Influence of Heat Treatment on Microstructure and Mechanical Property of Austenitic Stainless Steel

The effects of different solution temperature,cooling method,and holding time on the microstructure are introduced and performance of a new austenitic stainless steel 00Cr18Ni10N has been investigated through a series of heat treatment process tests.Increasing solution temperature can accelerate austenitic formation and uniformity process,also increase the solubility of carbides,nitrides,and carbonitrides in the matrix,and improve the stability of austenite.The results show that the grain size of the material becomes larger with the solution temperature increasing,meanwhile,the mechanical properties are decreased and plastic property is improved.With holding time increasing,the tensile strength,yield strength,and hardness decrease,the percentages elongation after fracture increase,and the impact toughness and section reduction rate do not change significantly.Although the influence of cooling methods on mechanical properties and grain size is not significant,but it could obtain better comprehensive performance using water-cooling after the 1050℃ solution treatment.Consequently,the stainless steel reaches a good combination of strength and toughness after a solution treatment at the temperature of 1050℃ and water quenching after holding an hour.