Research paper

Microstructure Evolution at Elevated Temperature and Mechanical Properties of MoNb-Modified FeCrAl Stainless Steel

  • Donghui WEN ,
  • Beibei JIANG ,
  • Qing WANG ,
  • Xiangwei LI ,
  • Peng ZHANG ,
  • Shuyan ZHANG
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  • 1.Centre of Excellence for Advanced Materials, Dongguan 523808, China
    2.Analysis and Test Center, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
    3.School of Materials Science and Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China

Received date: 2020-12-30

  Revised date: 2021-06-07

  Online published: 2021-07-09

Supported by

Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation(2019A1515110051);Guangdong Innovative and Entrepreneurial Research Team Program(2016ZT06G025)

Abstract

MoNb-modified FeCrAl ferritic stainless steel (C35MN: Fe-13Cr-4.5Al-2Mo-1Nb, mass fraction, %) exhibits excellent comprehensive properties, including oxidation and corrosion resistance, as well as moderate mechanical properties, machinability, and neutron irradiation-resistance, making them potential accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) cladding materials for pressurized water reactors. However, the microstructural evolution and corresponding mechanical properties of C35MN alloys at the loss-of-coolant accident temperature have not been systematically studied. Herein, the microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of C35MN alloys during 400 h aging at 800oC and 1 h annealing at 1000-1200oC were systematically investigated. The alloy ingots were prepared by vacuum induction melting and cast into round bars, followed by 1150oC hot-forging, 800oC hot-rolling, and aging at 800oC for 400 h. The samples annealed at 1000-1200oC for 1 h were preaged at 800oC for 24 h. The C35MN alloy exhibited excellent microstructural stability at 800 and 1000oC, which is attributed to the precipitation of the Laves phase. The alloy showed a good combination of strength and ductility. However, when the annealing temperature increased above 1100oC, a large amount of the Laves phase dissolved into the ferritic matrix, resulting in the coarsening of the matrix grains. Annealing above 1200oC for 1 h, the grain size increased to 310 μm, severely degrading the mechanical property of the C35MN alloy below the requirement of ATF cladding materials. The microstructural stability of the C35MN alloy was influenced by the thermal stability of the Laves phase, which depends on the composition of the phase. The thermal stability of the Laves phase depends on the solid solubility of Laves phase forming elements in the ferritic matrix: the lower the solid solubility, the higher thermal stability of the Laves phase. The mechanical properties of C35MN were significantly affected by the grain size. The alloy exhibited ductile fracture when the grain size was less than 50 μm and brittle cleavage fracture when the grain size was above 130 μm.

Cite this article

Donghui WEN , Beibei JIANG , Qing WANG , Xiangwei LI , Peng ZHANG , Shuyan ZHANG . Microstructure Evolution at Elevated Temperature and Mechanical Properties of MoNb-Modified FeCrAl Stainless Steel[J]. Acta Metall Sin, 2022 , 58(7) : 883 -894 . DOI: 10.11900/0412.1961.2020.00533

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