Strain-Induced Martensite Formation of AISI 304L Steel Sheet: Experiments and Modeling

Abstract

Metastable austenitic stainless steels are prone to strain-induced martensite transformation (SIMT) during deformation at room temperature, as in the case of sheet metal forming processes. The SIMT is influenced by the chemical composition, grain size, temperature, deformation mode or stress state and strain-rate. In this work, interrupted and continuous uniaxial tensile tests were performed in AISI 304L sheet to evaluate the SIMT as a function of strain and strain-rate effects. The SIMT was evaluated by feritscope and temperature in-situ measurements and both XRD and optical microscopy techniques. The SIMT kinetics was also investigated by means of thermo-mechanical finite element simulations using a phenomenological model. In the small strain range, the yield stress increases with the strain-rate whereas in the large strain domain a cross-effect in the stress-strain curve is observed given that the SIMT is inhibited due to the specimen heat generation. A very good correlation between XRD and feritscope measurements was found from the interrupted uniaxial tensile testing. The finite element numerical simulations allowed to identify the parameters of a phenomenological model which describes the SIMT kinetics of AISI 304L steel sheet as a function of plastic-strain, strain-rate and temperature effects.