite during tensile deformation. Ferrite exhibited the deformed microstructures typically observed in the wavy glide materials, i.e. dislocation cells. The mechanical properties of the present duplex steel were compared to those of advance high strength automotive steels recently developed.