Low-temperature tensile ductility by V-alloying of high-nitrogen CrMn and CrNiMn steels: Characterization of deformation microstructure and fracture micromechanisms

Abstract

Abstract Tensile properties, work-hardening, microstructure and fracture mechanisms were studied in two vanadium-containing high-nitrogen austenitic steels, Fe-19Cr-21Mn-1.3V-0.22C-0.81N and Fe-17Cr-10Mn-7Ni-1.0V-0.09C-0.65N, in low-temperature deformation regime. Vanadium-alloying provides several concurrent effects – decreases a solid solution hardening in the steels (softening effect) due to formation of nitrides(carbonitrides), causes precipitate hardening by vanadium-based particles (hardening effect) and suppresses grain growth during solid solution treatment (hardening effect). The yield stresses at room temperature deformation and 77\u202fK-deformation are analyzed taking into account the contributions from these softening/hardening mechanisms. As a result of complex hardening and softening effects, both steels possess high tensile properties, show striking temperature dependences of the yield strength, an ultimate tensile strength and an elongation (the ultimate tensile strength and elongation at 77\u202fK reaches 2600\u202fMPa and 14% for Fe-19Cr-21Mn-1.3V-0.22C-0.81N steel) in low-temperature deformation regime. Striking temperature dependence of the yield strength for particle-containing steels is in accordance with deformation behavior of high-nitrogen particle-free steels with high solid-solution strengthening. In spite of similarities in temperature dependence of strength properties and deformation mechanisms with precipitate-free high-nitrogen steels, V-containing steels do not undergo ductile-to-brittle transition during deformation at cryogenic temperatures and they fracture in ductile manner even during tensile deformation at 77\u202fK. Deformation microstructures at different strain levels and test temperatures are studied in order to reveal the dominating structural parameters responsible for fracture micromechanisms. Despite the activation of mechanical twinning and planar dislocation slip as dominating deformation mechanisms during tension at 77\u202fK, precipitate-hardened high-nitrogen steels show rather high elongation values of 14–15% and ductile fracture with dimple micromechanism. Vanadium-based precipitates of ≈\u202f300\u202fnm in diameter do not cause strong precipitate hardening, but strongly influence dislocation arrangement and suppress low-temperature brittle fracture in high-nitrogen austenitic steels.