Ultra-Pure Ferritic Stainless Steels-Grade,Refining Operation,and Application

The grades of ultra-pure ferritic stainless steels, especially the grades used in automobile exhaust system, were reviewed. The dependence of properties on alloying elements, the refining facilities, and the mechanism of the reactions in steel melts were described in detail. Vacuum, strong stirring, and powder injection proved to be effective technologies in the melting of ultra-pure ferritic stainless steels. The application of the ferritic grades was also briefly introduced.

Effect of cold-rolled annealing processes on microstructure and properties of ultra-pure ferritic stainless steel

In this study, the influence of annealing processes for cold-rolled sheets on the microstructure and mechanical performance of ultra-pure 430 ferritic stainless steel was investigated. Thermo-Calc calculation, organization observation, SEM detection,and tensile tests were used to discern the optimal annealing process. It is found that the microstructure is made up by the fine and uniform recrystallized ferritic grains after annealing. The optimum annealing process for ultra-pure 430 stainless steel is 950 ℃ for 90 s. After annealing, the stainless steel can obtain the optimum microstructure,recrystallization texture, and mechanical properties.

Low molybdenum ultra-pure ferritic stainless steel for solar water heaters

In order to meet the demands of service life and the synthetical performance/price ratio of stainless steel in the solar water heater industry, the low molybdenum ultra-pure ferritic stainless steel （FSS） B445J1M was developed at Baosteel. In this study, comparative studies were carried out on the mechanical properties, the formability and the corrosion resistance of B445J1M ,304 and 444 ,and the advantages and application fields of B445J1M were summarized.

Key role of niobium stabilization in ultra-pure ferritic stainless steels for construction and home-appliance applications

The beneficial effects of niobium addition on properties such as high-temperature strength, toughness, and formability of ferritic stainless steels have been addressed. Based on the Thermo-Calc analysis, precipitation of niobium carbonitride and solubility of niobium have been predicted and characterized via scanning electron microscope （SEM） and transmission electron microscope （TEM） observations. It is shown that addition of niobium has a beneficial effect on improving the high-temperature strength, toughness, formability, and corrosion resistance of ferritic stainless steel. Soluted niobium is very effective in improving the high-temperature strength, which is beneficial to reducing the sticking propensity during hot rolling. Although niobium increases the recrystallization temperature, niobium-added ferritic stainless steels show a high mean r value, or a high plastic strain ratio, as long as the annealing temperature is high enough. Furthermore, because niobium helps to inhibit the formation of chromium carbides, ferritic stainless steel can keep an effective chromium content in the matrix, leading to improved corrosion resistance. Applications of these ferritic stainless steels for construction and home appliances have also been presented.

Inclusions for Ultra-pure Ferritic Stainless Steels Containing 21% Chromium

As stabilizing elements added into ultra-pure ferritic stainless steels, niobium and titanium react with car- bon and nitrogen to form carbonitrides and have great effects on the ratio of equiaxed zone and the grain size of solidi- fication structure of ingots, which remarkably affect the quality of cold-rolled sheets. Combined with thermodynamic calculation, style and precipitation progress of inclusions in ultra-pure ferritic stainless steels were investigated by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectros- copy. The results indicate that the inclusions are mainly Ti-Al-N- O system inclusions in ultra-pure ferritic stainless steels. Al2Oa starts to precipitate firstly and then TiOx and TiN precipitates sequently. The inclusions are mainly single TiN particles and complex inclusions with Al2O3-Ti2O3 as cores and covered with TiN under the condition of 0.31% titanium addition and mainly Al2O3 under the condition of 0.01% titanium addition. A few （Nb,Ti）N parti- cles precipitate because of no enough titanium to react with nitrogen when titanium addition is 0.01 %. In addition, fine Nb（C, N） particles with size of less than 500 nm precipitate at relatively low temperature.

Characteristics of SEN clogging and adhesive behavior of oxide inclusion during continuous casting of Ti-stabilized ultra-pure ferritic stainless steels

Submerged entry nozzle(SEN)clogging during continuous casting of Ti-stabilized ultra-pure ferritic stainless(Ti-UPFS)steels was systematically investigated via cross-sectional analysis and acid dissolution treatment.The SEN deposit profile was characterized as occurring in three major layers:(1)an eroded refractory layer;(2)an initial adhesive layer comprised an Al_(2)O_(3)-ZrO_(2) composite sub-layer and a dense Al_(2)O_(3)-based deposit sub-layer;and(3)a porous multiphase deposit layer mainly consisting of MgO·Al_(2)O_(3),CaO-Al_(2)O_(3),and CaO-TiOx.The MgO·Al_(2)O_(3)-rich inclusions did not adhere directly to the eroded refractory but were entrapped during the deposit growth.Results of inclusion characterization in the tundish revealed that the MgO·Al2O3-rich particles present in the tundish served as the primary source of clogging deposits.Furthermore,a novel cavity-induced adhesion model by circular approximation was established to explain the effects of complex inclusion characteristics and refractory material type on adhesion force.A high number of small MgO·Al_(2)O_(3) inclusions were expected to accelerate the buildup of clogging deposits.Improving the modification of MgO·Al_(2)O_(3)-rich inclusions in the size range of 2-4μm by Ca treatment was crucial to minimizing the risk of SEN clogging during the continuous casting of Ti-UPFS steels.

Effects of Mg Addition on Inclusions Formation and Resultant Solidification Structure Changes of Ti-stabilized Ultra-pure Ferritic Stainless Steel

The effects of Mg addition on the formation of nonmetallic inclusions and solidification structure of Ti-sta- bilized ultra-pure ferritie stainless steels were investigated by experimentally casting ingots with different composi tions. Thermodynamic analyses on the formation of complex inclusions after adding Mg into steels were carried out combined with the scanning electron microscopy energy dispersive spectrometry （SEM EDS） analysis. And the EDS analysis showed that in steel samples with Mg addition, a new spinel crystal phase combined with AI2O3- TiOx formed. It was also found that after Mg addition, the proportions of equiaxed grain zone of 409L, 4003, 439 and 443NT steels increased from 10.2%, 21.8%, 13.4% and 18.6% to 84.3%, 92.3%, 91.1% and 100.0%, respec tively. Since the planar disregistry between spinel and TiN is 5. 1%0, spinel could promote the precipitation of TiN and increase the number density of TiN inclusions in steel melts. The mechanism of solidification structure refinement after adding Mg into steels supposed that the complex inclusions of spinel and TiN in high number density enhanced columnar-to-equiaxed transition, since the planer disregistry between δ phase and spinel is 1.4 %.

Comparison of feasibility,microstructure and performance of hybrid laser arc,activated flux tungsten inert gas and friction stir welding for thick plate of innovative ultra-pure ferritic stainless steel

An innovative grade of ferritic stainless steel,ultra-pure 18Cr–2Mo thick plate,was designed and produced for special industrial application.In order to maintain its mechanical properties after joining,three advanced joining methods,hybrid laser arc welding,activated flux tungsten inert gas welding and friction stir welding,were selected and conducted to connect the thick plates.The feasibility of three joining methods,the microstructure and mechanical properties were compared,and the results have demonstrated that the sound joint was successfully produced using the selected parameters through friction stir welding.The obtained hardness and impact toughness of the weld zone were satisfying.In terms of activated flux tungsten inert gas welding,the crack will be created due to microstructural brittleness.And as for hybrid laser arc welding,the weld zone is narrow,and the addition of wire during welding for the top weld metal area leads to higher formation ratio of low-angle grain boundaries,which is beneficial to performance of the joint.However,there is still a weak area in the fusion line of the welded joint.The result has illustrated that the welding of innovative ultra-pure ferritic stainless steel thick plate by friction stir welding is feasible.

Effect of Ni content on the weldability of middle-chromium hyperpure ferritic stainless steels 00Cr21Ti

Excellent weldability substantially contributes to the intrinsic quality of steels,while appropriate chemical composition plays a primary role in the essential weldability of steels.The poor weldability of ferritic stainless steels could be improved through modification with minor alloy elements while minimally increasing the cost.Therefore,studying the effect of minor alloy elements on the weldability of steels is of considerable importance.In this study,several steels of middle-chromium hyperpure ferritic stainless 00Cr21Ti with different Ni content(0.3%,0.5%,0.8%,and 1.0%)were developed,and their weldabilities of butt joint samples welded using the metal inert gas welding process,including the influence of welded joints on the microstructure,tensile performance,corrosion resistance,and fatigue property,were investigated.Results show that the steels with w(Ni)≥0.8%exhibit excellent mechanical properties compared with those with low-Ni content steels,further,their impact toughness at normal atmospheric temperature meets the industrial application standard and the fatigue property is similar to that of 304 austenitic stainless steel.Moreover,results show that the corrosion resistance of all the samples is almost at the same level.The results acquired in this study are supposed to be useful for the optimization of the chemical composition of stainless steels aiming to improve weldability.

Effects of asymmetric rolling process on ridging resistance of ultra-purified 17%Cr ferritic stainless steel

In ferritic stainless steels, a significant non-uniform recrystallization orientation and a substantial texture gradient usually occur, which can degrade the ridging resistance of the final sheets. To improve the homogeneity of the recrystallization orientation and reduce the texture gradient in ultra-purified 17%Cr ferritic stainless steel, in this work, we performed conventional and asymmetric rolling processes and conducted macro and micro-texture analyses to investigate texture evolution under different cold-rolling conditions. In the conventional rolling specimens, we observed that the deformation was not uniform in the thickness direction, whereas there was homogeneous shear deformation in the asymmetric rolling specimens as well as the formation of uniform recrystallized grains and random orientation grains in the final annealing sheets. As such, the ridging resistance of the final sheets was significantly improved by employing the asymmetric rolling process. This result indicates with certainty that the texture gradient and orientation inhomogeneity can be attributed to non-uniform deformation, whereas the uniform orientation gradient in the thickness direction is explained by the increased number of shear bands obtained in the asymmetric rolling process.

Effects of TiC on the microstructure and formation of acicular ferrite in ferritic stainless steel

The formation mechanism of acicular ferrite and its microstructural characteristics in 430 ferrite stainless steel with TiC additions were studied by theory and experiment.Using an"edge?to?edge matching"model,a 5.25 mismatch between TiC(FCC structure)and ferritic stainless steel(BCC structure)was identified,which met the mismatch requirement for the heterogeneous nucleation of 430 ferritic stainless steel.TiC was found to be an effective nucleation site for the formation of acicular ferrite in a smelting experiment,as analyzed by metallographic examination,Image-Pro Plus 6.0 analysis software,and SEM–EDS.Furthermore,small inclusions in the size of 2–4?m increased the probability of acicular ferrite nucleation,and the secondary acicular ferrite would grow sympathetically from the initial acicular ferrite to produce multi-dimensional acicular ferrites.Moreover,the addition of Ti C can increase the average microstrain and dislocation density of 430 ferrite stainless steel,as calculated by Williamson-Hall(WH)method,which could play some role in strengthening the dislocation.

Effect of welding parameters on the heat-affected zone of AISI409 ferritic stainless steel

One of the main problems during the welding of ferritic stainless steels is severe grain growth within the heat-affected zone （HAZ） In the present study, the microstmctural characteristics of tungsten inert gas （TIG） welded AISI409 ferritic stainless steel were investigated by electron backscattered diffraction （EBSD）, and the effects of welding parameters on the grain size, local misorientation, and low-angle grain boundaries were studied. A 3-D finite element model （FEM） was developed to predict the effects of welding parameters on the holding time of the HAZ above the critical temperature of grain growth. It is found that the base metal is not fully recrystallized. During the welding, complete recrystallization is followed by severe grain growth. A decrease in the number of low-angle grain boundaries is observed within the HAZ. FEM results show that the final state of residual sWains is caused by competition between welding plastic strains and their release by recrystallization. Still, the decisive factor for grain growth is heat input.

Effect of tin addition on the microstructure and properties of ferritic stainless steel

This article reports the effects of Sn on the inclusions as well as the mechanical properties and hot workability of ferritic stainless steel. Precipitation phases and inclusions in Sn-bearing ferritic stainless steel were observed, and the relationship between the workability and the microstructure of the steel was established. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopic analysis of the steel reveals that an almost pure Sn phase forms and MnS-Sn compound inclusions appear in the steel with a higher Sn content. Little Sn segregation was observed in grain boundaries and in the areas around sulfide inclusions;however, the presence of Sn does not adversely affect the workability of the steel con-taining 0.4wt%Sn. When the Sn content is 0.1wt%-0.4wt%, Sn improves the tensile strength and the plastic strain ratio and also improves the plasticity with increasing temperature. A mechanism of improving the workability of ferritic stainless steel induced by Sn addition was discussed：the presence of Sn lowers the defect concentration in the ultra-pure ferritic lattice and the good distribution of tin in the lattice overcomes the problem of hot brittleness that occurs in low-carbon steel as a result of Sn segregation.

Corrosion behavior of ferritic stainless steel with 15wt% chromium for the automobile exhaust system

The effect of chloride ion concentration, pH value, and grain size on the pitting corrosion resistance of a new ferritic stainless steel with 15wt% Cr was investigated using the anodic polarization method. The semiconducting properties of passive films with different chloride ion concentrations were performed using capacitance measurement and Mott-Schottky analysis methods. The aging precipitation and intergranular corrosion behavior were evaluated at 400- 900℃. It is found that the pitting potential decreases when the grain size increases. With the increase in chloride ion concentration, the doping density and the flat-bland potential increase but the thickness of the space charge layer decreases. The pitting corrosion resistance increases rapidly with the decrease in pH value. Precipitants is identified as Nb（C,N） and NbC, rather than Cr-carbide. The intergranular corrosion is attributed to the synergistic effects of Nb（C,N） and NbC precipitates and Cr segregation adjacent to the precipitates.

Interfacial Microstructure of Diffusion Bonded Inconel 738 and Ferritic Stainless Steel Couple

In this study, Inconel 738 alloy was diffusion bonded to a ferritic stainless steel. The effect of bonding temperature on the microstructural development across the joint region was investigated. Following the diffusion bonding, conventional characterization techniques such as scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, energy dispersive X-ray （EDX） and microhardness were used to examine the interracial microstructure. It was seen that bonding temperature was effective on the diffusion of Ni from Inconel 738 to ferritic stainless steel that affected the microstructure of the interface. Austenite phase was formed at the interface as a result of Ni diffusion from the Inconel 738 to the interface.

Tensile and Impact Properties of Shielded Metal Arc Welded AISI 409M Ferritic Stainless Steel Joints

The present study is concerned with the effect of filler metals such as austenitic stainless steel, ferritic stainless steel and duplex stainless steel on tensile and impact properties of the ferritic stainless steel conforming to AISI 409M grade. Rolled plates of 4 mm thickness were used as the base material for preparing single pass butt welded joints. Tensile and impact properties, microhardness, microstructure and fracture surface morphology of the joints fabricated by austenitic stainless steel, ferritic stainless steel and duplex stainless steel filler metals were evaluated and the results were reported. From this investigation, it is found that the joints fabricated by duplex stainless steel filler metal showed higher tensile strength and hardness compared to the joints fabricated by austenitic and ferritic stainless steel filler metals. Joints fabricated by austenitic stainless steel filler metal exhibited higher ductility and impact toughness compared with the joints fabricated by ferritic stainless steel and duplex stainless steel filler metals.

Activating Flux Design for Laser Weldingof Ferritic Stainless Steel

The behaviors of YAG laser welding process of ferritic stainless steel with activating fluxes were investigatedin this study. Some conventional oxides, halides and carbonates were applied in laser welding. The resultsshowed that the effect of oxides on the penetration depth was more remarkable. Most activating fluxes improved thepenetration more effectively at low power than that at high power. The uniform design was adopted to arrange theformula of multicomponent activating fluxes, showing that the optimal formula can make the penetration depth up to2.23 times as large as that without flux, including 50% ZrO2, 12.09% CaCO3, 10.43% CaO and 27.48% MgO. Throughthe high-speed photographs of welding process, CaF2 can minimize the plasma volume but slightly improve the penetrationcapability.

Effect of Cr, Mo, and Nb additions on intergranular cohesion of ferritic stainless steel: First-principles determination

Effects of Cr, Mo, and Nb on the ferritic stainless steel ]2（210） grain boundary and intragranularity are investigated using the first-principles principle. Different positions of solute atoms are considered. Structural stability is lowered by Cr doping and enhanced by Mo and Nb doping. A ranking on the effect of solute atoms enhancing the cohesive strength of the grain boundary, from the strongest to the weakest is Cr, Mo, and Nb. Cr clearly prefers to locate in the intragranular region of Fe rather than in the grain boundary, while Mo and Nb tend to segregate to the grain boundary. Solute Mo and Nb atoms possess a strong driving force for segregation to the grain boundary from the intragranular region, which increases the grain boundary embrittlement. For Mo- and Nb-doped systems, a remarkable quantity of electrons accumulate in the region close to Mo （Nb）. Therefore, the bond strength may increase. With Cr, Mo, and Nb additions, an anti-parallel island is formed around the center of the grain boundary.

Test research on sticking mechanism during hot rolling of SUS 430 ferritic stainless steel

The sticking phenomenon during hot rolling of SUS 430 ferritic stainless steel was investigated by means of a two-disc type high-temperature wear tester. The test results indicate that sticking particles on the surfaces of high chromium steel （HiCr） and high-speed steel （HSS） rolls undergo nucleation, growth, and saturation stages. Grooves on the roll surface generated by grinding provide nucleation sites for sticking particles. The number of sticking particles on the HiCr roll surface is greater than that on the HSS roll surface. The average surface roughnesses （Ra） of HiCr and HSS rolls change from 0.502 and 0.493 μm at the initial stage to 0.837 and 0.530 μm at the saturation stage, respectively. The test further proves that the sticking behavior is strongly dependent on roll materials, and the HSS roll is more benefi- cial to prevent particles sticking compared with the HiCr roll under the same hot-rolling conditions.

Application and failure evaluation of ferritic stainless steels for automotive exhaust systems

In recent years, with attention paid to global environmental problems, there have been requirements for continuous improvement of automobile fuel economy and exhaust gas purification rate. The properties of the ferritic stainless steels （FSS） used to make automobile parts have been improved. This paper introduces the construction of automotive exhaust systems and describes their main failure behaviors and corrosion evaluation procedures.