Hot and Cold Deformation Behaviors and Microstructure Evolutions of Mn18Cr18N Austenitic Stainless Steel with High-Nitrogen

Abstract

Hot and cold deformation behavious and microstructure evolutions of Mn18Cr18N were investigated by thermo-mechanical modeling experiments and microstructure analysis. The results show that hot deformation flow stress curves characterized by the same work hardening and subsequent stress softening varied with temperatures and strain rates for both of as-cast and as-forged samples. And flow stresses are sensitive to strain rate. At strain rates lower than 0.01s-1, the flow stresses are lower, and microstructure evolution controlled by dislocation mechanism dynamic recrystallization; At strain rates higher than 0.1s-1, the flow stresses are higher, and microstructure evolution controlled by twinning mechanism dynamic recrystallization. But the dynamic recrystallzed fraction of the as-cast sample was much less than that of the as-forged sample. For cold deformation, the simple uniaxial tensile sample shows that the monotone increasing flow stress curve and monotone decreasing work-hanrdening rate. However, for the uniaxial and biaxial compression-tensile samples with different previous compression, the subsequent tensile yield stress, the maximum tensile stress, the reduction of cross sectional area and the elongation have extremums respectively at the previous compressive deformation of about 25%-30%. Microstructure evolution mechanisms during cold deformation were planar slipping and twinning.