• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.165-170
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• 2013

High temperature deformation behavior of a heat-resistant duplex stainless steel, used as a retort in the Pidgeon process for Mg production, was investigated in this study. 25Cr-8Ni based duplex stainless steels were cast into rectangular ingots, with dimensions of $350mm{\times}350mm{\times}100mm$. Nitrogen and yttrium were added at 0.3wt.% each to enhance the heat-resistance of the steel. Phase equilibrium was calculated using the thermodynamic software FactSage$^{(R)}$ and the database of FSStel. For comparison, cast 310S steel, a widely used heat-resistant austenitic stainless steel, was also examined in this study. Dilatometry was conducted on the as-cast ingots for the temperature range from RT to $1200^{\circ}C$ and the thermal expansion coefficients were evaluated. The nitrogen addition was found to have an effect on the thermal expansion behavior for temperatures between 800 and $1000^{\circ}C$. High temperature tensile and compression tests were conducted on the ingots for temperatures ranging from 900 to $1230^{\circ}C$, which is the operation temperature employed in Mg production by the Silico-thermic reduction process. The steel containing both N and Y showed much higher strength as compared to 310S.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.29 no.9 s.240
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• pp.1253-1261
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• 2005

Cast stainless steel (CSS) is thermally aged by a long term exposure in the range of nuclear power plant operating temperature. The thermal aging is a cause of concern for the continued safe and reliable operation of CSS nuclear components. Therefore, an assessment of degradation in material properties of these components has been importantly considered. In this study the ball indentation tests were performed on four cast stainless steels aged at $400^{\circ}C$ for 3600 hours, to investigate the applicability of ball indentation test to the assessment of aging degradation of cast stainless steels. Thus, the reliability of ball indentation test for aged CSS was analyzed by evaluating the scattering of data tested from each material and by comparing tensile properties obtained from ball indentation test and standard tensile test. Also, the tensile properties of aged CSS obtained from ball indentation test were compared with those predicted by the evaluation procedure developed on the basis of material database for aged CSS.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.17-26
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• 2006

The substitution of cooling method from water quenching to air cooling after solution heat treatment was aimed for the development of a convenient and economical heat treatment process of duplex stainless steels without deterioration of mechanical and corrosion resistant properties for the industry. In order to achieve this goal, the mechanical properties and corrosion properties of a ASTM A890-4A duplex stainless steel were systematically investigated as functions of casting condition and cooling method after solution heat treatment. A 3-stepped sand mold and a permanent Y-block mold were used to check the effects of solidification structure and cooling rate after solution heat treatment. The microstructural characteristics such as the ferrite/austenite phase ratio and the precipitation behavior of ${\sigma}$ phase and carbides were investigated by combined analysis of OM and SEM-EDX with an aid of TTT diagram. Hardness and tension test were performed to evaluate the mechanical properties. Impact property at $-40^{\circ}C$ and corrosion resistance were also examined to check the possibility of the industrial application of this basic study. Throughout this investigation, air-cooling method was proved to effectively substitute for water-quenching process after the solution heat treatment, when the duplex stainless steel was sand mold cast with a thickness below 15 mm or permanent mold cast with a thickness below 20 mm.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.689-694
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• 2013

A duplex stainless steel sheet with 1 wt.% gadolinium was fabricated for a neutron absorbing material with high strength, excellent corrosion resistance, and low cost as well as high neutron absorption capability. The microstructure of the as-cast specimen has typical duplex phases including 31% ferrite and 69% austenite. Main alloy elements like chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), and gadolinium (Gd) are relatively uniformly distributed in the matrix. Gadolinium rich precipitates were present in the grains and at the grain boundaries. The solution treatment at $1070^{\circ}$ for 50 minutes followed by the hot-rolling above $950^{\circ}$ after keeping the sheet at $1200^{\circ}$ for 1.5 hours are important points of the optimum condition to produce a 6 mm-thick plate without cracking.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.114-119
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• 2015

This paper reports the effect of a refractory crucible type on the microstructure of duplex stainless steel (DSS) cast with the addition of gadolinium using air-induction melting. Grade 4A DSSs with 1 wt% of gadolinium (Gd) were fabricated in various crucibles including alumina ($Al_2O_3$), magnesia (MgO), calcia (CaO) coated with yttria ($Y_2O_3$) and graphite. The standard free energies of the formation of calcium and yttrium oxide were lower than those of gadolinium oxide and other crucible elements based oxide. The yield of Gd in DSS using $Al_2O_3$, MgO, CaO-coated $Y_2O_3$ and graphite was 5, 19, 83 and 96%, respectively. As Gd yield increased, the amount of Gd-based inclusions increased, the size of the inclusions were reduced, and the inclusions became evenly distributed.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.24-31
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• 2016

CD4MCU duplex stainless steel with gadolinium was fabricated as a neutron absorbing material by the air induction melting method. The gadolinium formed intermetallic compounds of Cu-Gd-Fe. There were no significant differences in hardness or ultimate tensile strength between experimental alloys. With the addition of gadolinium the yield strength of the cast alloy significantly increased, from $478.8{\pm}11.6$ to $514.2{\pm}29.9MPa$, whereas elongation of the cast alloy decreased with the addition of gadolinium, from $26.0{\pm}7.1$ to $7.0{\pm}2.5%$ due to the formation of gadolinium based intermetallic compounds.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.654-659
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• 2007

Austenite precipitation behavior was studied with solidification rates and alloying contents, N and Cr, in duplex stainless steels by directional solidification. Directional solidification experiments were carried out with solidification rates, $1{\sim}100mm/s$, and N and Cr contents, $0{\sim}0.27wt.%,\;25{\sim}28wt.%$ respectively, in a duplex stainless steel, CD4MCU. As the solidification rate increases, the dendrite spacing reduced and the austenite phase in the ferrite matrix became finer. The volume fraction of austenite phase increased and its shape went to be round with increasing nitrogen contents in duplex stainless alloys. The Cr alloying element, even though it is a ferrite former, showed to enhance the nitrogen solubility in the alloy and caused the austenite round and finer. Also, Cr was supposed to decrease the austenite volume fraction, but it increased the austenite slightly due to increasing nitrogen solubility during solidification.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.8
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• pp.2591-2599
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• 2021

The effect of thermal aging at 475 ℃ and 750 ℃ of Z3CN20.09M cast duplex stainless steel (CDSS) on microstructure, mechanical and intergranular corrosion properties were investigated by transmission electron microscope (TEM), nano indenter, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and corrosion fatigue test system. The result indicated that the spinodal decomposition and G precipitated were occurred after aged at 475 ℃, as well as sigma precipitated at 750 ℃. The microstructure degeneration of ferrite was saturated after aged for 2000h and 200 h at 475 ℃ and 750 ℃ respectively. The mechanical properties, intergranular corrosion resistance and corrosion fatigue lives were continuing deteriorated with increasing the aging time at both temperatures. The difference of the degeneration mechanisms of Z3CN20.09M CDSS aged at 475 ℃ and 750 ℃ was analyzed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.164-168
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• 2016

Lean duplex stainless steels with 0.087 wt.% gadolinium (Gd) were inert arc-melted and cast in molds of size $10mm{\times}10mm{\times}20mm$. The micro-hardnesses of the rolling direction (RD), transverse direction (TD) and short transverse (ST) direction were $258.5H_V$, $292.3H_V$, and $314.7H_V$, respectively. A 33% cold rolled specimen had the crystallographic texture that (100) pole was mainly concentrated to the normal direction (ND) and (110) pole was concentrated in the center of ND and RD. The corrosion potential and corrosion rate in artificial seawater and $0.1M\;H_2SO_4$ solution were in the range of $105.6-221.6mV_{SHE}$, $0.59-1.06mA/cm^2$, and $4.75-8.25mV_{SHE}$, $0.69-1.68mA/cm^2$, respectively. The friction coefficient and wear loss of the 0.087 w/o Gd-lean duplex stainless steels in artificial seawater were about 67% and 65% lower than in air, whereas the wear efficiency was 22% higher. The corrosion and wear behaviors of the 0.087 w/o Gd-lean duplex stainless steels significantly depended on the Gd phases.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.609-616
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• 1998

Cast duplex stainless steels are extensively used for primary pressure boundary components. These components are, however, embrittled due to the precipitation of $\alpha$' phase by spinodal decomposition and other processes when exposed to reactor operating temperature for a design lifetime or life extension conditions. This report presents a procedure for estimating the current condition and the residual life of safety-related stainless steel components by using ANL database and correlations. The database of Charpy impact energy suggests that CF-8M grade is the most susceptible to thermal aging and CF-3 grade is the least. Thus, the integrity of CF-8M alleys may be degraded seriously and the degree of deterioration may exceed acceptance limit after several years of service in the nuclear reactors.