Effect of heat treatment on the mechanical properties and the structure of a high-nitrogen austenitic 02Kh20AG10N4MFB steel

Abstract

The effect of heat treatment on the mechanical properties of a high-nitrogen austenitic 02Kh20AG10N4MFB steel has been studied in the temperature region 550—1200°C. The yield strength and the ultimate tensile strength are shown to change nonmonotonically as a function of the heat treatment temperature. They sharply decrease in the annealing temperature range 850—900°C, which can demonstrate a change in the character of the structure–phase state of this steel. After annealing at 850—900°C, aging occurs with the precipitation of embrittling phases; at higher annealing temperatures, these particles dissolve and austenite recrystallizes. The study of the stress–strain diagrams makes it possible to find the laws of strain hardening of the 02Kh20AG10N4MFB steel as a function of the heat treatment temperature.