Effect of solution treatment on microstructure and properties of 316L stainless steel

Solution treatment of 316L stainless steel was conducted by a box-type resistance furnace.Effect of the solution treatment parameter on microstructure and mechanical properties of 316L stainless steel was investigated.The results show that strength of the steel decreases and its elongation rapidly increases with increasing heating temperature.The elongation varies slightly with holding time less than 30 minutes.The mechanical properties are better for the steel with water cooling than fog cooling.The optimum solution treatment process of 316L steel is solution at 1050 ℃ for 6 minutes and then water cooling when the thickness of specimen is 4 mm.After solid solution treatment,the specimen shows homogeneous microstructure,moderate grain size,less ferrite and better mechanical properties.The values of tensile strength,yield strength,elongation and hardness are 565 MPa,220 MPa,64.5% and 73.1 HRB,respectively.The fracture of specimen presents ductile fracture,and toughness of the specimen after solution treatment is better than that of the hot-rolled products.