Austenitic and Ferritic Stainless Steels in

Practical Applications: Part One

Abstract:
The commonest austenitic steel is so-called 18/8 containing around 18% Cr and
8% Ni. It has the lowest nickel content concomitant with a fully austenitic
structure.
Austenitic steels are prone to stress corrosion cracking, particularly in the
presence of chloride ions where a few ppm can sometimes proe disastrous. This
is a type of failure which occurs in some corrosie enironments under small
stresses, either deli!erately applied or as a result of residual stresses in
fa!ricated material. In austenitic steels it occurs as transgranular cracks which
are most easily deeloped in hot chloride solutions. "tress corrosion cracking is
ery su!stantially reduced in high nickel austenitic alloys.
The commonest austenitic steel is so-called 18/8 containing around 18% Cr and 8%
Ni. It has the lowest nickel content concomitant with a fully austenitic structure.
#oweer in some circumstances, e.g. after deformation, or if the car!on content is
ery low, it may partially transform to martensite at room temperature. $reater
sta!ility towards the formation of martensite is achieed !y increasing the nickel
content, as illustrated in the %&1 to %1& types of steel. 18/8 stainless steel owes its
wide application to its e'cellent general resistance to corrosie enironments.
#oweer, this is su!stantially improed !y increasing the nickel content, and
increasing the chromium gies greater resistance to intergranular corrosion.
Austenitic steels are prone to stress corrosion cracking, particularly in the presence
of chloride ions where a few ppm can sometimes proe disastrous. This is a type of
failure which occurs in some corrosie enironments under small stresses, either
deli!erately applied or as a result of residual stresses in fa!ricated material. In
austenitic steels it occurs as transgranular cracks which are most easily deeloped in
hot chloride solutions. "tress corrosion cracking is ery su!stantially reduced in high
nickel austenitic alloys.
Type %1( steel contains )-*% moly!denum, which gies a su!stantial improement
in general corrosion resistance, particularly in resistance to pitting corrosion, which
can !e defined as local penetrations of the corrosion resistant films and which occurs
typically in chloride solutions. +ecently, some resistant grades with as much as (.,%
Mo hae !een deeloped, !ut the chromium must !e increased to )&% and the
nickel to )*% to maintain an austenitic structure.
-orrosion along the grain !oundaries can !e a serious pro!lem, particularly when a
high temperature treatment such as welding allows precipitation of -r)%-( in these
regions. This type of intergranular corrosion is sometimes referred to as weld-decay.
To com!at this effect some grades of austenitic steel, e.g. %&* and %1(, are made
with car!on contents of less than &.&%% and designated %&*. and %1(..
Alternatiely, nio!ium or titanium is added in e'cess of the stoichiometric amount to
com!ine with car!on, as in types %)1 and %*/.
The austenitic steels so far referred to are not ery strong materials. Typically their
&.)% proof stress is a!out ),& 01a and the tensile strength !etween ,&& and (&&
01a, showing that these steels hae su!stantial capacity for work hardening, which
makes working more difficult than in the case of mild steel. #oweer, austenitic steels
possess ery good ductility with elongations of a!out ,&% in tensile tests.
The -r/2i austenitic steels are also ery resistant to high temperature o'idation
!ecause of the protectie surface film, !ut the usual grades hae low strengths at
eleated temperatures. Those steels sta!ili3ed with Ti and Nb, types %)1 and %*/,
can !e heat treated to produce a fine dispersion of Ti- or 2!- which interacts with
dislocations generated during creep. 4ne of the most commonly used alloys is
),-r)&2i with additions of titanium or nio!ium which possesses good creep strength
at temperatures as high as /&&5-.
To achiee the !est high temperature creep properties, it is necessary first to raise
the room temperature strength to higher leels. This can !e done !y precipitation
hardening heat treatments on steels of suita!le composition to allow the precipitation
of intermetallic phases, in particular 2i%6Al Ti7.
The importance of controlling the 8-loop in achieing sta!le austenitic steels was
emphasi3ed. 9etween the austenite and :-ferrite phase fields there is a restricted
6;<87 region which can !e used to o!tain two-phase or duple' structures in stainless
steels. The structures are produced !y haing the correct !alance !etween ;-forming
elements 60o, Ti, 2!, "i, Al7 and the 8-forming elements 62i, 0n, - and 27. To
achiee a duple' structure, it is normally necessary to increase the chromium
content to a!oe )&%. #oweer the e'act proportions of ;<8 are determined !y the
heat treatment. It is clear from consideration of the 8-loop section of the e=uili!rium
diagram, that holding in the range 1&&&-1%&&5- will cause the ferrite content to ary
oer wide limits.
The usual treatment is carried out !etween 1&,& and 11,&5-, when the ferrite
content is not ery sensitie to the su!se=uent cooling rate The duple' steels are
stronger than the simple austenitic steels, partly as a result of the two-phase
structure and also !ecause this also leads normally to a refinement of the grain si3e.
Indeed, !y suita!le thermomechanical treatment !etween >&&5- and 1&&&5-, it is
possi!le to o!tain ery fine microduple' structures which can e'hi!it superplasticity,
i.e. ery high ductilities at high temperatures, for strain rates less than a critical alue.
A further adantage is that duple' stainless steels are resistant to solidification
cracking, particularly that associated with welding. ?hile the presence of :-ferrite
may hae an aderse effect on corrosion resistance in some circumstances, it does
improe the resistance of the steel to transgranular stress corrosion cracking as the
ferrite phase is immune to this type of failure.
There is another important group of stainless steels which are essentially ferritic in
structure. They contain !etween 1/ and %&% chromium and, !y dispensing with the
austenite sta!ili3ing element nickel, possess considera!le economic adantage.
These steels, particularly at the higher chromium leels, hae e'cellent corrosion
resistance in many enironments and are completely free from stress corrosion.
These steels do hae some limitations, particularly those with higher chromium
contents, where there can !e a marked tendency to em!rittlement. This arises partly
from the interstitial elements car!on and nitrogen, e.g. a ),% Cr steel will normally
!e !rittle at room temperature if the car!on content e'ceeds &.&%%. An additional
factor is that the a!sence of a phase change makes it more difficult to refine the
ferrite grain si3e, which can !ecome ery coarse after high temperature treatment
such as welding. This raise still furthers the ductile/!rittle transition temperature,
already high as a result of the presence of interstitial elements. @ortunately, modern
steel making methods such as argon-o'ygen refining can !ring the interstitial
contents !elow &.&%%, while electron !eam acuum melting can do !etter still.
Austenitic and Ferritic Stainless Steels in
Practical Applications: Part Two
Abstract:
The ferritic stainless steels are somewhat stronger than austenitic stainless
steels, the yield stresses !eing in the range %&&-*&& 01a, !ut they work harden
less so the tensile strengths are similar, !eing !etween ,&& and (&& 01a. @erritic
stainless steels, in general, are not as readily deep drawn as austenitic alloys
!ecause of the oerall lower ductility. #oweer, they are suita!le for other
deformation processes such as spinning and cold forging.
The ferritic stainless steels are somewhat stronger than austenitic stainless steels,
the yield stresses !eing in the range %&&-*&& 01a, !ut they work harden less so the
tensile strengths are similar, !eing !etween ,&& and (&& 01a. #oweer, ferritic
stainless steels, in general, are not as readily deep drawn as austenitic alloys
!ecause of the oerall lower ductility. #oweer, they are suita!le for other
deformation processes such as spinning and cold forging.
?elding causes pro!lems due to e'cessie grain growth in the heat affected 3one
!ut, recently, new low-interstitial alloys containing titanium or nio!ium hae !een
shown to !e readily welda!le. The higher chromium ferritic alloys hae e'cellent
corrosion resistance, particularly if 1-)% moly!denum is present.
@inally, there are two phenomena which may adersely affect the !ehaior of ferritic
stainless steels. @irstly, chromium-rich ferrites when heated !etween *&& and ,&&5-
deelop a type of em!rittlement, the origins of which are still in dou!t.
The most likely cause is the precipitation of a ery fine coherent chromium-rich
phase arising from the misci!ility gap in the @e--r system, pro!a!ly !y a spinodal
type of decomposition. This phenomenon !ecomes more pronounced with increasing
chromium content, as does a second phenomenon, the formation of sigma phase.
The latter phase occurs more readily in chromium-rich ferrite than in austenite, and
can !e detected !elow (&&5-. As in austenite, the presence of sigma phase can lead
to marked em!rittlement.
"ome austenitic steels are often close to transformation, in that the 0s temperature
may !e Aust !elow room temperature. This is certainly true for low-car!on 18-r82i
austenitic steel, which can undergo a martensitic transformation !y cooling in li=uid
nitrogen or !y less seere refrigeration. The application of plastic deformation at
room temperature can also lead to formation of martensite in metasta!le austenitic
steels, a transformation of particular significance when working operations are
contemplated.
In general, the higher the alloying element content the lower the 0s and 0d
temperatures, and it is possi!le to o!tain an appro'imate 0s temperature using
empirical e=uations. Bseful data concerning the 0d temperature are also aaila!le in
which an ar!itrary amount of deformation has to !e specified. The martensite formed
in -r-2i austenitic steels either !y refrigeration or !y plastic deformation is similar to
that o!tained in related steels possessing an 0s a!oe room temperature.
0anganese can !e su!stituted for nickel in austenitic steels, !ut the -r-0n solid
solution then has much lower stacking fault energy. This means that the fee solid
solution is energetically closer to an alternatie close-packed he'agonal structure,
and that the dislocations will tend to dissociate to form !roader stacking faults than is
the case with -r-2i austenites. 0anganese on its own can sta!ili3e austenite at room
temperature proided sufficient car!on is in solid solution. The !est e'ample of this
type of alloy is the #adfields manganese steel with 1) % Mn, 1.) % car!on which
e'ists in the austenitic condition at room temperature and een after e'tensie
deformation does not form martensite.
#oweer, if the car!on content is lowered to &.8%, then 0d is a!oe room
temperature and transformation is possi!le in the a!sence of deformation at //5C.
9oth D and ;E martensites hae !een detected in manganese steels. Alloys of the
#adfields type hae long !een used in wear resistance applications, e.g. grinding
!alls, railway points, e'caating shoels, and it has often !een assumed that partial
transformation to martensite was responsi!le for the e'cellent wear resistance and
toughness re=uired. #oweer, it is likely that the ery su!stantial work hardening
characteristics of the austenitic matri' are more significant in this case.
In general, fee metals e'hi!it higher work hardening rates than !ee metals !ecause
of the more sta!le dislocation interactions possi!le in the fee structure. This results in
the !road distinction !etween the higher work hardening of austenitic steels and the
lower rate of ferritic steels, particularly well e'emplified !y a comparison of ferritic
stainless steels with austenitic stainless steels.
The adantages o!taina!le from the easily fa!ricated austenitic steels led naturally
to the deelopment of controlled transformation stainless steels, where the re=uired
high strength leel was o!tained after fa!rication, either !y use of refrigeration to
take the steel !elow its 0s temperature, or !y low temperature heat treatment to
desta!ili3e the austenite. -learly the 0s - 0f range has to !e adAusted !y alloying so
that the 0s is Aust !elow room temperature. The 0r is normally a!out 1)&5- lower, so
that refrigeration in the range -/, to -1)&5- should result in almost complete
transformation to martensite.
Alternatiely, heat treatment of the austenite can !e carried out at /&&5- to allow
precipitation of 0)%-( mainly at the grain !oundaries. This reduces the car!on
content of the matri' and raises the 0s so that, on su!se=uent cooling to room
temperature, the austenite will transform to martensite. @urther heat treatment is then
necessary to gie improed ductility and a high proof stressF this is achieed !y
tempering in the range *&&-*,&5-.
Another group of steels has !een deeloped to e'ploit the properties o!tained when
the martensite reaction occurs during low temperature plastic deformation. These
steels, which are called transformation induced plasticity 6T+I17 steels, e'hi!it the
e'pected increases in work hardening rate and a marked increase in uniform ductility
prior to necking. Gssentially the principle is the same as that employed in controlled
transformation steels, !ut plastic deformation is used to form martensite and the
approach is !roader as far as the thermomechanical treatment is concerned.
In one process, the composition of the steel is !alanced to produce an 0d
temperature a!oe room temperature. The steel is then heaily deformed 68&%7
a!oe the 0d temperature, usually in the range ),&-,,&5-, which results in
austenite which remains sta!le at room temperature. "u!se=uent tensile testing at
room temperature gies high strength leels com!ined with e'tensie ductility as a
direct result of the martensitic transformation which takes place during the test.
@or e'ample, a steel containing &.%% C, )% Mn, )% Si, >% Cr, 8.,% Ni, *% Mo
after 8&% reduction at */,5- gies the following properties at room temperatureH
I &.)% 1roof stress 1*%& 01a
I Tensile strength 1,&& 01a
I Glongation ,& %
#igher strength leels 6proof stress J)&&& 02m
)
7 with ductilities !etween )&-),%
can !e o!tained !y adding strong car!ide forming elements such as anadium and
titanium, and !y causing the 0d temperature to !e !elow room temperature. As in the
earlier treatment, seere thermomechanical treatments in the range ),&-,,&5- are
then used to deform the austenite and dispersion strengthen it with fine alloy
car!ides. The 0d temperature is, as a result, raised to a!oe room temperature so
that, on mechanical testing, transformation to martensite takes place, giing e'cellent
com!inations of strength and ductility as well as su!stantial improements in fracture
toughness.