Impact of radial-shear rolling on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 08Х18Н10Т stainless austenitic steel

Abstract

Grinding of a structural material microstructure to an ultrafine grain state is a way to increase the strength of it. Intensive plastic deformation is the most perspective method of obtaining ultrafine grain materials. However, with the simultaneous increase in strength properties in ultrafine materials, there is an inevitable decrease in its plastic properties; they are becoming fragile and subject to failure during elongation. The use of metal materials with a gradient structure, having course grain size in the central part of the billet and decreasing to ultrafine grain size at the surface, is an effective way to solve the problem of increasing the plasticity of the metal products in general. Possibilities of forming an ultra-fine grained gradient structure in 08X18N10T stainless austenitic steel by using radial-shear rolling studied. The results of the research showed that the ultra-fine grained structure in the radial-shear rolling rod formed on the mill extends from its surface to a depth of at least a quarter of the radius of the rod. The transition zone is in the region between 0.5R and 0.25R of the bar section. Due to the structural heterogeneity of the cross-section of the bar, there is a smooth drop in the micro-hardness from the surface zone of the bar to its central zone by 10.2 %. All this testifies to the gradient character of the structure formed in the bars of 08X18N10T steel during shaping by radial-shear rolling. Studies of the mechanical properties of the deformed bars of 08X18N10T stainless austenitic steel showed that they monotonously change depending on the number of passes. After 7 passes the strength increased almost 2 times to a value of 1073 MPa, and the elongation, which is one of the indicators of the plasticity of the material, was also reduced by 2 times, reaching 21% from the original value of 40%. The results showed a possibility to obtain the gradient structure with increased level of mechanical properties by radial-shear rolling of long billets of 08Х18Н10Т austenitic stainless steel.