Evolution of the structure, texture and mechanical properties of a cold-swaged austenitic stainless steel during post-deformation annealing

Abstract

In this work, we studied the effect of annealing temperature on the structure and texture, as well as the mechanical properties of the austenitic stainless steel AISI 316. Initially, the program material was subjected to cold rotary swaging with a reduction of 95%. Studies showed the formation of the structure and texture gradient during preliminary plastic deformation. Annealing at low temperatures (500-600°C) provoked polygonization, while the intensity of the and texture components remained unchanged. After annealing at 700°С, the onset of recrystallization was observed only in the subsurface layers of the rod. As a result of annealing at 800–900°C, static recrystallization occurred over the entire cross section of the rod, which caused dissipation of the texture gradient. Annealing at temperatures of 400–600°C was accompanied by an increase in the strength and hardness characteristics. Meanwhile, ductility also increased with the annealing temperature. Annealing at 700°C resulted in softening of the program material almost to the level of the initial cold-swaged state and a significant increase in ductility up to 16%.