On Microstructure and Microhardness of Isothermally Aged UNS S32760 and the Effect on Toughness and Corrosion Behavior

Abstract

This paper investigates the microstructure and secondary phase precipitations obtained in UNS S32760 super duplex stainless steel and their effect on impact toughness and corrosion resistance. The heat treatment included first solution annealing at 1150 °C followed by water quenching, then isothermal heating at different temperatures from 350 to 950 °C for different times, ranging from less than 1 min to 600 min, followed by water quenching again. Microscopic investigation, microhardness tests, and x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis were used to identify the microstructure and secondary phase precipitations formed by heat treatment. The study indicates a fair correlation between the microscopic observations and microhardness results, while XRD analysis defined the phase’s chemistry and confirmed the microscopic and hardness results. In addition to the austenite (γ) and ferrite (α) phases of the duplex structure, secondary phases of (σ, χ, and chromium nitrides) are observed at a high temperature range, while (ά) and (aged ά) are observed at a lower temperature range. It is concluded that the microhardness test can be used to identify the phases appearing in the microstructure, which results in fair prediction for the TTT diagram and σ-phase range. The variation of toughness and corrosion resistance by heat treatment differs depending on the secondary phase formation.