Barkhausen Noise Emission in AISI 321 Austenitic Steel Originating from the Strain-Induced Martensite Transformation

Miroslav Neslušan,Jana Šugárová,Jiří Čapek,Michal Jambor,Petr Haušild,Peter Minárik,Peter Šugár

doi:10.3390/met11030429

Abstract

This paper investigates the sensitivity of the Barkhausen noise technique against strain-induced martensite in AISI 321 austenitic stainless steel. Martensite transformation was induced by the uniaxial tensile test, and a variable martensite fraction was obtained at different plastic strains. It was found that Barkhausen noise emission progressively increases with plastic straining, while its evolution is driven by the martensite fraction in the deformed matrix. This study also demonstrates that the uniaxial tensile stressing produced a certain level of stress and magnetic anisotropy in the samples. The number of strong Barkhausen pulses increased for more developed strains, whereas the position of the Barkhausen noise envelope remained less affected. This study clearly demonstrates the good sensitivity of the Barkhausen noise technique against the degree of martensite transformation in austenitic stainless steel. Moreover, this technique is sensitive to the direction of the exerted load.

Highlights

IntroductionAustenitic stainless steels are well-known iron-based alloys that are widely used for various applications because of their high strength, corrosion resistance and ductility
Austenitic stainless steels are well-known iron-based alloys that are widely used for various applications because of their high strength, corrosion resistance and ductility.The stability of austenite at room temperature is mainly due to the presence of austenite stabilizers, such as Ni and Mn [1]
The production of components made of austenitic stainless steels involves technological operations such as forming, machining, welding etc., which can alter the microstructure of austenite and/or initiate martensite phase transformation

Summary

Introduction

Austenitic stainless steels are well-known iron-based alloys that are widely used for various applications because of their high strength, corrosion resistance and ductility. The stability of austenite at room temperature is mainly due to the presence of austenite stabilizers, such as Ni and Mn [1]. Cr and Mo elements are important for their acceptable level of corrosion resistance. Austenitic steels are high alloyed materials and some of them are sensitive to strain-induced martensite transformations [2,3,4,5]. The production of components made of austenitic stainless steels involves technological operations such as forming, machining, welding etc., which can alter the microstructure of austenite and/or initiate martensite phase transformation. Martensite phase transformation is undesirable in terms of the functionality and operation of components

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Results

Conclusion