The dependence of the creep properties of din 1.4970 austenitic stainless steel at 973 K on different thermomechanical pre-treatments

The creep-rupture behaviour of a Type DIN 1.4970 austenitic stainless steel has been investigated at 973 K (700°C) in a high vacuum for three conditions of thermomechanical treatment and a wide range of applied stresses using foil specimens of 105 μm thickness. After solution-annealing at 1373 K (1100°C) for all specimens, the three treatments were: — condition 1: 13% cold-worked — condition2: aged for 24 h at 1073 K (800°C) and 13% cold-worked — condition 3: (“Standard condition”): 13% cold-worked and aged for 24 h at 1073 K (800°C).The rupture lives and the minimum creep rates were found to be highly dependent on the applied stresses. The treatment of condition 1 material yielded a product as strong as the “standard” condition 3, while the condition 2 material was less creep resistant.Structural changes as well as fractography were followed using metallographic, transmission and scanning electron microscope techniques. Transgranular ductile fracture was clearly observed in all three conditions. TEM investigations showed that dispersive TiC precipitates were present in the matrix of condition 3 material before creep testing, contrary to condition 1 and 2 material. In condition 1, the TiC dispersion was already found after short creep times, while no dispersive TiC precipitates were found in condition 2 material in any test condition.