Microstructure Features and Mechanical Properties of Modified Low-Activation Austenitic Steel in the Temperature Range of 20 to 750 °C

Litovchenko, Igor; Akkuzin, Sergey; Polekhina, Nadezhda; Spiridonova, Kseniya; Osipova, Valeria; Kim, Anna; Moskvichev, Evgeny; Chernov, Vyacheslav; Kuznetsov, Alexey

doi:10.3390/met13122015

Open AccessArticle

Microstructure Features and Mechanical Properties of Modified Low-Activation Austenitic Steel in the Temperature Range of 20 to 750 °C

by

Igor Litovchenko

^1,2,*

,

Sergey Akkuzin

¹

,

Nadezhda Polekhina

¹

,

Kseniya Spiridonova

¹,

Valeria Osipova

^1,2

,

Anna Kim

^1,2

,

Evgeny Moskvichev

¹

,

Vyacheslav Chernov

³

and

Alexey Kuznetsov

⁴

¹

Institute of Strength Physics and Materials Science of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ISPMS SB RAS), 634055 Tomsk, Russia

²

Faculty of Physics, National Research Tomsk State University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia

³

Joint-Stock Company “A. A. Bochvar High-Technology Research Institute of Inorganic Materials”, 123060 Moscow, Russia

⁴

Institute of Engineering Science, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 620049 Ekaterinburg, Russia

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Metals 2023, 13(12), 2015; https://doi.org/10.3390/met13122015

Submission received: 22 November 2023 / Revised: 8 December 2023 / Accepted: 12 December 2023 / Published: 15 December 2023

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hierarchy Microstructures and Phase Transformations in Metallic Alloys)

Download

Browse Figures

Versions Notes

Abstract

A new low-activation austenitic steel with a modified composition and high austenite stability is proposed. The features of its microstructure after solution treatment (ST) and cold rolling (CR) are studied. The mechanical properties and features of the fracture behavior of this steel under tensile tests in the temperature range of 20–750 °C are discussed. After ST, an austenitic structure with stacking faults and dispersed carbide particles of the MC and M₂₃C₆ types is observed in the steel. After CR, the grains are refined, and the average grain size decreases from 41.4 µm (after ST) to 33.9 µm. High-density microtwin packets form in the material, and the dislocation density increases relative to that after ST. As the test temperature increases from 20 to 750 °C, the yield strength of the steel decreases by approximately two times, from ≈300 to 150 MPa (for ST) and from ≈700 to 370 MPa (for CR). In the studied temperature range, the steel demonstrates up to 2.6 times higher values of elongation to failure, ≈40–80% (for ST) and ≈13–27% (for CR), compared to steels of similar compositions and lower manganese content. Mechanical twinning contributes to the high steel ductility up to 300 °C. Signs of discontinuous flow in the tensile curves after ST in the temperature range of 500–600 °C and a decrease in the elongation to failure in the close temperature range indicate dynamic strain aging (DSA). Steel fracture after tension at all test temperatures mainly occurs via a ductile dimple transcrystalline mechanism with elements of ductile intercrystalline fracture. It is shown that cracks nucleate on clusters of dispersed second-phase particles. The mechanisms of plastic deformation, fracture, and strengthening of the proposed modified low-activation austenitic steel are discussed.

Keywords: low-activation chromium-manganese austenitic steel; electron microscopy; microstructure; mechanical twins; disperse particles; temperature dependence of mechanical properties; cold rolling; fracture

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Litovchenko, I.; Akkuzin, S.; Polekhina, N.; Spiridonova, K.; Osipova, V.; Kim, A.; Moskvichev, E.; Chernov, V.; Kuznetsov, A. Microstructure Features and Mechanical Properties of Modified Low-Activation Austenitic Steel in the Temperature Range of 20 to 750 °C. Metals 2023, 13, 2015. https://doi.org/10.3390/met13122015

AMA Style

Litovchenko I, Akkuzin S, Polekhina N, Spiridonova K, Osipova V, Kim A, Moskvichev E, Chernov V, Kuznetsov A. Microstructure Features and Mechanical Properties of Modified Low-Activation Austenitic Steel in the Temperature Range of 20 to 750 °C. Metals. 2023; 13(12):2015. https://doi.org/10.3390/met13122015

Chicago/Turabian Style

Litovchenko, Igor, Sergey Akkuzin, Nadezhda Polekhina, Kseniya Spiridonova, Valeria Osipova, Anna Kim, Evgeny Moskvichev, Vyacheslav Chernov, and Alexey Kuznetsov. 2023. "Microstructure Features and Mechanical Properties of Modified Low-Activation Austenitic Steel in the Temperature Range of 20 to 750 °C" Metals 13, no. 12: 2015. https://doi.org/10.3390/met13122015

APA Style

Litovchenko, I., Akkuzin, S., Polekhina, N., Spiridonova, K., Osipova, V., Kim, A., Moskvichev, E., Chernov, V., & Kuznetsov, A. (2023). Microstructure Features and Mechanical Properties of Modified Low-Activation Austenitic Steel in the Temperature Range of 20 to 750 °C. Metals, 13(12), 2015. https://doi.org/10.3390/met13122015

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Menu

Microstructure Features and Mechanical Properties of Modified Low-Activation Austenitic Steel in the Temperature Range of 20 to 750 °C

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI