Electromagnetic responses on microstructures of duplex stainless steels based on 3D cellular and electromagnetic sensor finite element models

Microstructures determine mechanical properties of steels,but in actual steel product process it is difficult to accurately control the microstructure to meet the requirements.General microstructure characterization methods are time consuming and results are not rep-resentative for overall quality level as only a fraction of steel sample was selected to be examined.In this paper,a macro and micro coupled 3D model was developed for nondestructively characterization of steel microstructures.For electromagnetic signals analysis,the relative permeability value computed by the micro cellular model can be used in the macro electromagnetic sensor model.The effects of different microstructure components on the relative permeability of duplex stainless steel(grain size,phase fraction,and phase distribu-tion)were discussed.The output inductance of an electromagnetic sensor was determined by relative permeability values and can be val-idated experimentally.The findings indicate that the inductance value of an electromagnetic sensor at low frequency can distinguish dif-ferent microstructures.This method can be applied to real-time on-line characterize steel microstructures in process of steel rolling.

Progress in weldability research of duplex stainless steels

Duplex stainless steels(DSSs)show better corrosion resistance with higher strength than traditional austenite stainless steels in many aggressive environments,and can be welded properly with almost every welding processes,if proper heat input is provided.Progresses of research works on weldability of DSSs in recent years are reviewed in this paper.Balance control of ferrite/austenite phases is most important for DSSs welding.The phases balance can be controlled with filler materials,nitrogen addition in shielding gas,heat input,post weld heat treatment,and alternating magnetic field.Too high cooling rate results in not only extra ferrite,but also chromium nitride precipitation.While too low cooling rate or heating repeatedly results in precipitation of secondary austenite and intermetallic compounds.In both situations,mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of the DSS joints deteriorate.Recommended upper and lower limits of heat input and maximum interpass temperature should be observed.

Hot deformation behavior of microstructural constituents in a duplex stainless steel during high-temperature straining

The hot deformation characteristics of 1.4462 duplex stainless steel （DSS） were analyzed by considering strain partitioning between austenite and ferrite constituents. The individual behavior of ferrite and austenite in microstructure was studied in an iso-stress condition. Hot compression tests were performed at temperatures of 800-1100~C and strain rates of 0.001-1 s-1. The flow stress was modeled by a hyperbolic sine constitutive equation, the corresponding constants and apparent activation energies were determined for the studied alloys. The constitutive equation and law of mixture were used to measure the contribution factor of each phase at any given strain. It is found that the contribution factor of ferrite exponentially declines as the Zener-HoUomon parameter （Z） increases. On the contrary, the austenite contribution polynomially increases with the increase of Z. At low Z values below 2.6. x 1015 （lnZ---35.5）, a negative contribution factor is determined for austenite that is attributed to dynamic recrystallization. At high Z values, the contribution factor of austenite is about two orders of magnitude greater than that of ferrite, and therefore, austenite can accommodate more strain. Microstructural characterization via electron back-scattered diffraction （EBSD） confirms the mechanical results and shows that austenite recrystallization is possible only at high temperature and low strain rate.

Effect of Temperature and Cl^- Concentration on Pitting of 2205 Duplex Stainless Steel

The electrochemical behaviors of 2205 duplex stainless steel in NaCl solution with different temperatures and concentrations were studied by gravimetric tests, potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The experinental results show that temperature and chloride concentration have a great influence on the pitting resistance of 2205 duplex stainless steels. They not only effect the corrosion rate of pitting, but also change the shape of the pits. When NaCl solution was in low concentration and temperature below the critical pitting temperature, pits were very small and scattered with hemisphere-like shape. On the contrary, the pits of 2205 duplex stainless steel were large and sometimes had a lacy cover when the NaCl concentration was higher and the temperature was 70℃.

Optimization of process parameters of the activated tungsten inert gas welding for aspect ratio of UNS S32205 duplex stainless steel welds

The activated TIG(ATIG) welding process mainly focuses on increasing the depth of penetration and the reduction in the width of weld bead has not been paid much attention.The shape of a weld in terms of its width-to-depth ratio known as aspect ratio has a marked influence on its solidification cracking tendency.The major influencing ATIG welding parameters,such as electrode gap,travel speed,current and voltage,that aid in controlling the aspect ratio of DSS joints,must be optimized to obtain desirable aspect ratio for DSS joints.Hence in this study,the above parameters of ATIG welding for aspect ratio of ASTM/UNS S32205 DSS welds are optimized by using Taguchi orthogonal array(OA)experimental design and other statistical tools such as Analysis of Variance(ANOVA) and Pooled ANOVA techniques.The optimum process parameters are found to be 1 mm electrode gap,130 mm/min travel speed,140 A current and 12 V voltage.The aspect ratio and the ferrite content for the DSS joints fabricated using the optimized ATIG parameters are found to be well within the acceptable range and there is no macroscopically evident solidification cracking.

Mechanism of hot-rolling crack formation in lean duplex stainless steel 2101

The thermoplasticity of duplex stainless steel 2205（DSS2205） is better than that of lean duplex steel 2101（LDX2101）, which undergoes severe cracking during hot rolling. The microstructure, microhardness, phase ratio, and recrystallization dependence of the deformation compatibility of LDX2101 and DSS2205 were investigated using optical microscopy（OM）, electron backscatter diffraction（EBSD）, Thermo-Calc software, and transmission electron microscopy（TEM）. The results showed that the phase-ratio transformations of LDX2101 and DSS2205 were almost equal under the condition of increasing solution temperature. Thus, the phase transformation was not the main cause for the hot plasticity difference of these two steels. The grain size of LDX2101 was substantially greater than that of DSS2205, and the microhardness difference of LDX2101 was larger than that of DSS2205. This difference hinders the transfer of strain from ferrite to austenite. In the rolling process, the ferrite grains of LDX2101 underwent continuous softening and were substantially refined. However, although little recrystallization occurred at the boundaries of austenite, serious deformation accumulated in the interior of austenite, leading to a substantial increase in hardness. The main cause of crack formation is the microhardness difference between ferrite and austenite.

Influence of hot rolling on the microstructure of lean duplex stainless steel 2101

In this work, the microstructure and the strain partitioning of lean duplex stainless steel 2101 (LDX 2101) during different hot-rolling processes are investigated by optical microscopy and electron-backscattered diffraction (EBSD). The results show that the LDX 2101 exhibits poor thermoplasticity at high temperature. The four-pass hot-rolled plates show fewer edge-cracking defects and superior thermoplasticity compared with the two-pass hot-rolled plates prepared at different temperature. The phase boundary is the weakest site in the LDX 2101. The cracks are initiated and propagated along the phase boundaries during the hot-rolling process. According to the EBSD analysis, the increase of the hot-rolling pass can dramatically improve the strain distribution in ferrite and austenite phases and promote the strain transmission in the constituent phases, thereby improving the coordinated deformation ability of the two phases. This effect further in- creases the thermoplasticity and reduces the formation of edge cracks in LDX 2101.

Welding of 2205 duplex stainless steel natural gas pipeline

There are abundant natural gas resources in western China, but many oil and gas fields are rich in chloridion, sulfureted hydrogen, carbon dioxide and other corrosive medium, which have strong corrosivity to pipeline. One gas field possesses abundant natural gas with great pressure, and the chloridion concentration in the water separated from gas is about 10% , so the medium has great corrosivity. In order to ensure the safety of the pipeline, about 13 km length pipeline and the internal pipes of a gas treatment plant that purifies gas about 12 billion cubic meter a year are made of 2205 duplex stainless steel （2205 DSS ） . 2205 DSS has many characteristics in welding with complex welding process; and because of high quality requirements for the construction of natural gas pipeline and restriction of on-site conditions, the site welding is very difficult. Around the engineering application, a large number of experimental researches have been carried out on the material microstructure, properties and weldability. Finally welded joints which conform to the requirements of standard are obtained, contributing to the first large-scale application of this material in the field of oil and gas pipelines. Considering the engineering application and the latest research development, the welding and key factors affecting the joint properties of 2205 DSS pipes are summarized and analyzed.

Effect of Heat Sink and Cooling Mediums on Ferrite Austenite Ratio and Distortion in Laser Welding of Duplex Stainless Steel 2205

In order to control the ferrite and austenite percentage in duplex stainless steel welding, many researchers try to change the laser welding parameters and cooling medium, but ignore to study the influence of heat sink effect on weld strength. In this work, the effect of aluminium heat sink and varying cooling medium on the laser welding of duplex stainless steel (DSS) 2205 is studied. The 2 mm thick DSS sheets welded with pulsed Nd: YAG laser welding machine by varying the cooling medium (air and oil) and an aluminium plate used as a heat sink. The welded specimens tested for tensile strength, micro-hardness, distortion, microstructure and radiography analysis. The faster cooling rate in the oil quenching process enhances the ferrite percentage compared with air-cooled samples. But the faster cooling rate in oil quenching leads to more distortion and using aluminium as a heat sink influenced positively the distortion to a small extent. The lower cooling rate in air quenching leads to a higher tensile strength of the welded specimen. The objective of this work is to analyse experimentally the effect of cooling medium and heat sink in the mechanical and metallurgical properties of laser welded duplex stainless steel.

Hot Deformation Behavior of an As-cast Duplex Stainless Steel

The hot deformation behavior of an as-cast OCrl7Mnl4Mo2N duplex stainless steel has been studied by hot compression test at the temperature range from 1000℃ to 1200℃, and the strain rates are 0.1 s-1, 1 s-1 and 5 s-1, respectively. It was found that during hot deformation there is only dynamic recovery taking place within the δ-ferrite phase, but the γ-austenite phase undergoes dynamic recrystallization. The activation energy of the steel for hot compression is estimated to be 480 kJ/mol.

Electrochemical Corrosion Behavior of the Laser Continuous Heat Treatment Welded Joints of 2205 Duplex Stainless Steel

The electrochemical corrosion behaviors of the welded joints of 2205 duplex stainless steel with the laser continuous heat treatment were investigated. The secondary austenite formation is the outcome of thermodynamic equilibrium breach of the alloy during heat treatment and the result of the continuous heat treatment which has the most important effect on the weld material. The partitioning behaviors of chromium and molybdenum as well as the volume fraction of ferrite and austenite have a remarkable influence on the composition of the individual phase. Mechanical examination of the laser trated weld demonstrates that the tensile strength and yield strength increase with increasing the amount of the secondary austenite. It is shown that the ultimate tensile strength of the 6 kW laser-treated weld is higher about 20 MPa than no heat treatment weld and the ductility can be further improved without compromising strength. The results indicate that the welding alters the corrosion behavior because of different post heat treatment power and the broad active peak is not identified which is attributed to the dissolution of the secondary austenitic in the ferrite phase. It is indicated that pitting resistance equivalent （PRE） values of base metal and 6 kW weld are higher than that of other welds; base metal is 33.7, 6 kW weld 33.3, no treatment 32.4, 4 kW weld 32.8, 8 kW weld 32.5. The extent of corrosion resistance improvement after reheating treatment is mainly caused by the removal of nitrogen from ferritic regions, which occurred as a consequence of secondary austenite growth.

Influence of isothermal aging onσprecipitation in super duplex stainless steel

The time-temperature-transformation （TTT） curve of the 00Cr25Ni7Mo4N duplex stainless steel was obtained with a Formastor-digital thermal dilatometer, and the influence of isothermal aging on o precipitation was studied by metallographic observation, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, and transmission electron microscopy （TEM）. The results show that the decomposition of ferrite phase is accompanied by the formation of σ phase at 750-1000℃, especially in the range of 800-900℃. The longer the aging time, the higher the amount of o precipi- tation. The area fxaction of various phases remains at a certain value upon the completion of ferrite deformation. The temperature of 850℃ is the most sensitive transaction temperature, the incubation time for the formation of o precipitation is less than 1 min, and aging for 20 min leads to the complete transformation of ferrite. The o phase is formed preferentially at the α/α/γjunction, and then grows along the α/α boundary in the matrix.

The development and design of the repair welding procedure of the thick wall duplex stainless steel piping

In this paper,the performance characteristics of ASTM A790 S31803 and ASTM A182 F51 duplex stainless steel were introduced,and the weldabilities were analyzed. The welding repair procedures of thick wall duplex stainless steel were developed by welding procedure qualification. Research shows that the repair welding has less effect on mechanical properties of welded joint, and great influence on phase proportions and pitting corrosion resistance. The test results meet the requirements of project specifications. The repair welding procedure can be used in project,and only one time repair shall be used.

Comparison of explosive welding of pure titanium/SUS 304 austenitic stainless steel and pure titanium/SUS 821L1 duplex stainless steel

Pure commercial titanium was welded with two types of stainless steel,namely SUS 304 austenitic stainless steel and SUS 821L1 duplex stainless steel.The wavy interface of SUS 821L1 was smaller than that of SUS 304.The vortex zone was observed from both longitudinal and transverse directions,and its composition was analyzed.The interface of Ti/SUS 821L11 was able to bear 401−431 MPa shear load while that of Ti/SUS 304 could withstand 352−387 MPa.The weldability window was used to analyze experimental phenomenon.Furthermore,the smoothed particle hydrodynamics(SPH)numerical simulation method was used to simulate the wavy interface.The trend of wavelength and amplitude change with strength and the stand-offs was consistent with the experimental results.

Effect of cooling rate and forced convection on as-cast structure of 2205 duplex stainless steel

To forecast the as-cast structure and ferrite-austenite phase ratio of 2205 duplex stainless steel(DSS), the effects of cooling rate and forced convection were observed in a high-vacuum resistance furnace in which the forced convection was created by the rotation of the crucible. The as-cast structure of all 2205 DSS samples is full equiaxed grains, and the microstructure consists of a great amount of desirable intra-granular austenite inside the continuous ferrite grain matrix, besides Widmanstatten austenite and grain boundary austenite. The ferrite grain size decreases gradually with the increase in the cooling rates(20 to 60 oC·min-1) or the forced convection, while the ferrite grains of the samples solidified with a strong convection are barely changed when the cooling rate is below 50 oC·min-1. Moreover, a small grain size is beneficial for the austenite formation but the influence is not very obvious under the cooling rates in the range of 5 to 50 oC·min-1. Compared with grain size, the cooling rate has a greater influence on the final ferrite content. A model based on the experimental results is established to predict the ferrite content, which could be approximated by δ(%) = 20.5·exp(c/80.0) + 0.34 d +34.1, where cis the cooling rate in oC·min-1 and d is the grain size in mm. By using this model, the dependence of the final ferrite content on cooling rate and grain size is well described.

Effect of sigma phase precipitation on microstructure and properties of cast ZG0Cr26Ni5Mo3Cu3 duplex stainless steel under different heat treatments

ZG0Cr26Ni5Mo3Cu3 Duplex Stainless Steel （DSS） was solution treated at 1,060 ℃ for 3 h,followed by water cooling. Tempering treatments were conducted at 720, 750 and 780 ℃, respectively, for 16 h,followed by air cooling. The microstructures of ZG0Cr26Ni5Mo3Cu3 duplex stainless steel samples treated at different tempering temperatures were observed by scanning electron microscope （SEM） and energy dispersal spectroscopy （EDS）, and the phase consitutions were analyzed using X-ray diffraction （XRD）. The effects of the precipitation of sigma （σ） phase on the duplex phase percentage, hardness, impact toughness and corrosion resistance of the DSS were studied. Results showed that microstructures of ZG0Cr26Ni5Mo3Cu3 after solution treatment consists of ferrite （α） phase and austenite （γ） phase; after being tempered at different temperatures,σ phase appeared due to a eutectoid-type reaction of α→σ＋γ2 during tempering treatment. It was observed that σ phase distributed along the grain boundary. The volume fraction of σ and γ phases increased with increasing tempering temperature in the range of 720 to 780 oC, whereas the volume fraction of α phase showed the opposite trend. When the percentage of σ phase increased, the hardness of steel also increased. In the solution treated steel, hardness was measured to be only 244.0 HB, because σ phase did not appear. However, itincreased to 391.8 HB when the DSS was tempered at 780 oC because a great of deal of σ phase appeared. The impact toughness and corrosion resistance of DSS decreased when the percentage of σ phase increased.

Effect of cooling rate on solidification structure and linear contraction of a duplex stainless steel

Cooling rate is a key factor that can drastically affect the phase transformation and thermal stress of duplex stainless steels. Therefore, in this research, different sand moulds were used to explore the influence of cooling rate on the solidification of the 2304 duplex stainless steel (DSS). The macro and micro structures of the 2304 DSS were investigated. Small equiaxed grains are obtained in chromite sand mould sample with a lower pouring temperature and a higher cooling rate, whereas coarse columnar and equiaxed grains are found in silica sand and refractory powder mould samples. The size of austenite phase is significantly increased with decreasing cooling rate, while the ferrite phase content ranging from 51.6% to 53.9% does not change obviously. In addition, the linear contraction of the 2304 DSS decreases from 2.34% to 1.09% when the mean cooling rate above 1,173 K increases from 0.99 K·s-1 to 3.66 K·s-1.

Electrochemical extraction and the analysis of inter-metallic phases and nitrides in tempered duplex stainless steels

During aging at a temperature ranging from 650 -950 ℃,the ferric matrix in duplex stainless steels undergoes various decomposition processes which could form the precipitates of the Sigma （σ） and Chi （X） phases, as well as nitrides. It is well known that these precipitates lead to a reduction in creep ductility and adversely affect toughness and corrosion properties of steel. This experiment carded out qualitative and quantitative analyses of intermetallic phases and nitrides and established an analytical procedure, including specimen preparation, the choosing of the electrolyte and electrolytic systems,electrolytic isolation,wet chemical separation, and physical and chemical analysis, etc. The residues were collected by ultrasonic cleaning and filtration after galvanostatic electrolysis. Dynamic laser scattering sizer （DLS- sizer） ,scanning electron microscope （SEM） and transmission electron microscope （TEM） were used to examine their structure,modality and size. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed by using X-ray diffraction （XRD）, oxygen-nitrogen analyzer and wet chemical analysis. Furthermore, there is a discussion on the effect of isothermal treatment on precipitation that occurs at different temperatures for different periods of time.

The comparison of multi-layer narrow-gap laser and arc welding of S32101 duplex stainless steel

Multi-layer narrow-gap welding of thick S32101 duplex stainless steel was conducted using laser welding with beam wobble process.The phase transition,grain size,phase proportion and crystal texture of welded joint were also studied and compared with gas metal arc welding process.The microhardness and tensile strength were measured and fracture surface was analyzed to evaluate the mechanical properties of welded joints.The results showed that beam wobble technology improved the misalignment of laser beam and filler wire in narrow groove and helped to avoid incomplete fusion defects.Compared to arc welding process,the groove size and heat input were reduced,while welding efficiency was increased.The faster cooling rate and lower temperature gradient of laser wobble welding favored grain refinement,while the austenite content in weld zone decreased.Both the beam wobble and swing arc were conducive to stir weld pool,optimizing the weld microstructure and joint formation.The microstructural variance in various weld passes was caused by the heat input and heat dissipation ability.The microhardness of laser welded joint was lower,while the tensile strength and elongation percentage were higher.The fracture surface of arc welded joint was featured with shallower dimples and cleavage steps.

Improving pulsed laser weldability of duplex stainless steel to 5456 aluminum alloy via friction stir process reinforcing of aluminum by BNi-2 brazing alloy

Effects of laser pulse distance and reinforcing of 5456 aluminum alloy were investigated on laser weldability of Al alloy to duplex stainless steel (DSS) plates. The aluminum alloy plate was reinforced by nickel-base BNi-2 brazing powder via friction stir processing. The DSS plates were laser welded to the Al5456/BNi-2 composite and also to the Al5456 alloy plates. The welding zones were studied by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometry, micro-hardness and shear tests. The weld interface layer became thinner from 23 to 5 μm, as the laser pulse distance was increased from 0.2 to 0.5 mm. Reinforcing of the Al alloy modified the phases at interface layer from Al-Fe intermetallic compounds (IMCs) in the DSS/Al alloy weld, to Al-Ni-Fe IMCs in the DSS/Al composite one, since more nickel was injected in the weld pool by BNi-2 reinforcements. This led to a remarkable reduction in crack tendency of the welds and decreased the hardness of the interface layer from ~950 HV to ~600 HV. Shear strengths of the DSS/Al composite welds were significantly increased by ~150%, from 46 to 114 MPa, in comparison to the DSS/Al alloy ones.