Aging Precipitation Evolving Process and its Effects on Mechanical Properties of 0Cr21Ni6Mn9N Austenitic Stainless Steel

The solution treatment (ST) and the the second phase morphology changing duing the aging precipitation process of 0Cr21Ni6Mn9N austenitic stainless steel were investigated using optical microscope (OM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) with EDS and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The results showed that the precipitation phase was Cr2N which initially nucleated along austenitic grain boundaries and then grew towards into the inner grains in strip morphology. Also, with the longer aging time the proportion of Cr2N increased. The mechanical properties of alloys with and without the presence of the precipitation Cr2N were also studied. It was observed that due to the exiting of the precipitation Cr2N, the strength of 2169N stainless steel reduced during a certain range of aging time, and then improved when the aging time reached to 48h, while the elongation decreased thoroughly.