The secondary hardening phenomenon in strain-hardened MP35N alloy

Abstract

Mechanical testing and microscopy techniques were used to investigate the influence of aging on the structure and strengthening of MP35N alloy. It was confirmed that aging the deformed material at 600°C for 4h provided additional strengthening, here referred to as “secondary hardening”, in addition to the primary strain hardening. The secondary hardening phenomenon was shown to be distinctly different from typical age hardening processes in that it only occurred in material deformed beyond a certain cold work level. At moderate strains, aging caused a shift in the entire stress–strain curve of the annealed material to higher stresses while at high strains, it produced shear localization and limited work softening. The secondary hardening increment was also found to be grain size dependent. The magnitude of the secondary hardening appeared to be controlled by the flow stress in the strain hardened material. A model is proposed to explain the observations and is supported by direct experimental evidence. The model is based on formation of h.c.p. nuclei through the Suzuki mechanism, that is segregation of solute atoms to stacking faults, on aging the strain hardened material. The h.c.p. precipitates appear to thicken only in the presence of high dislocation density produced by prior cold work.