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Softening interstage annealing of austenitic stainless steel sheets for stamping processes

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Abstract

To study the mechanics of work-hardening and annealing-softening, a series of experiments were conducted on samples of 304 austenitic stainless steel sheets. In addition, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and tensile testing were carried out to study changes and mechanisms of the stainless steel structures and properties during work-hardening and annealing-softening. The results indicate that annealing at low temperatures (100–500 °C) can only remove partial residual stresses in the sample and the softening via annealing is not obvious. Bright annealing and rapid cooling in a protective atmosphere can completely soften the cold-worked material. In addition, the low-temperature sample without a protective atmosphere only has a little oxidation on the surface, but at higher temperature the oxidized layer is very thick. Thus, high-temperature annealing should include bright annealing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, North China University of Technology, Beijing, 100144, China

    Fei Han  (韩飞), Meng Hu  (胡猛) & Shi-peng Wang  (王世鹏)

  2. State Key Laboratory of Automotive Safety and Energy (Tsinghua University), Beijing, 100084, China

    Fei Han  (韩飞) & Qing Zhou  (周青)

  3. Department of Automotive Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Fei Han  (韩飞) & Qing Zhou  (周青)

  4. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China

    Gao-yong Lin  (林高用) & Da-shu Peng  (彭大暑)

Authors
  1. Fei Han  (韩飞)
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  2. Gao-yong Lin  (林高用)
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  3. Meng Hu  (胡猛)
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  4. Shi-peng Wang  (王世鹏)
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  5. Da-shu Peng  (彭大暑)
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  6. Qing Zhou  (周青)
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fei Han  (韩飞).

Additional information

Foundation item: Project(2009D005002000003) supported by the Foundation for Fostering Outstanding Talents of Beijing, China

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Han, F., Lin, Gy., Hu, M. et al. Softening interstage annealing of austenitic stainless steel sheets for stamping processes. J. Cent. South Univ. Technol. 19, 1508–1516 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11771-012-1169-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11771-012-1169-0

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