Metals (Dec 2022)

The Microstructure and Tensile Properties of New High-Manganese Low-Activation Austenitic Steel

  • Igor Litovchenko,
  • Sergey Akkuzin,
  • Nadezhda Polekhina,
  • Kseniya Almaeva,
  • Valeria Linnik,
  • Anna Kim,
  • Evgeny Moskvichev,
  • Vyacheslav Chernov

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/met12122106
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 12
p. 2106

Abstract

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Using X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, the microstructure of a new low-activation chromium-manganese austenitic steel with a high content of manganese and strong carbide-forming elements is studied. Its structure, dislocation character and particle composition are detailed. The processes taking place in the steel under cold-rolling deformation are described. It is shown that the mechanical properties of the new high-manganese steel revealed by testing at 20 and 650 °C are comparable with those of well-known analogs or exceed them. Relying on the structural studies, this is attributed to the dispersion and substructural strengthening. Better plastic properties of the steel are associated with the twinning-induced plasticity effect. It is shown that the steel fracture after tension at the test temperatures is mainly ductile dimple transcrystalline with the elements of ductile intercrystalline fracture (at 20 °C), while at 650 °C the signs of the latter disappear. The low-activation chromium-manganese austenitic steels characterized by increased austenite stability are thought to be promising structural materials for nuclear power engineering.

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