Localization of Plastic Deformation in the Copper and Stainless Steels Samples, Irradiated with Neutrons

The reduction of ductility of austenitic stainless steels as a result of long-term operation in the nuclear reactor core is an important problem of modern radiation materials science. Understanding the mechanisms of the effect of neutron irradiation on the mechanical properties of austenitic steels is impossible without research of localization processes occurring during the deformation. In this paper, it was found that the value of the true local deformation corresponding to the onset of neck formation in face-centered cubic structured metals decreases with an increase in the radiation dose, while the true stress remains almost constant. Additional hardening of AISI 304 steel due to the intensive formation of the martensitic α’-phase increases not only the stress at which a neck is formed in this alloy, but also the true local deformation. As a result, the uniform elongation increases and remains high after neutron irradiation to 0.05 dpa. The forehanded formation of the martensitic α’-phase in sufficient quantity before the necking onset can be considered as an additional deformation mechanism that will increase the ability of the material to deform uniformly.

Effect of Multistage High Temperature Thermomechanical Treatment on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Austenitic Reactor Steel

The deformation microstructures formed by novel multistage high-temperature thermomechanical treatment (HTMT) and their effect on the mechanical properties of austenitic reactor steel are investigated. It is shown that HTMT with plastic deformation at the temperature decreasing in each stage (1100, 900, and 600 °C with a total strain degree of e = 2) is an effective method for refining the grain structure and increasing the strength of the reactor steel. The structural features of grains, grain boundaries and defective substructure of the steel are studied in two sections (in planes perpendicular to the transverse direction and perpendicular to the normal direction) by Scanning Electron Microscopy with Electron Back-Scatter Diffraction (SEM EBSD) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). After the multistage HTMT, a fragmented structure is formed with grains elongated along the rolling direction and flattened in the rolling plane. The average grain size decreases from 19.3 µm (for the state after solution treatment) to 1.8 µm. A high density of low-angle boundaries (up to ≈ 80%) is found inside deformed grains. An additional cold deformation (e = 0.3) after the multistage HTMT promotes mechanical twinning within fragmented grains and subgrains. The resulting structural states provide high strength properties of steel: the yield strength increases up to 910 MPa (at 20 °C) and up to 580 MPa (at 650 °C), which is 4.6 and 6.1 times higher than that in the state after solution treatment (ST), respectively. The formation of deformed substructure and the influence of dynamic strain aging at an elevated tensile temperature on the mechanical properties of the steel are discussed. Based on the results obtained, the multistage HTMT used in this study can be applied for increasing the strength of austenitic steels.

Cold Gas Spraying of Solution-Hardened 316L Grade Stainless Steel Powder

Austenitic steels are characterized by their outstanding corrosion resistance. They are therefore suitable for a wide range of surface protection requirements. The application potential of these stainless steels is often limited by their poor wear resistance. In the field of wrought alloys, interstitial surface hardening has become established for simultaneously acting surface stresses. This approach also offers great potential for improvement in the field of coating technology. The hardening of powder feedstock materials promises an advantage in the treatment of large components and also as a repair technology. In this work, the surface hardening of AISI 316L powder and its processing by thermal spraying is presented. A partial formation of the metastable expanded austenitic phase was observed for the powder particles by low-temperature gas nitrocarburizing. The successful deposition was demonstrated by cold gas spraying. The amount of expanded austenitic phase within the coating structure strongly depends on the processing conditions. Microstructure, corrosion and wear behavior were studied. Process diagnostic methods were used to validate the results.

Hot Wear of Single Phase fcc Materials—Influence of Temperature, Alloy Composition and Stacking Fault Energy

The severe sliding abrasion of single-phase metallic materials is a complex issue with a gaining importance in industrial applications. Different materials with different lattice structures react distinctly to stresses, as the material reaction to wear of counter and base body is mainly determined by the deformation behavior of the base body. For this reason, fcc materials in particular are investigated in this work because, as shown in previous studies, they exhibit better hot wear behavior than bcc materials. In particular, three austenitic steels are investigated, with pure Ni as well as Ni20Cr also being studied as benchmark materials. This allows correlations to be worked out between the hot wear of the material and their microstructural parameters. For this reason, wear tests are carried out, which are analyzed on the basis of the wear characteristics and scratch marks using Electron Backscatter Diffraction. X-ray experiments at elevated temperatures were also carried out to determine the microstructural parameters. It was found that the stacking fault energy, which influences the strain hardening potential, governs the hot wear behavior at elevated temperatures. These correlations can be underlined by analysis of the wear affected cross section, where the investigated materials have shown clear differences.

Features of Acoustic Emission in Tensile Testing of Dissimilar Welded Joints of Pearlitic and Austenitic Steels

This paper presents a study of acoustic emission (AE) during the deformation of dissimilar welded joints of austenitic steel to pearlitic steel. One of the specific problems in these welded joints is the presence of decarburized and carbide diffusion interlayers, which intensively increase in width during long-term high-temperature operation. The presence of wide interlayers negatively affects the mechanical properties of welded joints. Moreover, welded defects are difficult to diagnose in welded joints containing interlayers: due to the high structural heterogeneity, interlayers create structural noises that can hinder the detection of defects such as cracks, pores, or a lack of penetration. The AE method may become a complex decision for diagnosing dissimilar welded joints due to applicability to the testing of heterogenic materials with a complex microstructure. Specimens cut from dissimilar welded joints of austenitic steel to pearlitic steel were tested by tension to rupture, with parallel AE data registration. According to the research results, the characteristic features of the AE were revealed for specimens containing defects in the form of lack of penetration as well as for specimens with diffusion interlayers. The results obtained show that the AE method can be used to test both typical welding defects and diffusion interlayers in welded joints of steels of different structural classes.

Structural and mechanical properties of stainless steel formed under conditions of layer-by-layer fusion of a wire by an electron beam

Introduction. As of today, additive technologies are among the most promising methods to manufacture various parts. They allow producing parts of complex shapes and provide their quality structure. The quality of the structure formed depends on numerous parameters: equipment type, its operation mode, materials, shielding medium, etc. Large international companies producing 3D-printers provide technological guidelines for working on it. Such guidelines include the information on the manufacturers of raw materials (printing powders), products their equipment can work with and the operation modes that should be used with such powders. These parameters should be investigated to use it on the domestic equipment developed within the framework of research programs and import substitution programs. The researchers and developers of 3D-printing equipment frequently run into a problem of using currently available raw materials for obtaining parts possessing minimal porosity, uniform structure and mechanical properties similar to that of at least cast blanks. One of the widely used materials for 3D-printing is stainless steel. It has high corrosion resistance, which reduces the requirements to the medium in which 3D printing is carried out. Manufactured stainless steel products have a good combination of strength and plastic characteristics. The aim of the study is to obtain stainless steel specimens possessing minimal number of micro- and macro-defects and uniform structure by the method of wire arc additive manufacturing using an electron-beam setup developed at Tomsk Polytechnic University. The methods to study the AISI 308LSi stainless steel 3D-printed specimens are as follows: XRD analysis, tomography, chemical analysis, metallographic analysis, microhardness testing. Results and discussion. It is established that the AISI 308LSi stainless steel specimens manufactured using the electron-beam 3D-printing setup contain no macro-defects in the bulk of the specimens. There are small microdefects represented by residual gas pores with the dimensions of no more than 5.2 μm. The microstructure of the specimens is formed close to that of coarse-grained cast austenite steels and consists of columnar grains of the γ-Fe austenite matrix and high-temperature ferrite. The interfaces between the wire layers are not pronounced; however, there are small differences in phase composition. Based on the analysis of the results obtained, it is established that the use of electron-beam 3D-printing for the manufacture of parts from AISI 308LSi steel gives a structure similar to cast austenitic steels. Macro-defects do not appear, and the number of gas pores is small.

Выявление магнитной анизотропии в аустенитной хромоникелевой стали после прокатки

Investigations of texture, phase composition and magnetic anisotropy in rolled samples of austenitic steel 09Kh17N5Yu were carried out. It has been shown that the method of magnetic nondestructive testing using measuring of magnetic fields from locally magnetized areas is sensitive to anisotropy of magnetic permeability. Anisotropy of magnetic properties is related to formation of mechanical rolling texture. FCC rolling texture {110}<111> was found in all the rolled samples. Rolling texture, common for BCC structure (strain-induced martensite in low-carbon austenitic steels), developed in the samples with 30% of deformation or higher. Formation of ferromagnetic strain-induced martensite in austenitic steel 09Kh17N5Yu was confirmed by magnetic force microscopy.

Preliminary Studies on Rare Elements Addition and Effect on Oxidation Behaviour of Pack Cementation Coatings Deposited on Variety of Steels at High Temperature

The aim of the paper was to investigate the air oxidation behaviour of pack aluminised steels exposed at 650 °C for 1000 h in static natural air atmosphere. The pack coatings were doped by rare elements such as gadolinium (Gd), cerium oxide (CeO2), and lanthanum (La) in order to enhance the corrosion resistance and plasticity of the deposited layers. In this work, the following steels were used: 16M, T91, VM12, Super 304H, and finally SANICRO25. The results indicated a much higher corrosion resistance in the coated 16M, T91, and VM12 steels; the steels with a higher Cr content than 16 wt % Cr indicated a better behaviour in the uncoated state than in the coated state. However, the observed difference in mass gain between the uncoated and the coated austenitic steels was not enormous. Furthermore, the addition of RE elements to the coating showed some effect in terms of coating thicknesses and differences in the layer structures. The materials prior to testing and after the exposure were investigated using XRD, the SEM X-ray maps with an EDS instrument were used for particular samples to evaluate the phase identifications, element concentrations, microstructure, and chemical composition.

Cyclic Crack Growth in Chemically Tailored Isotropic Austenitic Steel Processed by Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion

The present study analyzes the cyclic crack propagation behavior in an austenitic steel processed by electron beam powder bed fusion (PBF-EB). The threshold value of crack growth as well as the crack growth behavior in the Paris regime were studied. In contrast to other austenitic steels, the building direction during PBF-EB did not affect the crack propagation rate, i.e., the crack growth rates perpendicular and parallel to the building direction were similar due to the isotropic microstructure characterized by equiaxed grains. Furthermore, the influence of significantly different building parameters was studied and, thereby, different energy inputs causing locally varying manganese content. Crack growth behavior was not affected by these changes. Even a compositional gradation within the same specimen, i.e., crack growth through an interface of areas with high and areas with low manganese content, did not lead to a significant change of the crack growth rate. Thus, the steel studied is characterized by a quite robust cyclic crack growth behavior independent from building direction and hardly affected by typical parameter deviations in the PBF-EB process.