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Deterioration in Fracture Toughness of 304LN Austenitic Stainless Steel Due to Sensitization

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Abstract

The aim of this report is to examine the influence of sensitization on the mechanical properties of AISI grade 304LN stainless steel with special emphasis on its fracture toughness. A series of stainless steel samples has been sensitized by holding at 1023 K for different time periods ranging from 1 to 100 hours followed by water quenching. The degree of sensitization (DOS) for each type of the varyingly heat-treated samples has been measured by an electrochemical potentiodynamic reactivation (EPR) test. The microstructures of these samples have been characterized by optical metallography, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses, together with measurements of their hardness and tensile properties. The fracture toughness of the samples has been measured by the ball indentation (BI) technique and the results are validated by conducting conventional J-integral tests. It is revealed for the first time that the fracture toughness and ductility of AISI 304LN stainless steel deteriorate significantly with increased DOS, while the tensile strength (TS) values remain almost unaltered. The results have been critically discussed in terms of the depletion of solid solution strengtheners, the nature of the grain boundary precipitations, and the strain-induced martensite formation with the increasing DOS of the 304LN stainless steel.

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Notes

  1. PHILIPS is a trademark of Philips Electronic Instruments Corp., Mahwah, NJ.

  2. Shimadzu is a trademark of Shimadzu Corporation, Soraku-gun, Japan.

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Acknowledgments

One of the authors (SG) thanks the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India (Mumbai, India), for the financial support to carry out this investigation under the DAE Graduate Fellowship Scheme. The authors specifically thank Drs. B.P. Sharma, R.R. Puri, K.R. Maraballi, and S. Trehan, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (Mumbai, India), for their kind and timely support from the Department of Atomic Energy Graduate Fellowship Scheme (DGFS) Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS) cell. The authors also thank Mr. A. Bhattacharya, a former graduate student, Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur, India), for his kind suggestions and critical discussions on the subject matter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Materials Science Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, 400085, India

    Swati Ghosh (Scientist) & V. Kain (Scientist)

  2. Department of Physics and Meteorology, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, 721302, India

    A. Ray (formerly Student, Graduate Student)

  3. University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, 95440, Germany

    A. Ray (formerly Student, Graduate Student)

  4. NDT & Metallurgy Group, Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute, Durgapur, 713209, India

    H. Roy (Scientist)

  5. Material Science and Technology Division, National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur, 831007, India

    S. Sivaprasad (Scientist) & S. Tarafder (Scientist)

  6. Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India

    K. K. Ray (Professor)

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  1. Swati Ghosh
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  2. V. Kain
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Correspondence to K. K. Ray.

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Manuscript submitted December 31, 2007.

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Ghosh, S., Kain, V., Ray, A. et al. Deterioration in Fracture Toughness of 304LN Austenitic Stainless Steel Due to Sensitization. Metall Mater Trans A 40, 2938–2949 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-009-0023-y

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