Strain rate and cold rolling dependence of tensile strength and ductility in high nitrogen nickel-free austenitic stainless steel

The tensile strength and ductility of a high nitrogen nickel-free austenitic stainless steel with solution and cold rolling treatment were investigated by performing tensile tests at different strain rates and at room temperature. The tensile tests demonstrated that this steel exhibits a significant strain rate and cold rolling dependence of the tensile strength and ductility.With the increase of the strain rate from 10~(-4)s~(-1)to 1 s~(-1), the yield strength and ultimate tensile strength increase and the uniform elongation and total elongation decrease. The analysis of the double logarithmic stress–strain curves showed that this steel exhibits a two-stage strain hardening behavior, which can be well examined and analyzed by using the Ludwigson equation. The strain hardening exponents at low and high strain regions(n_2and n_1) and the transition strain(εL) decrease with increasing strain rate and the increase of cold rolling RA. Based on the analysis results of the stress–strain curves, the transmission electron microscopy characterization of the microstructure and the scanning electron microscopy observation of the deformation surfaces, the significant strain rate and cold rolling dependence of the strength and ductility of this steel were discussed and connected with the variation in the work hardening and dislocation activity with strain rate and cold rolling.     

Grain refinement and strengthening of austenitic stainless steels during large strain cold rolling

The microstructure/texture evolution and strengthening of 316?L-type and 304?L-type austenitic stainless steels during cold rolling were studied. The cold rolling was accompanied by the deformation twinning and micro-shear banding followed by the strain-induced martensitic transformation, leading to nanocrystalline microstructures consisting of flattened austenite and martensite grains. The fraction of ultrafine grains can be expressed by a modified Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov equation, while inverse exponential function holds as a first approximation between the mean grain size (austenite or martensite) and the total strain. The deformation austenite was characterised by the texture components of Brass, {011}<211>, Goss, {011}<100>, and S, {123}<634>, whereas the deformation martensite exhibited a strong {223}<110> texture component along with remarkable γ-fibre, <111>∥ND, with a maximum at {111}<211>. The grain refinement during cold rolling led to substantial strengthening, which could be expressed by a summation of the austenite and martensite strengthening contributions.     

Evolution and characterization of dynamically recrystallized microstructure in a titanium-modified austenitic stainless steel using ultrasonic and EBSD techniques

A C-scan ultrasonic imaging system was used to investigate the microstructural evolution during dynamic recrystallization (DRX) of a 15Cr–15Ni–2.2Mo–Ti modified austenitic stainless steel (alloy D9). Four specimens were forged at 1273 K to different strains in the range 0.1–0.5. Specimens with true strains of 0.2 or lower did not show any variation in the amplitude of the first back-wall echo. However, a visible variation in the C-scan image was observed at and above the 0.3 strain level. This variation was attributed to the evolution of fine grains. The formation of fine grains was related to DRX, as indicated by electron backscattered diffraction. This study also revealed the characteristics of the DRX or ‘necklace grains’, as opposed to the so-called parent grains or rest of the microstructure.     

Assessment of surface relief and short cracks under cyclic creep in a type 316LN austenitic stainless steel

Formation of surface relief and short cracks under cyclic creep (stress-controlled fatigue) in type 316LN stainless steel was studied at temperatures ranging from ambient to 923 K using scanning electron microscopy technique. The surface topography and crack distribution behaviour under cyclic creep were found to be strong functions of testing temperature due to the difference in strain accumulation. At 823 K, surface relief mainly consisted of fine slip markings due to negligible accumulation of strain as a consequence of dynamic strain ageing (DSA) which led to an increase in the cyclic life. Persistent slip markings (PSM) with distinct extrusions containing minute cracks were seen to prevail in the temperature range 873–923 K, indicating a higher slip activity causing higher strain accumulation in the absence of DSA. Besides, a large number of secondary cracks (both transgranular and intergranular) which were partially accentuated by severe oxidation, were observed. Extensive cavitation-induced grain boundary cracking took place at 923 K, which coalesced with PSM-induced transgranular cracks resulting in failure dominated by creep that in turn led to a drastic reduction in cyclic life. Investigations on the influence of stress rate were also carried out which underlined the presence of DSA at 823 K. At 923 K, lowering the stress rate caused further strengthening of the contribution from creep damage marked by a shift in the damage mechanism from cyclic slip to diffusion.     

铸造奥氏体不锈钢中铁素体与奥氏体位向关系及其对声衰减的影响

研究了铸造奥氏体不锈钢中铁素体与奥氏体位向关系及其对超声散射衰减的影响.利用电子背散射衍射技术表征了两相的晶体取向及其位向关系,基于真实的铁素体形貌建立了二维声传播各向异性模型并利用时域有限差分法进行了计算,分析了不同位向关系、铁素体形貌特征对声衰减系数的影响规律并进行了实验验证.结果表明：铸造奥氏体不锈钢奥氏体晶粒中散布着形状复杂的铁素体,典型铁素体形貌为条状和岛状;铁素体与奥氏体的位向关系以Kurdjumov-Sachs关系为主,少量满足Nishiyama-Wassermann关系.对声传播过程进行计算,发现两相位向关系和铁素体形貌协同作用影响超声波传播,在较高检测频率（15 MHz）下对散射衰减的影响不能忽略.结合“原位”实验对奥氏体<101>柱状晶粒的声衰减影响因素进行了定量分析,发现对于单一铸造奥氏体晶粒,晶粒内部取向不均匀性、奥氏体-铁素体位向关系以及奥氏体晶粒内铁素体形态都是超声散射衰减的主要原因.     

Corrosion behavior of low energy,high temperature nitrogen ion-implanted AISI 304 stainless steel

This work presents the results of a low-energy nitrogen ion implantation of AISI 304 type stainless steel (SS) at a moderate temperature of about 500°C. The nitrogen ions are extracted from a Kauffman-type ion source at an energy of 30 keV, and ion current density of 100 μA cm⁻². Nitrogen ion concentration of 6 × 10¹⁷, 8 × 10¹⁷ and 10¹⁸ ions cm⁻², were selected for our study. The X-ray diffraction results show the formation of CrN polycrystalline phase after nitrogen bombardment and a change of crystallinity due to the change in nitrogen ion concentration. The secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) results show the formation of CrN phases too. Corrosion test has shown that corrosion resistance is enhanced by increasing nitrogen ion concentration.      

The austenite microstructure evolution in a duplex stainless steel subjected to hot deformation

Abstract

The austenite microstructure evolution and softening processes have been studied in a 23Cr–6Ni–3Mo duplex stainless steel, comprising equal fractions of austenite and ferrite, deformed in uniaxial compression at 1000 °C using strain rates of 0.1 and 10 s^?1. The texture and microstructure evolution within austenite was similar in character for both the strain rate used. The observed large-scale subdivision of austenite grains/islands into complex-shaped deformation bands, typically separated by relatively wide transition regions, has been attributed to the complex strain fields within this phase. Organised, self-screening microband arrays were locally present within austenite and displayed a crystallographic character for a wide range of austenite orientations. The microband boundaries were aligned with the traces of {1?1?1} slip planes containing slip systems having high, although not necessarily the highest possible, Schmid factors. The slightly lower mean intercept length and higher mean misorientation obtained for the sub-boundaries at the higher strain rate can be ascribed to the expected more restricted dynamic recovery processes compared to the low strain rate case. Dynamic recrystallisation within austenite was extremely limited and mainly occurred via the strain-induced migration of the distorted original twin boundaries, followed by the formation of multiple twinning chains.     

基于时间反转MUSIC的奥氏体不锈钢超声成像分析

奥氏体不锈钢管道广泛应用于核电及某些化工领域等,但奥氏体不锈钢焊缝缺陷的检测仍然比较困难。在时间反转的基础上,采用DORT算法和MUSIC算法对较低信噪比(-5 dB和-10 dB)的缺陷定位进行仿真分析,在定制的奥氏体不锈钢对接焊缝试块上(300 mm×90 mm×30 mm),采用16阵元超声相控阵探头对缺陷进行检测,引入TR-MUSIC算法对缺陷回波信号进行频域分析。结果表明,低信噪比时,TR-MUSIC算法较TR-DORT算法能更好的抑制旁瓣,使信号能量能更好的聚焦于缺陷;在奥氏体不锈钢焊缝相距25 mm的Φ2mm缺陷(深度为50 mm)检测实验数据基础上,TR-MUSIC算法能够更准确定位缺陷。     

Dependence of grain boundary character distribution on the initial grain size of 304 austenitic stainless steel

Abstract

In order to study the dependence of the grain boundary character distributions (GBCD) on the grain size, annealing treatment was carried out on 304 austenitic stainless steel with different initial grain sizes. The evolution of the GBCD was analysed by electron backscatter diffraction. The experimental results showed that abnormal grain growth (AGG) occurred when grain size was small. With a smaller initial grain size, the number density of abnormally large grains and the fraction of low-Σ CSL boundaries increased but the size of abnormally large grains decreased and the random boundaries presented a continuous network. With a larger initial grain size, the fraction of low-Σ CSL boundaries also increased as well as the size of abnormally large grains but the number density of abnormally large grains decreased and the connectivity of random boundary network was disrupted by low-Σ CSL boundaries, especially Σ3ⁿ (n = 1, 2, 3) boundaries. However, with a very large initial grain size, normal grain growth (NGG) occurred, which had no effect on the fraction of low-Σ CSL boundaries and the connectivity of random boundary network.     

Effect of surface nanocrystallization induced by fast multiple rotation rolling on hardness and corrosion behavior of 316L stainless steel

A nanostructured layer was fabricated by using fast multiple rotation rolling (FMRR) on the surface of 316L stainless steel. The microstructure in the surface was characterized by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The effects of FMRR on the microhardness, surface roughness and corrosion behavior of the stainless steel were investigated by microhardness measurements, surface roughness measurements, potentiodynamic polarization curves and pitting corrosion tests. The surface morphologies of pitting corrosion specimens were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The results show that FMRR can cause surface nanocrystallization with the grain size ranges from 6 to 24 nm in the top surface layer of the sample. The microhardness of FMRR specimen in the top surface layer remarkably increases from 190 to 530 HV. However, the surface roughness slightly rises after FMRR treatment. The potentiodynamic polarization curves and pitting corrosion tests indicated that the FMRR treated 316L stainless steel with a surface nanocrystallized layer reduced the corrosion resistance in a 3.5% NaCl solution and enhanced the pitting corrosion rate in a FeCl₃ solution. Possible reasons leading to the decrease in corrosion resistance were discussed.     

JLF-1钢高温循环变形后硬度与微观结构的数值关系

高温循环变形是结构材料性能降级的主要原因之一.用透射电子显微镜对低活化铁素体/马氏体钢——JLF-1钢低周疲劳样品的微观结构进行了分析,并测试了循环变形前后此钢显微维氏硬度的变化.为了掌握JLF-1钢性能在高温循环变形中的变化机理,依据位错理论,用最小二乘法对高温循环变形后的显微维氏硬度与微观结构进行了回归计算,得到了此钢显微维氏硬度与板条尺寸、位错胞尺寸、位错密度的数值关系. 关键词： 低活化铁素体/马氏体钢 循环变形 微观结构 显微维氏硬度     

Geometric dynamic recrystallization of austenitic stainless steel through linear plane-strain machining

ABSTRACT

Type 316L austenitic stainless steel was severely plastically deformed at room temperature using linear plane-strain machining in a single pass that imparted shear strains up to 2.2 at strain rates up to 2?×?10³ s^?1. The resulting microstructures exhibited significant grain size refinement and improved mechanical strength where geometric dynamic recrystallization was identified as the primary microstructural recrystallization mechanism active at high strain rates. This mechanism is rarely observed in low to medium stacking fault energy materials. The critical stress required for twin initiation is raised by the combined effects of refined grain size and the increase in stacking fault energy due to the adiabatic heating of the chip, thus permitting geometric dynamic recrystallization. The suppression of martensite formation was observed and is correlated to the significant adiabatic heating and mechanical stabilisation of the austenitic stainless steel. A gradient of the amount of strain induced martensite formed from the surface towards the interior of the chip. As the strain rate is increased from 4?×?10² s^?1–2?×?10³ s^?1, a grain morphology change was observed from a population of grains with a high fraction of irregular shaped grains to one dominated by elongated grain shapes with a microstructure characterised by an enhanced density of intragranular sub-cell structure, serrated grain boundaries, and no observable twins. As strain rates were increased, the combination of reduction in strain induced martensite and non-uniform intragranular strain led to grain softening where a Hall-Petch relationship was observed with a negative strengthening coefficient of ?0.08?MPa m^1/2.     

Influence of annealing treatment on the microstructure and mechanical performance of cold sprayed 304 stainless steel coating

In this study, 304 stainless steel coatings were deposited on interstitial-free steel substrate by cold spraying method. The effect of annealing treatment on microstructure, microhardness, ultimate tensile strength and fracture performance of the coatings were studied. The results showed that annealing treatment had made a dominant contribution to heal up the incomplete interfaces between the deposited particles. Both of the microstructure and the mechanical properties have been obviously optimized by annealing treatment. In addition, the coating microhardness decreased from 345 HV_0.2 for the as-sprayed coating to 201 HV_0.2 for the annealed coating. The coating ultimate tensile strength increased from 65 MPa for the as-sprayed coating to 357 MPa for the annealed coating, which resulted from the increase of the metallurgically bonded areas in the coating induced by annealing treatment. Fracture morphology of the coatings also revealed that annealing treatment changed the fracture character of the cold sprayed 304 stainless steel coating from brittle type to plastic type.     

Structure,hardening and failure of high nitrogen austenite steels after plastic deformation under pressure

Abstract

Change of the fine structure of high nitrogen austenite steels deformed under high hydrostatic pressure was studied by transmission electron microscopy. The increase of pressure and deformation degree results in higher twinning intensity and consequently in substantial hardening of the studied steels. The strain hardening curves were analyzed and the regions were determined where high nitrogen steels could be deformed without macroscopic destruction depending on the deformation degree under preliminary hydroextrusion.     

奥氏体不锈钢窄间隙焊缝侧壁未熔合相控阵超声检测*

针对核电站主管道奥氏体不锈钢窄间隙焊缝侧壁未熔合超声检测困难的问题,该文开展基于电子背散射衍射技术的相控阵超声检测研究,并结合全聚焦方法和相位相干成像方法抑制结构噪声。利用电子背散射衍射技术建立壁厚69.5 mm,且同时包含母材和焊缝的奥氏体不锈钢窄间隙焊缝模型。沿焊缝熔合线设置深度26.5 mm、高度3.0 mm的侧壁未熔合,经过仿真优化确定了中心频率2.25 MHz、32阵元以及45°纵波楔块的相控阵超声检测参数。仿真和实验检测结果显示,侧壁未熔合检测信噪比相差不超过0.6 dB,验证了所建模型的有效性。在此基础上,利用全聚焦方法和相位相干成像方法削弱结构噪声,检测信噪比较相控阵扇扫描图像分别提升2.3 dB和4.7 dB,且侧壁未熔合深度与高度定量误差均不超过6.7%。     

强流脉冲离子束辐照对不锈钢耐腐蚀性能的影响

利用强流脉冲离子束（HIPIB）对316L不锈钢进行了表面辐照处理,研究了HIPIB辐照对其在0.5mol/L H2SO4溶液中电化学腐蚀性能的影响。极化曲线测量结果表明,HIPIB辐照能够显著提高316L的抗腐蚀性能,自腐蚀电流对辐照次数的依赖性与自腐蚀电位相比明显较强。采用扫描电子显微镜（SEM）、X射线衍射（XRD）和电子探针（EPMA）分析辐照后试样表面形貌、表面层相结构和元素分布的变化。结果表明：HIPIB辐照使试样表面光滑化,表面层产生择优取向,且发生了杂质元素的选择性烧蚀,是316L不锈钢耐电化学腐蚀性能得以提高的主要原因。     

Electron spectroscopic study of passive oxide layer formation on Fe-19Cr-18Ni-1Al-TiC austenitic stainless steel

Surface oxidation of a TiC-enriched austenitic stainless steel alloy was investigated at 50 °C by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). It was found that a passive oxide layer started to form on the alloy surface after 5 L of oxygen exposure. Further oxidation of the alloy was suppressed after 500 L of oxygen exposure when a stable passive layer was formed. It was found also that Ti and Ni did not oxidize and Ti remained in a carbide form during whole oxidation. The oxidation kinetics of different metals were investigated as well.     

The surface alloying behavior of martensitic stainless steel cut with wire electrical discharge machine

The surface alloying behavior of tempered martensitic stainless steel multi-cut with wire electrical discharge machine (WEDM) is studied in this paper. Before machined with WEDM, the steel specimens were quenched at 1050 °C and then tempered at 200 °C, 400 °C, and 600 °C, respectively. The microstructure and surface morphology of the multi-cut surfaces were examined with scanning and transmission electron microscopes integrated with an energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer for chemical composition analysis. Experimental results show that the cut surfaces of the steel specimens were alloyed with wire-electrode material in various extent. Especially the cut surface was much more alloyed when the steel was cut with the first rough cutting pass by using negatively biased potential and final fine cutting using positively biased potential. Alloying degree of cut surfaces can be distinguished with their anodic polarization curves in 0.5 M HClO₄ + 0.2 wt% NaCl at 27 °C. Higher passive current density induces deeper alloyed surface. On the severely alloyed surface, a secondary anodic peak in the potential of 120 mV (versus Ag/AgCl_sat.) of its anodic polarization curve was observed. The presence of the secondary anodic peak was attributed to dissolution of copper, which was the major element of wire-electrode material from the alloyed surface.