Microstructure and Strength-Toughness of a Cu-Contained Maraging Stainless Steel

doi:10.11900/0412.1961.2021.00599

Acta Metall Sin

2023, Vol. 59

Issue (5): 636-646 DOI: 10.11900/0412.1961.2021.00599

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Microstructure and Strength-Toughness of a Cu-Contained Maraging Stainless Steel

WANG Bin¹, NIU Mengchao², WANG Wei³(

), JIANG Tao⁴(

), LUAN Junhua⁵, YANG Ke³

¹Henan Institute of Advanced Technology, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450003, China
²Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong 999077, China
³Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
⁴AECC Beijing Institute of Aeronautical Materials, Beijing 100095, China
⁵Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China

Cite this article:

WANG Bin, NIU Mengchao, WANG Wei, JIANG Tao, LUAN Junhua, YANG Ke. Microstructure and Strength-Toughness of a Cu-Contained Maraging Stainless Steel. Acta Metall Sin, 2023, 59(5): 636-646.

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Abstract

An increase in strength often leads to a decrease in the ductility and toughness of maraging stainless steels; this phenomenon is known as the strength-ductility/toughness trade-off dilemma in structural materials. Some studies have found that the introduction of submicro/nanometer-sized retained or reverted austenite could mitigate the strength-ductility/toughness trade-off of high-strength maraging stainless steels. In this work, a novel strategy to accelerate austenite reversion by Cu addition in a Fe-Ni-Mo-Co-Cr maraging stainless steel was studied. In addition, the aging behavior and its effects on the mechanical properties of a Cu-containing Fe-Cr-Co-Ni-Mo maraging stainless steel were systematically studied. Transmission electron microscope characterizations showed that Cu- and Mo-rich phases precipitated from the steel matrix in sequence during the aging process; more specifically, a part of Mo-rich phase nucleated at the Cu-rich phase and then grew. Moreover, along with the segregation of Cu and Ni, reverted austenite was formed gradually. With an increase in the aging time, the stability of the reverted austenite increased, resulting in a substantial increase in its toughness. After aging for 90 h, the yield and tensile strengths of the steel reached 1270 and 1495 MPa, respectively, and the impact energy and fracture toughness were 81 J and 102 MPa·m^1/2, respectively, showing an excellent match of strength and toughness compared with commercial maraging stainless steels.

Key words: maraging stainless steel reverted austenite TRIP effect strength and toughness

Received: 31 December 2021

ZTFLH:

TG142.1

Fund: National Natural Science Foundation of China(51201160);Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences(2017233)

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	WANG Bin
	NIU Mengchao
	WANG Wei
	JIANG Tao
	LUAN Junhua
	YANG Ke

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https://www.ams.org.cn/EN/10.11900/0412.1961.2021.00599 OR https://www.ams.org.cn/EN/Y2023/V59/I5/636

Fig.1 Mechanical properties of Cu-contained maraging stainless steel samples as a function of aging time at 480^oC
(a) hardness-aging time curve (b) engineering stress-strain curves (WQ—water quenching)
(c) impact energy and fracture toughness under different conditions
(d) typical strength-impact toughness profiles of commercial maraging stainless steels

Fig.2 SEM image of as-quanched Cu-contained maraging stainless steel sample (a) and OM image of the sample aged at 480^oC for 0.5 h (b)

Fig.3 Bright-field TEM images of precipitates in the Cu-containing maraging stainless steel aged at 480^oC for 0.5 h (a), 24 h (b), 60 h (c), and 90 h (d)

Fig.4 APT characterizations of Fe (a), Ni (b), Mo (c), Cr (d), Co (e), and Cu (f) of the Cu-contained maraging stainless steel sample aged at 480^oC for 0.5 h
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Fig.5 High-angle annular dark field (HAADF) image and corresponding EDS elemental mapping of the Cu-contained maraging stainless steel sample aged at 480^oC for 60 h
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Fig.6 HAADF image, corresponding EDS elemental mapping and line scan spectra of the Cu-contained maraging stainless steel sample aged at 480^oC for 90 h
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(a) HAADF image (b) corresponding EDS elemental mapping of Ni, Cu, and Mo, respectively
(c, d) corresponding line scan spectra taken from Fig.6b

Fig.7 XRD spectra (a) and volume fractions of reverted austenite (b) of Cu-contained maraging stainless steel samples aged at 480^oC for different time

Fig.8 Bright-field TEM images of reverted austenite in the Cu-contained maraging stainless steel samples aged at 480^oC for 0.5 h (a), 24 h (b), 60 h (c), and 90 h (d) (Inset in Fig.8b shows the corresponding SAED pattern, indicating the Nishiyama-Wasserman relationship of reverted austenite and matensite. M represents martensite)

Fig.9 HAADF image and corresponding EDS elemental mapping of reverted austenite in the Cu-contained maraging stainless steel sample aged at 480^oC for 90 h
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Table 1 Mass fractions of Cu and Ni in reverted austenite after aging for different time

Fig.10 SEM and EBSD images taken close to the impact fracture site and the undeformed matrix of Cu-contained maraging stainless steel samples aged at 480^oC for 60 h (a1-a4) and 90 h (b1-b4) (a1, b1) SEM images taken from the longitudinal section of the impact fractured samples (a2, a3, b2, b3) EBSD images taken close to the impact fracture sites in Figs.9a1 and a2, respectively (a4, b4) EBSD images adjacent to the undeformed matrix
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Fig.11 Schematics of the co-precipitation processes in the Cu-contained maraging stainless steel sample
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