Effects of Grain Boundary Angles on Initial Deformation of 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel under Nanoindentation: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Nitrogen-containing 0Cr19Ni10 (304 NG) austenitic stainless steel plays a significant role in Generation IV reactor pressure vessels. The structure and properties of 304 NG are heavily influenced by the grain boundaries (GBs), especially the initial mechanical response and dislocation evolutions. Hence, in this paper, we carried out molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate the effects of the GB angles on the initial deformation of 304 models under nanoindentation. It is found that the GB angle has great effects on the mechanical properties of 304 NG. With the GB angles changing from 90° to 150°, the values of Young’s modulus and maximum shear stress first decrease and then increase due to decreasing of the interaction among the GBs and the grain interiors (GIs) and the smoother shape of GBs. The hardening region slope decreases rapidly result from the GB angles changing the grain size on the both sides, which fully fits the Hall–Petch relationship. After the dislocations reaching the GBs along the slip system, the dislocation piles-up on the GBs at first, and then GBs serve as a source of dislocation and emit dislocation to free surface with the depth of nanoindentation increasing. This work provides a better understanding on the angle effects of GBs in materials.

Effect of drawing and annealing on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 304 austenitic stainless steel wire

Plastic deformation at room temperature, and the proceeding heat treatments, are important processes for optimizing the microstructure and mechanical properties of austenitic stainless steel. The microstructure and mechanical properties of cold-drawn 304 austenitic stainless steel wire were investigated after annealing at 700 and 800 °C, with different times (20, 40 and 60 min) and drawing strain (0.4, 1.0 and 1.5). Electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) techniques, trans-mission electron microscope (TEM) analysis, differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and tensile tests were performed in order to study the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties during different annealing processes for the 304 austenitic stainless steel wire. The results showed that the quantity of α’ martensite and dislocations increased with an increase in the strain, which means that, while the ultimate tensile strength of the cold-drawn wires elevated, the elongation reduced. The mechanical properties of stainless steel wires also varied with the evolution of martensite transformation characteristics, density of stacking fault, dislocation and twin, as well as the recrystallization degree under various annealing conditions. The recrystalli-zation temperature of steel wire was mainly determined by the magnitude of the strain, while the martensite reversal temperature was determined by the stacking fault energy and the de-formation value. The temperature of recrystallization and martensite reverse in steel wire de-creased with the increment of the strain. The balance of tensile strength and elongation of steel wire can be obtained by adopting the proper annealing process combined with cold-drawing deformation. In this paper, we showed that a good combination of strength and elongation in 304 austenitic stainless steel can be obtained with a strain of 1.5 annealed at 800 °C for 20 min.

Superior Strength and Ductility of 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel with Gradient Dislocations

Materials with designed gradient nanograins exhibit unprecedented mechanical properties, such as superior strength and ductility. In this study, a heterostructured 304 stainless steel with solely gradient dislocation structure (GDS) in micron-sized grains produced by cyclic-torsion processing was demonstrated to exhibit a substantially improved yield strength with slightly reduced uniform elongation, compared with its coarse grained counterparts. Microstructural observations reveal that multiple deformation mechanisms, associated with the formation of dense dislocation patterns, deformation twins and martensitic phase, are activated upon straining and contribute to the delocalized plastic deformation and the superior mechanical performance of the GDS 304 stainless steel.

OUTOKUMPU MODA 430/4016

OUTOKUMPU MODA 430/4016 is a 16% chromium ferritic stainless steel that combines good mechanical properties with good corrosion resistance and heat and oxidation resistance up to 815 °C (1500 °F). It is the most commonly used ferritic stainless steel grade and can be used to replace type 304 austenitic stainless steel in certain applications. It is best suited for mildly corrosive environments. This datasheet provides information on composition, physical properties, hardness, elasticity, and tensile properties. It also includes information on corrosion resistance as well as forming, heat treating, machining, and joining. Filing Code: SS-1340. Producer or source: Outokumpu Oyj.

Interface Formation and Bonding Mechanisms of Laser Welding of PMMA Plastic and 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel

Laser welding experiments involving amorphous thermoplastic polymer (PMMA) and 304 austenitic stainless steel plates were conducted to explore the influence of laser welding process parameters on plastic–metal joints. A high-speed camera was applied to record the dynamics of the molten pool and the formation of bubbles to reveal the bonding mechanisms of the hybrid joints. The influence of process parameters on the joints was analyzed using temperature measurements performed with thermocouples. The microstructure morphology of joints was observed using SEM. The mechanical characterization of the hybrid joints was carried out to understand the effect of the welding conditions on the weld morphology, flaws and shear stress. Different interface temperatures resulted in two types of bubbles and led to different weld morphology characteristics. A stable hybrid joint with the best shear stress was produced with a laser line energy of 20.16 J/mm2, a temperature of 305 °C and small bubbles. The shear stress of the effective joint under the maximum mechanical resistance was 4.17 MPa. The chemical bonds (M-O, M-C) and mechanical anchoring that formed on the steel’s surface contributed to the joint bonding. Range analysis provided guidance for identifying the impact of individual factors in the shear stress for the laser welding of plastic–metal.