Development of Mechanical Properties of Stainless Steel 316LN-IG after Cryo-Plastic Deformation.

The article deals with increasing the mechanical properties of stainless steel 316 Ln-IG, which is intended for work in cryogenic temperatures (liquid nitrogen and liquid helium), such as conductor conduits for the ITER magnet system. The strength and plastic properties were increased by a combination of cold and cryo-rolling and heat treatment. The mechanical properties of rolled material were investigated at 293 K, 77 K, and 4.2 K. The work-hardening rate of the steel increased continuously with a lowering of the temperature. The maximum yield strength and ultimate tensile strength were achieved by the cryo-rolling process with a total thickness deformation of 50%. The material properties tested at ambient temperature were 0.2YS = 1050 MPa, UTS = 1200 MPa, and at 4.2 K, the values were 0.2YS = 1804 MPa and UTS = 2081 MPa. Two types of long-term heat treatment were applied after experimental rolling (823 K and 1093 K for 10 h). The highest precipitation hardening of steel was achieved at a temperature of 823 K after 50% deformation. The resulting grain size decreased from the initial 216 µm (before the rolling process) to 70 µm after ambient rolling and 72 µm after cryo-rolling.

Investigation of the Properties of 316L Stainless Steel after AM and Heat Treatment.

Additive manufacturing, including laser powder bed fusion, offers possibilities for the production of materials with properties comparable to conventional technologies. The main aim of this paper is to describe the specific microstructure of 316L stainless steel prepared using additive manufacturing. The as-built state and the material after heat treatment (solution annealing at 1050 °C and 60 min soaking time, followed by artificial aging at 700 °C and 3000 min soaking time) were analyzed. A static tensile test at ambient temperature, 77 K, and 8 K was performed to evaluate the mechanical properties. The characteristics of the specific microstructure were examined using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The stainless steel 316L prepared using laser powder bed fusion consisted of a hierarchical austenitic microstructure, with a grain size of 25 µm as-built up to 35 µm after heat treatment. The grains predominantly contained fine 300-700 nm subgrains with a cellular structure. It was concluded that after the selected heat treatment there was a significant reduction in dislocations. An increase in precipitates was observed after heat treatment, from the original amount of approximately 20 nm to 150 nm.

Evaluation of Powder Metallurgy Workpiece Prepared by Equal Channel Angular Rolling.

The aim of the article is to examine the workability of sintered powder material of aluminum alloy (Alumix 321) through severe plastic deformations under the conditions of the equal channel angular rolling (ECAR) process. Accordingly, the stress-strain analysis of the ECAR was carried out through a computer simulation using the finite element method (FEM) by Deform 3D software. Additionally, the formability of the ALUMIX 321 was investigated using the diametrical compression (DC) test, which was measured and analyzed by digital image correlation and finite element simulation. The relationship between failure mode and stress state in the ECAR process and the DC test was quantified using stress triaxiality and Lode angle parameter. It is concluded that the sintered powder material during the ECAR processing failure by a shearing fracture because in the fracture location the stress conditions were close to the pure shear (η and θ¯ ≈ 0). Moreover, the DC test revealed the potential role as the method of calibration of the fracture locus for stress conditions between the pure shear and the axial symmetry compression.

Effect of Austenitization Temperature on Hot Ductility of C-Mn-Al HSLA Steel.

The article aims to investigate the effect of different austenitization temperatures on the hot ductility of C-Mn-Al High-Strength Low-Alloy (HSLA) steel. The thermo-mechanical simulator of physical processes Gleeble 1500D was used for steel hot ductility study. Hot ductility was estimated by measuring the reduction of area after static tensile testing carried out at temperatures in the range 600 °C to 1200 °C with the step of 50 °C. Evaluation of fracture surfaces after austenitization at 1250 °C and 1350 °C with a holding time of the 30 s showed significant differences in the character of the fracture as well as in the ductility. The fracture surfaces and the microstructure near the fracture surfaces of samples at a test temperature of 1000 °C for both austenitization temperatures were analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Light Optical Microscopy (LOM), and AZtec Feature analysis (particle analysis of SEM). AlN and AlN-MnS precipitates at grain boundaries detected by the detailed metallographic analysis were identified as the main causes of plasticity trough in the evaluated steel. Moreover, using Thermo-Calc software, it was found that AlN particles precipitate from solid solution below the temperature of 1425 °C.

Overview of HSS Steel Grades Development and Study of Reheating Condition Effects on Austenite Grain Size Changes.

This review paper concerns the development of the chemical compositions and controlled processes of rolling and cooling steels to increase their mechanical properties and reduce weight and production costs. The paper analyzes the basic differences among high-strength steel (HSS), advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) and ultra-high-strength steel (UHSS) depending on differences in their final microstructural components, chemical composition, alloying elements and strengthening contributions to determine strength and mechanical properties. HSS is characterized by a final single-phase structure with reduced perlite content, while AHSS has a final structure of two-phase to multiphase. UHSS is characterized by a single-phase or multiphase structure. The yield strength of the steels have the following value intervals: HSS, 180-550 MPa; AHSS, 260-900 MPa; UHSS, 600-960 MPa. In addition to strength properties, the ductility of these steel grades is also an important parameter. AHSS steel has the best ductility, followed by HSS and UHSS. Within the HSS steel group, high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steel represents a special subgroup characterized by the use of microalloying elements for special strength and plastic properties. An important parameter determining the strength properties of these steels is the grain-size diameter of the final structure, which depends on the processing conditions of the previous austenitic structure. The influence of reheating temperatures (TReh) and the holding time at the reheating temperature (tReh) of C-Mn-Nb-V HSLA steel was investigated in detail. Mathematical equations describing changes in the diameter of austenite grain size (dγ), depending on reheating temperature and holding time, were derived by the authors. The coordinates of the point where normal grain growth turned abnormal was determined. These coordinates for testing steel are the reheating conditions TReh = 1060 °C, tReh = 1800 s at the diameter of austenite grain size dγ = 100 µm.

Case Study of the Tensile Fracture Investigation of Additive Manufactured Austenitic Stainless Steels Treated at Cryogenic Conditions.

Additive manufacturing is a key enabling technology in the manufacture of highly complex shapes, having very few geometric limitations compared to traditional manufacturing processes. The present paper aims at investigating mechanical properties at cryogenic temperatures for a 316L austenitic stainless steel, due to the wide possible cryogenic applications such as liquid gas confinement or superconductors. The starting powders have been processed by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) and tested in the as-built conditions and after stress relieving treatments. Mechanical properties at 298, 77 and 4.2 K from tensile testing are presented together with fracture surfaces investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy. The results show that high tensile strength at cryogenic temperature is characteristic for all samples, with ultimate tensile strength as high as 1246 MPa at 4.2 K and 55% maximum total elongation at 77 K. This study can constitute a solid basis for investigating 316L components by LPBF for specific applications in cryogenic conditions.

The Influence of Severe Plastic Deformation and Subsequent Annealing on the Microstructure and Hardness of a Cu-Cr-Zr Alloy.

A Cu-1.1%Cr-0.04%Zr (wt.%) alloy was processed by severe plastic deformation (SPD) using the equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) technique at room temperature (RT). It was found that when the number of passes increased from one to four, the dislocation density significantly increased by 35% while the crystallite size decreased by 32%. Subsequent rolling at RT did not influence considerably the crystallite size and dislocation density. At the same time, cryorolling at liquid nitrogen temperature yielded a much higher dislocation density. All the samples contained Cr particles with an average size of 1 µm. Both the size and fraction of the Cr particles did not change during the increase in ECAP passes and the application of rolling after ECAP. The hardness of the severely deformed Cu alloy samples can be well correlated to the dislocation density using the Taylor equation. Heat treatment at 430 °C for 30 min in air caused a significant reduction in the dislocation density for all the deformed samples, while the hardness considerably increased. This apparent contradiction can be explained by the solute oxygen hardening, but the annihilation of mobile dislocations during annealing may also contribute to hardening.

Different Formation Routes of Pore Structure in Aluminum Powder Metallurgy Alloy.

In powder metallurgy (PM), severe plastic deformation (SPD) is a well-known technological solution to achieve interesting properties. However, the occurrence of pores in the final product may limit these properties. Also, for a given type of microstructure, the stereometric parameters of the pore structures, such as shape (represented by Aspect and Dcircle) and distribution (fshape, and fcircle), decisively affect the final properties. The influence of different processing routes (pressing, sintering and equal channel angular pressing (ECAP)) on pore structures in an aluminum PM alloy is discussed. The nature of porosity, porosity evolution and its behavior is explored. The correlation between pore size and morphology is also considered. The final pore structure parameters (Aspect, Dcircle, fshape, and fcircle) of studied aluminum alloys produced by different processing routes depends on the different formation routes.

Influence of Hot Plastic Deformation in γ and (γ + α) Area on the Structure and Mechanical Properties of High-Strength Low-Alloy (HSLA) Steel.

The main goal of this study was to develop a new processing technology for a high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steel in order to maximize the mechanical properties attainable at its low alloy levels. Samples of the steel were processed using thermal deformation schedules carried out in single-phase (γ) and dual-phase (γ + α) regions. The samples were rolled at unconventional finishing temperatures, their final mechanical properties were measured, and their strength and plasticity behavior was analyzed. The resulting microstructures were observed using optical and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). They consisted of martensite, ferrite and (NbV)CN precipitates. The study also explored the process of ferrite formation and its influence on the mechanical properties of the material.