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Microstructure and Properties of the LDEDed Cu-Bearing Martensitic Stainless Steel After a Single-Step Tempering Treatment

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Abstract

431 martensitic stainless steels (MSS) alloying with copper (Cu, 0–3.5 wt%) have been fabricated by a laser directed energy deposition technology and treated by a single-step tempering treatment. The microstructure and properties of the tempered MSS specimens have been carefully investigated by various advanced techniques, including XRD, SEM, EBSD, TEM, microhardness tester, universal material testing machine, and electrochemical workstation. The results show that the Cu-free 431 MSS is mainly composed of lath-shaped martensite, a few patches of austenite and carbide, while the martensite matrix is refined with the increased austenite and nano-precipitates by increasing Cu content of the Cu-bearing MSS. Consequently, the microhardness of the Cu-bearing 431 MSS specimens increases firstly and then decreases, reaching the maximum value (472 HV0.2) at the Cu level of 2.5 wt%. In comparison to the Cu-free 431 MSS, the addition of 2.5 wt% Cu could lead to a striking comprehensive performance, including tensile properties with ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 1576 MPa, yield strength (YS) of 1258 MPa and elongation (EL) of 16.1%, as well as improved corrosion resistance by an order of magnitude. The mechanisms behind the variation in the overall performance of the Cu-bearing 431 MSS specimens were discussed in detail.

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Acknowledgements

This work was finally supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52375341) and Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation (2022JJ30494).

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  1. Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Laser Manufacturing Technology, University of South China, Hengyang, 421001, China

    Hongmei Zhu, Li Zhao, Baichun Li, Longzhang Shen & Changjun Qiu

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Appendix

Appendix

See Figs. 9, 10 and Table 3.

Fig. 9
figure 9

The microhardness of the as-built AISI 431-xCu (x = 0, 1, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5). In as-built state, the microhardness of 0 Cu, 1Cu, 1.5Cu, 2.5Cu and 3.5Cu samples are 447 HV, 442 HV, 456 HV, 434 HV, and 421 HV, respectively. The date indicated that the addition of Cu has a little effect on the microhardness of the 431 MSS in as-built state

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Fig. 10
figure 10

Tensile curves of the as-built 431-xCu (x = 0, 1, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5). The date shows that the addition of can improve the ductile of the 431 MSS, without a significant beneficial effect on the strength enhancement

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Table 3 The tensile results of the as-built 431 MSS with various Cu contents
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Zhu, H., Zhao, L., Li, B. et al. Microstructure and Properties of the LDEDed Cu-Bearing Martensitic Stainless Steel After a Single-Step Tempering Treatment. Met. Mater. Int. 30, 1307–1320 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12540-023-01569-6

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