Pitting corrosion and crevice corrosion behaviors of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels

Pitting corrosion and crevice corrosion behaviors of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels （HNSS） were investigated by electrochemical and immersion testing methods in chloride solution, respectively. The chemical constitution and composition in the depth of passive films formed on HNSS were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectrum （XPS）. HNSS has excellent pitting and crevice corrosion resistance compared to 316L stainless steel. With increasing the nitrogen content in steels, pitting potentials and critical pitting temperature （CPT） increase, and the maximum, average pit depths and average weight loss decrease. The CPT of HNSS is correlated with the alloying element content through the measure of alloying for resistance to corrosion （MARC）. The MARC can be expressed as an equation of CPT=2.55MARC-29. XPS results show that HNSS exhibiting excellent corrosion resistance is attributed to the enrichment of nitrogen on the surface of passive films, which forms ammonium ions increasing the local pH value and facilitating repassivation, and the synergistic effects of molybdenum and nitrogen.

High Nitrogen Austenitic Stainless Steels Manufactured by Nitrogen Gas Alloying and Adding Nitrided Ferroalloys

A simple and feasible method for the production of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels involves nitrogen gas alloying and adding nitrided ferroalloys under normal atmospheric conditions. Alloying by nitrogen gas bubbling in Fe-Cr-Mn-Mo series alloys was carried out in MoSi2 resistance furnace and air induction furnace under normal atmospheric conditions. The results showed that nitrogen alloying could be accelerated by increasing nitrogen gas flow rate, prolonging residence time of bubbles, increasing gas/molten steel interfaces, and decreasing the sulphur and oxygen contents in molten steel. Nitrogen content of 0.69% in 18Crl8Mn was obtained using air induction furnace by bubbling of nitrogen gas from porous plug. In addition, the nickel-free, high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels with sound and compact macrostructure had been produced in the laboratory using vacuum induction furnace and electroslag remelting furnace under nitrogen atmosphere by the addition of nitrided alloy with the maximum nitrogen content of 0.81%. Pores were observed in the ingots obtained by melting and casting in vacuum induction furnace with the addition of nitrided ferroalloys and under nitrogen atmosphere. After electroslag remelting of the cast ingots, they were all sound and were free of pores. The yield of nitrogen increased with the decrease of melting rate in the ESR process. Due to electroslag remelting under nitrogen atmosphere and the consequential addition of aluminum as deoxidizer to the slag, the loss of manganese decreased obviously. There existed mainly irregular Al2O3 inclusions and MnS inclusions in ESR ingots, and the size of most of the inclusions was less than 5 um. After homogenization of the hot rolled plate at 1 150℃ × 1 h followed by water quenching, the microstructure consisted of homogeneous austenite.

Fabrication of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels with excellent mechanical and pitting corrosion properties

A series of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels were successfully developed with a pressurized electroslag remelting furnace. Nitride additives and deoxidizer were packed into the stainless steel pipes, and then the stainless steel pipes were welded on the surface of an electrode with low nitrogen content to prepare a compound electrode. Using Si3N4 as a nitrogen alloying source, the silicon contents in the ingots were prone to be out of the specification range, the electric current fluctuated greatly and the surface qualities of the ingots were poor. The surface qualities of the ingots were improved with FeCrN as a nitrogen alloying source. The sound and compact macrostructure ingot with the maximum nitrogen content of 1.21wt% can be obtained. The 18Cr18Mn2Mo0.9N high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel exhibits high strength and good ductility at room temperature. The steel shows typical ductile-brittle transition behavior and excellent pitting corrosion resistance properties.

Intergranular corrosion behavior of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel

The intergranular corrosion （IGC） behavior of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel （HNSS） sensitization treated at 650-950℃ was investigated by the double loop electrochemical potentiodynamic reactivation （DL-EPR） method. The effects of the electrolytes, scan rate, sensitizing temperature on the susceptibility to IGC of HNSS were examined. The results show that the addi-tion of NaCl is an effective way to improve the formation of the cracking of a passive film in chromium-depleted zones during the reactivation scan. Decreasing the scan rate exhibits an obvious effect on the breakdown of the passive film. A solution with 2 mol/L H2SO4＋1 mol/L NaCl＋0.01 mol/L KSCN is suitable to check the susceptibility to IGC of HNSS at a sensitizing temperature of 650-950℃ at a suitable scan rate of 1.667 mV/s. Chromium depletion of HNSS is attributed to the precipitation of Cr2N which results in the susceptibility to IGC. The synergistic effect of Mo and N is suggested to play an important role in stabilizing the passive film to prevent the attack of IGC.

PRECIPITATION BEHAVIOR OF M_(2)N IN A HIGH-NITROGEN AUSTENITIC STAINLESS STEEL DURING ISOTHERMAL AGING

The precipitation behavior of M2N and the microstructural evolution in a Cr-Mn austenitic stainless steel with a high nitrogen content of 0.43mass% during isothermal aging has been investigated using optical microscopy （ OM）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, and transmission electron microscopy （TEM）. The aging treatments have led to the decomposition of nitrogen supersaturated austenitic matrix through discontinuous cellular precipitation. The precipitated cells comprise alternate lamellae of M2N precipitate and austenitic matrix. This kind of precipitate morphology is similar to that of pearlite. However, owing to the non-eutectoidic mechanism of the reaction, the growth characteristic of the cellular precipitates is different from that of pearlite in Fe-C binary alloys. M2N precipitate in the cell possesses a hexagonal crystal structure with the parameters a = 0.4752nm and c = 0.4429nm, and the orientation relationship between the M2V precipitates and austenite determined from the SADP is [01^-10]M2N//[101]γ, [2^-1^-10]M2N//[010]γ.

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.

Precipitates in an isothermally aged Fe-18Cr-12Mn-0.04C-0.48N high-nitrogen austenitic stainless steel

Vertical section of Fe-18Cr-12Mn-0.04C-N system phase diagram varying with nitrogen content at 1×105 Pa was calculated using Thermo-Calc software and thermodynamic database.The morphology and crystallography information of precipitates in Fe-18Cr-12Mn-0.04C-0.48N high-nitrogen austenitic stainless steel during isothermal aging at 800 ℃ after austenization was investigated using optical microscopy(OM),and transmission electron microscopy(TEM) with energy distribution spectrum(EDS).The experimental results show that three precipitates,(Cr,Fe,Mn)2(N,C),(Cr,Fe,Mn)23(C,N)6 and σ phase exist in this steel,which is consistent with the thermodynamic calculation,indicating that thermodynamic calculation can provide instructions for alloy composition design,heat treatment and prediction of precipitation sequence in Fe-18Cr-12Mn-0.04C-N system.

Influence of chemical composition and cold deformation on aging precipitation behavior of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels

The influence of chemical composition and cold deformation on aging precipitation behavior of 18Cr-16Mn-2Mo-I.IN （HNS-A）, 18Cr-16Mn-I.3N （HNS-B）, 18Cr-18Mn-2Mo-0.96N （HNS-C） and 18Cr-18Mn-2Mo-0.77N （I-INS-D） high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels was investigated. The results show that the ＂nose＂ temperatures and incubation periods of the initial time-temperature-precipitation （TTP） curves of aged HNSs are found to be 850 ℃, 60 s; 850 ℃, 45 s; 850 ℃, 60 s and 900 ℃, 90 s, respectively. Based on the analysis of SAD patterns, the coarse cellular Cr2N precipitate which presents a lamellar structure has a hexagonal structure of a=0.478 nm and c=0.444 nm. The Z phase corresponding to a composition of Fe36Cr^2Mo10, is determined to be a body-centered cubic structure ofa=0.892 nm. The precipitating sensitivity presents no more difference with the nitrogen content increasing from 0.77% to 0.96%, but exhibits so obviously that the cellular precipitates nearly overspread the whole field. The addition of Mo element can restrain the TTP curves moving left and down, which means decreasing the sensitivity of aging precipitation. With increasing the cold deformation, the sensitivity of precipitation increases obviously.

The Phenomenon of High Hardness Values on the S-Phase Layer of Austenitic Stainless Steel via Screen Plasma Nitriding Process

The purpose of this study is to improve the surface properties of austenitic stainless steel using the double-folded electrode screen plasma nitriding (SPN) process. In general, the S-phase is well-known for its excellent properties such as improved hardness and wear resistance along with sustained corrosion resistance. The concentrated nitrogen via SPN process was injected to form S-phase with time at 713 K. This study was carried out under the conditions of 44 at% of nitrogen injection, which was higher than 25 at% known as the condition of no precipitation of S-phase formed by the SPN process, and 20 K higher than the maximum temperature without precipitation phase. The hardness analysis of stainless steel sample treated by the SPN process at 713 K showed a much higher value than the typical nitriding hardness at a depth of lower nitrogen than the maximum nitrogen concentration. The SPN 20 hr treated specimen showed the average value of 2339 HV while 40 hr showed the average value of 2215 HV. The result is attributed to the concentrated nitrogen formed in the SPN process reacting with the alloying elements contained in the base material to form fine precipitates, thus producing a synergy effect of the extreme hardening effect;that is, the movement of precipitates and dislocations due to the GP-zone (Guinier-Preston zone).

Aging precipitation and recrystallization in high-nitrogen austenitic stainless steel

The interaction between precipitation and recrystallization in cold deformed Fe-18Cr-12Mn-0.48N high-nitrogen austenitic stainless steel was investigated by means of hardness test, optical microscopy (OM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show that the recrystallization of the steel begins at about 750℃ . When aging at 750℃ , the precipitation occurs prior to recrystallization. Large numbers of the second phases nucleate in dislocation, grain boundary and subgrain boundary. Precipitation of the second-phase particles hinders the formation of recrystallization nucleus.

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^-4s^-1to 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（n2and n1） 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.

Mechanical Properties and Microstructure Evolution of Cold-deformed High-nitrogen Nickel-free Austenitic Stainless Steel during Annealing

The mechanical properties and microstructure evolution of cold-deformed CrMnN austenitic stainless steel annealed in a temperature ranging from 50 ℃ to 650 ℃ for 90 min and at 550 ℃ for different time were investigated by tensile test, micro hardness test, and Transmission Electron Microscope （TEM）. The steel was strengthened when it got annealed at temperatures ranging from 100 ℃ to 550 ℃, while it was softened when it got annealed at temperatures ranging from 550 ℃ to 650 ℃. Annealing temperature had stronger effect on mechanical properties than annealing time. TEM observations showed that nano-sized precipitates formed when the steel was annealed at 150 ℃ for 90 min, but the size and density of precipitates had no noticeable change with annealing temperature and time. Recrystallization occurred when the steel was annealed at temperatures above 550 ℃ for 90 min, and its scale increased with annealing temperature. Nano-sized annealing twins were observed. The mechanisms that controlled the mechanical behaviors of the steel were discussed.

MAGNETIC PROPERTY CHANGE IN AN AUSTENITIC STAINLESS STEEL SUBJECTED TO DAMAGE AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURE-MICROSTRUCTURE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAGNETIC PROPERTY

It has been found that magnetic property changes in austenitic stainless steel subjected to creep at high temperature. The change of magnetic property is mainly due to decrease the chromium concentration in the vicinity of grain boundary and transform into martensite in the area. However this result is for short-term creep. It is necessary to evaluate the long-term creep in order to develop non-destructive technique for plants. Moreover it is important to evaluate the fatigue. The change of magnetic property for those damages at high temperatures is investigated. The transformation into martensite is observed for both the long-term creep and fatigue. The magnetic regions are observed in sever deformed area and near crack. Then the formation of magnetic phases is related to the damage. The damage at high temperature can be universally evaluated.

Welding of nickel free high nitrogen stainless steel: Microstructure and mechanical properties

High nitrogen stainless steel(HNS) is a nickel free austenitic stainless steel that is used as a structural component in defence applications for manufacturing battle tanks as a replacement of the existing armour grade steel owing to its low cost, excellent mechanical properties and better corrosion resistance.Conventional fusion welding causes problems like nitrogen desorption, solidification cracking in weld zone, liquation cracking in heat affected zone, nitrogen induced porosity and poor mechanical properties.The above problems can be overcome by proper selection and procedure of joining process. In the present work, an attempt has been made to correlate the microstructural changes with mechanical properties of fusion and solid state welds of high nitrogen steel. Shielded metal arc welding(SMAW), gas tungsten arc welding(GTAW), electron beam welding(EBW) and friction stir welding(FSW) processes were used in the present work. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction were used to characterize microstructural changes. Hardness, tensile and bend tests were performed to evaluate the mechanical properties of welds. The results of the present investigation established that fully austenitic dendritic structure was found in welds of SMAW. Reverted austenite pools in the martensite matrix in weld zone and unmixed zones near the fusion boundary were observed in GTA welds. Discontinuous ferrite network in austenite matrix was observed in electron beam welds.Fine recrystallized austenite grain structure was observed in the nugget zone of friction stir welds.Improved mechanical properties are obtained in friction stir welds when compared to fusion welds. This is attributed to the refined microstructure consisting of equiaxed and homogenous austenite grains.

Structure and sliding wear behavior of 321 stainless steel/Al composite coating deposited by high velocity arc spraying technique

A typical 321 stainless steel/aluminum composite coating (321/Al coating) was prepared by high velocity arc spraying technique (HVAS) with 321 stainless steel wire as the anode and aluminum wire as the cathode. The traditional 321 stainless steel coating was also prepared for comparison. Tribological properties of the coatings were evaluated with the ring-block wear tester under different conditions. The structure and worn surface of the coatings were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy(SEM), X-ray diffractometry(XRD) and energy dispersion spectroscopy(EDS). The results show that, except for aluminum phase addition in the 321/Al coating, no other phases are created compared with the 321 coating. However, due to the addition of aluminum, the 321/Al coating forms a type of "ductile/hard phases inter-deposited" structure and performs quite different tribological behavior. Under the dry sliding condition, the anti-wear property of 321/Al coating is about 42% lower than that of 321 coating. But under the oil lubricated conditions with or without 32 h oil-dipping pretreatment, the anti-wear property of 321/Al coating is about 9% and 5% higher than that of 321 coating, respectively. The anti-wear mechanism of the composite coating is mainly relevant to the decrease of oxide impurities and the strengthening action resulted from the "ductile/hard phases inter-deposited" coating structure.

Microstructure and pitting corrosion of shielded metal arc welded high nitrogen stainless steel

The present work is aimed at studying the microstructure and pitting corrosion behaviour of shielded metal arc welded high nitrogen steel made of Cromang-N electrode. Basis for selecting this electrode is to increase the solubility of nitrogen in weld metal due to high chromium and manganese content. Microscopic studies were carried out using optical microscopy(OM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM). Energy back scattered diffraction(EBSD) method was used to determine the phase analysis, grain size and orientation image mapping. Potentio-dynamic polarization testing was carried out to study the pitting corrosion resistance in aerated 3.5% NaCl environment using a GillAC electrochemical system. The investigation results showed that the selected Cr-Mn-N type electrode resulted in a maximum reduction in delta-ferrite and improvement in pitting corrosion resistance of the weld zone was attributed to the coarse austenite grains owing to the reduction in active sites of the austenite/delta ferrite interface and the decrease in galvanic interaction between austenite and delta-ferrite.

Effect of the heat input on microstructure and properties of submerged arc welded joint of 08Cr19MnNi3Cu2N stainless steel

SAW308L submerged arc welding wire and SJ601A submerged arc welding flux were selected to weld the 12 mm 08Cr19MnNi3Cu2N low nickel and high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel plates with three different welding heat input,and microstructure,tensile properties,microhardness and corrosion properties of the welded joints were studied.The results show that no defects are found in the three groups of welded joints,and the welded joints have better performance.The tensile strength of 08Cr19MnNi3Cu2N stainless steel welded joints with different heat input is slightly lower than that of the base metal,and fracture occurs in the weld zone,and the hardness of the weld zone is lower than that of the base metal.The weld microstructure of stainless steel welded joints with different heat input is composed of austenite+δferrite,and ferrite is uniformly distributed in austenite.With the increase of the welding heat input,the ferrite content in the weld zone decrease gradually,the grain size in the thermal affected zone increase gradually,and the impact toughness reduce.

Nano-Twinning and Martensitic Transformation Behaviors in 316L Austenitic Stainless Steel During Large Tensile Deformation

The evolutions of nano-twins and martensitic transformation in 316L austenitic stainless steel during large tensile deformation were studied by electron backscatter diffraction(EBSD)technology and transmission electron microscopy(TEM)in detail.The results show that due to the low stacking fault energy of the steel,phase transformation induced plasticity(TRIP)and twinning induced plasticity(TWIP)coexist during the tensile deformation.The deformation firstly induces the formation of deformation twins,and dislocation pile-up is caused by the reduction of the dislocation mean free path(MFP)or grain refinement due to the twin boundaries,which further induces the martensitic transformation.With the increase of tensile deformation,a large number of nano-twins andα’-martensite appear,and the width of nano-twins decreases gradually,meanwhile the frequency of the intersecting deformation twins increases.The martensitic transformation can be divided into two types:γ-austenite→α’-martensite andγ-austenite→ε-martensite.α’-martensite is mainly distributed near the twin boundaries,especially at the intersection of twins,whileε-martensite and stacking faults exist in the form of transition products between the twins and the matrix.

Effect of Grain Size on Mechanical Properties of Nickel-Free High Nitrogen Austenitic Stainless Steel

The fine grained structures of nickel-free high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels had been obtained by means of cold rolling and subsequent annealing. The relationship between microstructure and mechanical properties and gain size of nickel-free high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels was examined. High strength and good ductility of the steel were found. In the grain size range, the Hall-Petch dependency for yield stress, tensile strength, and hardness was valid for grain size ranges for the nickel-free high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel. In the present study, the ductility of cold rolled nickel-free high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel decreased with annealing time when the grain size was refined. The fracture surfaces of the tensile specimens in the grain size range were covered with dimples as usually seen in a ductile fracture mode.

Aging Precipitation Behavior of 18Cr-16Mn-2Mo-1.1N High Nitrogen Austenitic Stainless Steel and Its Influences on Mechanical Properties

The solution-treated (ST) condition and aging precipitation behavior of 18Cr-16Mn-2Mo-1.1N high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel (HNS) were investigated by optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The results show that the ST condition of 18Cr-16Mn-2Mo-1.1N HNS with wN above 1% is identified as 1100 ℃ for 90 min, followed by water quenching to make sure the secondary phases completely dissolve into austenitic matrix and prevent the grains coarsening too much. Initial time-temperature-precipitation (TTP) curve of aged 18Cr-16Mn-2Mo-1.1N HNS which starts with precipitation of 0.05% in volume fraction is defined and the 'nose' temperature of precipitation is found to be 850 ℃ with an incubation period of 1 min. Hexagonal intergranular and cellular Cr2N with a=0.478 nm and c=0.444 nm precipitates gradually increase in the isothermal aging treatment. The matrix nitrogen depletion due to the intergranular and a few cellular Cr2N precipitates induces the decay of Vickers hardness, and the increment of cellular Cr2N causes the increase in the values. Impact toughness presents a monotonic decrease and SEM morphologies show the leading brittle intergranular fracture. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS), yield strength (YS) and elongation (El) deteriorate obviously. Stress concentration occurs when the matrix dislocations pile up at the interfaces of precipitation and matrix, and the interfacial dislocations may become precursors to the misfit dislocations, which can form small cleavage facets and accelerate the formation of cracks.