THE EFFECT OF Mn ON α TO γ TRANSFORMATION IN THE NANOSTRUCTURED HIGH NITROGEN Fe-Cr-Mn STAINLESS STEEL PRODUCED BY MECHANICAL ALLOYING

Abstract

In this study, the effect of Mn on α to γ transformation in the nanostructured high nitrogen Fe -18 Cr - xMn stainless steel produced by mechanical alloying (MA) was investigated. MA was performed under nitrogen atmosphere using a high-energy planetary ball mill. X- ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of produced samples showed that α to γ transformation starts after 20 hours of milling and propagates by increasing the milling time. Completion of this phase transformation occurred in the Fe -18 Cr -8 Mn sample after 100 hours of milling. But, in the Fe -18 Cr -7 Mn sample, some α phase remained even after 150 hours of milling. Also, nitrogen analysis revealed that nitrogen solubility in the milled powders increased significantly by increasing the milling time, and ultimately reached 1wt%. This is believed to be due to the increase of the lattice defects and development of nanostructure through MA. Variations in grain size and internal lattice strain versus milling time in both cases showed that the critical ferrite grain size for austenite nucleation was lower than 10nm. Moreover, a lower transformation rate was found in samples containing lower Mn content.