Effect of nitrogen alloying on the microstructure and abrasive wear of stainless steels

Journal Article · Fri Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1994 · Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02645852· OSTI ID:6935364

Hawk, J A; Simmons, J W; Rawers, J C ^[1]

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1. Bureau of Mines, Albany, OR (United States). Albany Research Center

Alloying stainless steels with nitrogen has distinct advantages. Nitrogen is a strong austenite stabilizer and a potent solid-solution strengthener, and nitrogen has greater solubility than carbon iron. This study investigates the relationship among nitrogen concentration, precipitate microstructure, and abrasive wear using two high-nitrogen stainless steel alloys: Fe-19Cr-5Mn-5Ni-3Mo (SS1) and Fe-16Cr-7Mn-5Ni(SS2). Alloy SS1 contained 0.7 wt% N and was solution annealed at 1,150 C, thereby dissolving the nitrogen interstitially in the austenite. Subsequent aging, or cold work and aging, at 900 C led to the grain-boundary, cellular, and transgranular precipitation of Cr[sub 2]N. Alloy SS2 was remelted in a high-pressure (200 MPa) N[sub 2] atmosphere, leading to a spatial gradient of nitrogen in the alloy in the form of interstitial nitrogen and Cr[sub 2]N and CrN precipitates. Nitrogen contents varied from a low of approximately 0.7 wt% at the bottom of the billet to a high of 3.6 wt% at the top. Nitrogen in excess of approximately 0.7 wt% formed increasingly coarser and more numerous Cr[sub 2]N and CrN precipitates. The precipitate morphology created in alloy SS1 due to aging, or cold work and aging, had little effect on the abrasive wear of the alloy. However, a decrease in the abrasive wear rate in alloy SS2 was observed to correspond to the increase in number and size of the Cr[sub 2]N and CrN precipitates.

• OSTI ID: 6935364
• Journal Information: Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance; (United States), Journal Name: Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance; (United States) Vol. 3:2; ISSN 1059-9495; ISSN JMEPEG
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360102* -- Metals & Alloys-- Structure & Phase Studies
360103 -- Metals & Alloys-- Mechanical Properties
ABRASION
AGE HARDENING
ALLOYS
CHROMIUM ALLOYS
CHROMIUM COMPOUNDS
CHROMIUM NITRIDES
CHROMIUM-NICKEL STEELS
COLD WORKING
ELEMENTS
FABRICATION
HARDENING
HIGH ALLOY STEELS
INTERMETALLIC COMPOUNDS
IRON ALLOYS
IRON BASE ALLOYS
MANGANESE ALLOYS
MATERIALS WORKING
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
METALLURGICAL EFFECTS
MICROSTRUCTURE
MOLYBDENUM ALLOYS
NICKEL ALLOYS
NITRIDES
NITROGEN
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NONMETALS
PNICTIDES
PRECIPITATION HARDENING
STAINLESS STEELS
STEELS
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
WEAR RESISTANCE