Redistribution of C and N Atoms in High Nitrogen Martensitic Stainless Steel During Cryogenic Treatment

The redistribution of C and N atoms during cryogenic treatment is crucial for the microstructure evolution and properties of high nitrogen martensitic steel.Here,the distinct redistribution behavior of C and N atoms in a martensitic stainless steel with 0.3 wt%C and 0.5 wt%N after cryogenic treatment were investigated by the atom probe tomography.Carbon clusters begin to form after cryogenic treatment at-60℃and gradually increase with the decrease of cryogenic treatment temperature.While Mo–N and Cr–N pairs are homogeneously distributed in the matrix even after cryogenic treatment at-120℃,and then form enrichment phenomenon when the cryogenic temperature is deeply lowered to-190℃.It is found that the distinct redistributions of C and N atoms are associated with the different interaction energy between substitutional atoms and them.The stronger interaction between Cr,Mo atoms and N delays the segregation of N during the cryogenic treatment.Finally,the mechanical properties results confirmed that the deep lower cryogenic treatment is a promising method to improve the hardness and strength in the high nitrogen martensitic stainless steel.