Effect of ECAP and heat treatment on mechanical properties, stress relaxation behavior and corrosion resistance of a 321-type austenitic steel with increased delta-ferrite content

Hot rolled commercial metastable austenitic steel 0.8C-18Cr-10Ni-0.1Ti (Russian industrial name 08X18H10T, analog 321L) with strongly elongated thin delta-ferrite particles in its microstructure was the object of investigations. The lengths of these delta-particles were up to 500 mkm, the thickness was 10 mkm. The formation of the strain-induced martensite as well as the grinding of the austenite and of the delta-ferrite grains take place during ECAP. During the annealing of the UFG steel, the formation of the delta-phase particles takes place. These particles affect the grain boundary migration and the strength of the steel. However, a reduction of the Hall-Petch coefficient as compared to the coarse-grained (CG) steel due to the fragmentation of the delta-ferrite particles was observed. The samples of the UFG steel were found to have 2-3 times higher stress relaxation resistance as compared to the CG steel (a higher macroelasticity stress and a lower stress relaxation magnitude). The differences in the stress relaxation resistance of the UFG and CG steels were investigated. ECAP was shown to result in an increase in the corrosion rate and in an increased tendency to the intergranular corrosion (IGC). The reduction of the corrosion resistance of the UFG steel was found to originate from the increase in the fraction of the strain-induced martensite during ECAP.