Abstract
Super duplex stainless steels (sDSS) are excellent for use under severely corrosive conditions such as offshore and marine applications like pipelines and flanges. sDSS has better mechanical properties and corrosion resistance than the standard duplex stainless steel (DSS) but it is easier for a sigma phase to appear, which depresses the mechanical property and corrosion resistance, compared to DSS, because sDSS has a higher alloy element than DSS. In addition, sDSS has a feeble ductile-brittle transition temperature (DBTT) because it has a 50% ferrite microstructure. In the actual operating environment, sDSS would be thermally affected by welding and a sub-zero temperature environment. This study analyzed how precipitated sDSS behaves at a sub-zero temperature through annealing heat treatment and a sub-zero tensile test. Six types of specimens with annealing times of up to 60 min were tested in a sub-zero chamber. According to the experimental results, an increase in the annealing time reduced the elongation of sDSS, and a decrease in the tensile test temperature raises the flow stress and tensile stress. In particular, the elongation of specimens annealed for 15 min and 30 min was clearly lowered with a decrease in the tensile test temperature because of the increasing sigma phase fraction ratio.
