TEM characterization of a nitrogen implanted austenitic stainless steel

Pure austenitic stainless-steel samples (18% Cr, 10% Ni) were implanted at room temperature with nitrogen ions at an energy of 40 keV with fluences from 10¹⁷ to 6X10¹⁷ ions cm^-2. Microstructures obtained after implantation were studied by transmission electron microscopy and selected-area diffraction. The observations show the formation of ε martensite (hexagonal), of α' martensite (tetragonal) and the appearance of nitrides (Fe, Cr, Ni)₂N_1-x hexagonal or orthorhombic.     

Formation mechanism of nanostructures in austenitic stainless steel during equal channel angular pressing

An ultra-low carbon austenitic stainless steel was successfully pressed from one to eight passes by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) at room temperature. By using X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, the microstructural evolution during ECAP was investigated to reveal the formation mechanism of strain-induced nanostructures. The refinement mechanism involved the formation of shear bands and deformation twins, followed by the fragmentation of twin lamellae, as well as successive martensite transformation from parent austenitic grains with sizes ranging from microns to nanometres through the processes γ(fcc)?→?ε(hcp)?→?α′(bcc). After pressing for eight passes, two types of nanocrystalline grains were achieved: (a) nanocrystalline austenite with a mean grain size of ～31?nm and (b) strain-induced nanocrystalline α′-martensite with a size of ～74?nm. The formation mechanisms are discussed in terms of microstructural subdivision via deformation twinning and martensite transformation.     

Amorphous stainless steel coatings prepared by reactive magnetron-sputtering from austenitic stainless steel targets

Stainless steel films were reactively magnetron sputtered in argon/methane gas flow onto oxidized silicon wafers using austenitic stainless-steel targets. The deposited films of about 200 nm thickness were characterized by conversion electron M?ssbauer spectroscopy, magneto–optical Kerr-effect, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, atomic force microscopy, corrosion resistance tests, and Raman spectroscopy. These complementary methods were used for a detailed examination of the carburization effects in the sputtered stainless-steel films. The formation of an amorphous and soft ferromagnetic phase in a wide range of the processing parameters was found. Further, the influence of the substrate temperature and of post vacuum-annealing were examined to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the carburization process and phase formation. P. Schaaf’s former affiliation: II. Physikalisches Institut, Universit?t G?ttingen, Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1, 37077 G?ttingen, Germany.     

Microstructure of single crystals of austenitic stainless steel

Auger spectroscopy and x-ray structure analysis have been used to study the chemical and phase inhomogeneity in single crystals of the austenitic nitrided stainless steel Cr22Ni17Mo3 with various morphologies of the dendritic structure. In single crystals grown in the 100 direction with a classical dendritic structure the interaxial regions are highly enriched with S, N, and C and weakly enriched with Mo, V, and Mn. At the same time these regions have a high density of particles of the type Me₂₃C₆, Me₇C₃, and vanadium carbonitrides, oriented in the growth direction. The axial regions have a subcellular structure, with oxygen-rich subcell boundaries. In single crystals with growth direction close to 110, in which only secondary dendrite axes are formed, the alloying elements, impurities, and second-phase particles are distributed relatively uniformly throughout the ingot.V. D. Kuznetsov Siberian Physicotechnical Institute at Tomsk University. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 10, pp. 3–6, October, 1992.     

Effects of cold rolling deformation on microstructure,hardness, and creep behavior of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel

Effects of cold rolling deformation on the microstructure, hardness, and creep behavior of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel （HNASS） are investigated. Microstructure characterization shows that 70% cold rolling deformation results in significant refinement of the microstructure of this steel, with its average twin thickness reducing from 6.4 μm to 14 nm. Nanoindentation tests at different strain rates demonstrate that the hardness of the steel with nano-scale twins （nt-HNASS） is about 2 times as high as that of steel with micro-scale twins （mt-HNASS）. The hardness of nt-HNASS exhibits a pronounced strain rate dependence with a strain rate sensitivity （m value） of 0.0319, which is far higher than that of mt-HNASS （m = 0.0029）. nt-HNASS shows more significant load plateaus and a higher creep rate than mt-HNASS. Analysis reveals that higher hardness and larger m value of nt-HNASS arise from stronger strain hardening role, which is caused by the higher storage rate of dislocations and the interactions between dislocations and high density twins. The more significant load plateaus and higher creep rates of nt-HNASS are due to the rapid relaxation of the dislocation structures generated during loading.     

奥氏体不锈钢深冷低温冲击试验方法研究

以液氦作为冷源,结合G-M低温制冷机,实现-196~-269℃深冷温度环境,探索深冷低温冲击试验方法。结果表明,试样从低温环境中取出后置于大气环境中,温度出现快速回升。对于不同试验低温,可采用不同方法进行试验。试验温度T=4.2K时,可采用制冷机预冷+液氦持续喷淋的方法进行降温。试验温度10≤T77K时,可采用玻璃容器填充气凝胶粉体对试样进行绝热保温处理;或根据试验温度以及回温测试结果,以一定的过冷温度补偿值保证试验温度。过冷温度补偿方法可满足常规冲击试验的要求,但需要相对较大的过冷温度补偿值;玻璃容器填充粉体包裹试样,可减缓试样温度回升,但对材料冲击吸收能量有一定影响,可用多试样冲击试验并进行修正以反映材料冲击韧性水平。     

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.     

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.     

Microstructure and corrosion behavior of austenitic stainless steel treated with laser

Surface modification of AISI316 stainless steel by laser melting was investigated experimentally using 2 and 4 kW laser power emitted from a continuous wave CO₂ laser at different specimen scanning speeds ranged from 300 to 1500 mm/min. Also, an investigation is reported of the introduction of carbon into the same material by means of laser surface alloying, which involves pre-coating the specimen surfaces with graphite powder followed by laser melting. The aim of these treatments is to enhance corrosion resistance by the rapid solidification associated with laser melting and also to increase surface hardness without affecting the bulk properties by increasing the carbon concentration near the surface. Different metallurgical techniques such as optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to characterize the microstructure of the treated zone. The microstructures of the laser melted zones exhibited a dendritic morphology with a very fine scale with a slight increase in hardness from 200 to 230 Hv. However, the laser alloyed samples with carbon showed microstructure consisting of γ dendrite surrounded by a network of eutectic structures (γ+carbide). A significant increase in hardness from 200 to 500 Hv is obtained. Corrosion resistance was improved after laser melting, especially in the samples processed at high laser power (4 kW). There was shift in I_corr and E_corr toward more noble values and a lower passive current density than that of the untreated materials. These improvements in corrosion resistance were attributed to the fine and homogeneous dendritic structure, which was found throughout the melted zones. The corrosion resistance of the carburized sample was lower than the laser melted sample.     

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。     

奥氏体不锈钢焊缝中的声学仿真模型与全聚焦成像检测

声波在奥氏体不锈钢焊缝中传播时声束弯曲,为超声成像带来了困难。基于Ogilvy焊缝模型,建立了奥氏体不锈钢焊缝非均匀各向异性声场仿真模型,采用Dijkstra路径搜索算法对各向异性条件下的声传播路径和声传播时间进行了数值模拟和分析。在此基础上,采用Verasonics超声相控阵成像系统,进行了奥氏体不锈钢焊缝的全聚焦成像实验,采集全矩阵回波数据,并结合理论模型计算的声传播路径和相应的传播时间,进行了成像结果修正。结果表明,与均匀介质模型的全聚焦成像结果相比,基于该文模型的焊缝全聚焦成像检测结果具有更高的缺陷定位精度和分辨率,验证了该方法的可行性,为奥氏体不锈钢焊缝成像检测提供了新的思路。     

Abnormal magnetic behaviour of powder metallurgy austenitic stainless steels sintered in nitrogen

The magnetic response of AISI 304L and AISI 316L obtained through powder metallurgy and sintered in nitrogen were studied. AISI 304L sintered in nitrogen showed a ferromagnetic behaviour in as-sintered state while AISI 316L was paramagnetic. After solution annealing both were paramagnetic. Magnetic behaviour was analysed by using a vibrating sample magnetometer, a magnetic ferritscope and magnetic etching. A microstructural characterization was performed by means of optical metallography, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDS). Some samples when needed were submitted to aged heat treatments at 675 and 875 °C for 90 min, 4, 6, 8 or 48 h. The main microstructural feature found was the presence of a lamellar constituent formed by nitride precipitates and an interlamellar matrix of austenite and/or ferrite. The abnormal magnetic response was explained based on this.     

Residual stresses in biaxially fatigued austenitic stainless steel sample of cruciform geometry

A specifically designed cruciform-shaped austenitic stainless steel AISI 321 sample was subjected to ex-situ biaxial tension-compression cycling to establish ferromagnetic martensitic phase conversion under the action of plastic deformation. The time-of-flight neutron diffraction technique was employed for in-plane residual stress determination in this sample for both the austenitic and martensitic phases. The 2D data enabled determination of the macro-, micro-, hydro- and deviatoric contributions to the total phase stresses.     

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.     

静态腐蚀条件下铁素体/马氏体钢和奥氏体不锈钢与液态铅铋合金相容性研究进展

液态铅铋合金（LBE）是铅冷快中子反应堆（LFR）和加速器驱动次临界系统(ADS)的主要冷却剂材料。反应堆用结构材料（如铁素体/马氏体钢、奥氏体不锈钢等）在液态LBE环境下存在液态金属腐蚀（LMC）和应力腐蚀的问题,这些问题给钢结构材料的安全服役带来隐患。阐述了钢材铅铋腐蚀类型及机理,归纳了材料设计与处理(元素成分、热处理、加工制造和表面处理)和腐蚀条件（氧质量分数、腐蚀温度和腐蚀时间）对钢材铅铋腐蚀行为的影响机制;澄清了LBE环境下的应力腐蚀与金属脆化机制,总结了内外因素（材料种类、表面缺陷、热处理、氧质量分数、腐蚀温度和拉伸速率）对钢材拉伸性能的影响,并展望了未来铅铋反应堆结构材料的研究方向。建议面向未来的铅铋堆用钢应优化材料设计和处理方式（提高Si、Al等元素的含量、表面镀膜和热处理）同时控制LBE中环境参数（温度、氧质量分数和腐蚀时间）以提高钢材的耐铅铋腐蚀性能。     

深冷温区应变强化S30408奥氏体不锈钢马氏体相变研究

对S30408奥氏体不锈钢进行室温应变强化,在深冷温区(77K~4.2K)进一步时效处理,利用金相显微镜、X射线衍射仪(XRD)和透射电子显微镜(TEM)研究了应变诱发和热诱发马氏体相变的微观特征,探讨了马氏体相变的微观机理。结果表明:马氏体相变的含量、微观形貌、形核特征和位错组态随着预应变量的增加和温度的降低而改变,且应变强化比温度对相变的影响要大。诱发马氏体与母相奥氏体的位相关系符合K-S关系,其相变的微观机理为γ(fcc)→ε(hcp)、γ(fcc)→α'(bcc)、γ(fcc)→ε(hcp)→α'(bcc)、γ(fcc)→形变孪晶→α'(bcc)。     

Development of nitride-layer of AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel during high-temperature ammonia gas-nitriding

Ammonia-gas nitriding of AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel was studied at temperatures higher than 800 °C using SEM and X-ray diffraction. The result showed that S-phase, an expanded austenite, was formed even at such high temperatures due to a high nitriding potential of ammonia gas. The equilibrium phase, CrN was formed through a decomposition of S-layer in two different modes; the one was through continuous precipitation of particles at the surface-side of S-layer due to a higher nitriding potential; the other through a discontinuous(-like) precipitation at the austenite interface-side, producing a fine lamellar structure of austenite and CrN. The γ-phase in the surface-side resulting from the precipitation of CrN particles subsequently transformed into Fe₄N because of a fast enrichment of N atoms and a limited mobility of Cr atoms at the surface-side. A coarse lamellar structure made of austenite and Cr₂N was developed in front of fine lamellae composed of austenite and CrN by the decomposition of supersaturated austenite through a discontinuous precipitation via grain boundary movement.     

Sound velocity anomalies near the spin glass transition in an austenitic stainless steel alloy

A cusp in the magnetic susceptibility temperature dependence of a commercial manganese austenitic stainless steel alloy, attributable to spin-glass condensation, is accompanied by anomalies in the temperature dependences of both longitudinal and transverse ultrasonic wave velocities.