On the hot tensile deformation behavior of an AISI 316LN stainless steel

The hot deformation characteristics of AISI 316LN stainless steel were studied in the temperature range of 1123–1323 K and strain rate range of 10⁻⁴–10⁻¹s⁻¹ by carrying out tensile tests. The flow stress, ultimate tensile stress and percentage elongation were found to be strongly dependent on the temperature and strain rate. The critical strain required for the initiation of dynamic recrystallisation and peak strain were determined at each condition and their variation with temperature and strain rate studied. The deformation behavior was analyzed using a generic model for high temperature deformation and deformation parameters were computed. The variation of the true activation energy with strain for rate controlled high temperature tensile deformation was obtained. Microstructural studies were carried out on tested samples and the results of all the above studies are presented.