Restoration Mechanism and Sub-Structural Characteristics of Duplex Stainless Steel with an Initial Equiaxed Austenite Morphology during Post-Deformation Annealing

Uni-axial compression (UAC) tests and further post deformation annealing (PDA) were done for 23Cr-6Ni-3Mo duplex stainless steel (DSS). The initial morphology was equiaxed (EQ) in nature. In the first stage of PDA, austenite showed limited static recrystallization (SRX) followed by static recovery (SRV); however ferrite showed static recovery (SRV). In the second stage of PDA, the austenite showed grain coarsening followed by disintegration of substructures (DIS); and ferrite revealed mostly SRV leading to grain coarsening. The third stage of PDA envisages substructural disintegration of unstable substructure leading to saturation in both austenite and ferrite. The sub-structural characteristics were provided by Electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) and its post processing were done by using HKL Channel 5 software.

Precipitation Criterion for Inhibiting Austenite Grain Coarsening during Carburization of Al-Containing 20Cr Gear Steels

AlN precipitates are frequently adopted to pin the austenite grain boundaries for the high-temperature carburization of special gear steels. For these steels, the grain coarsening criterion in the carburizing process is required when encountering the composition optimization for the crack-sensitive steels. In this work, the quantitative influence of the Al and N content on the grain size after carburization is studied through pseudocarburizing experiments based on 20Cr steel. According to the grain structure feature and the kinetic theory, the abnormal grain growth is demonstrated as the mode of austenite grain coarsening in carburization. The AlN precipitate, which provides the dominant pinning force, is ripened in this process and the particle size can be estimated by the Lifshitz−Slyosov−Wagner theory. Both the mass fraction and the pinning strength of AlN precipitate show significant influence on the grain growth behavior with the critical values indicating the grain coarsening. These criteria correspond to the conditions of abnormal grain growth when bearing the Zener pinning, which has been analyzed by the multiple phase-field simulation. Accordingly, the models to predict the austenite grain coarsening in carburization were constructed. The prediction is validated by the additional experiments, resulting in accuracies of 92% and 75% for the two models, respectively. Finally, one of the models is applied to optimize the Al and N contents of commercial steel.

Pulse Electrodeposited Ni-26 at. %Mo—A Crossover from Nanocrystalline to Amorphous

A Ni-26 at. %Mo alloy with a composite structure of nanocrystalline and amorphous was synthesized by pulse electrodeposition. The composite structure was composed of mixed regions of amorphous and nanograins divided by a nanocrystalline interface network, which significantly suppressed grain coarsening and shear banding that would otherwise deteriorate mechanical properties of extremely fine nanograined metal. Plastic strain induced significant crystallization accompanied by Mo diffusion from mixed regions to nanograined interfaces. As a result, the Ni-26 at. %Mo alloy exhibited a superior hardness to its nanograined counterparts. The present work demonstrates an example of enhancing mechanical performance with hybrid structures crossover from nanocrystalline to amorphous.