Prediction of Tensile Strength of High-Nitrogen 18Mn-18Cr Austenitic Steels for Generator Retaining Ring

Abstract

Over the past few decades, high-nitrogen austenitic steels have steadily received greater attention since they provide a unique combination of high strength and ductility, good corrosion resistance, and non-magnetic properties. Recently, high- nitrogen 18Mn-18Cr austenitic steels with enhanced strength have been developed and widely used for generator retaining rings in order to prevent the copper wiring from being displaced by the centrifugal forces occurring during high-speed rotation. The high-nitrogen austenitic steels for generator retaining ring should be expanded at room temperature and then stress relief annealed at around 400 o C to achieve the required mechanical properties. In this study, four kinds of high-nitrogen 18Mn-18Cr austenitic steels with different nitrogen content were fabricated by using a pressurized vacuum induction melting furnace, and then the effects of nitrogen content, cold working, and stress relieving on tensile properties were investigated. The yield and tensile strengths increased proportionally with increasing nitrogen content and cold working, and they further increased after stress relieving treatment. Based on these results, a semi-empirical equation was proposed to predict the tensile strength of high- nitrogen 18Mn-18Cr austenitic steels for generator retaining rings. It will be a useful for the effective fabrication of high-nitrogen 18Mn-18Cr austenitic steels for generator retaining rings with the required tensile properties.