Feasibility of a Two-Stage Forming Process of 316L Austenitic Stainless Steels with Rapid Electrically Assisted Annealing

Abstract

The post-annealing mechanical behavior of 316L austenitic stainless steel (SUS316L) after electrically assisted (EA) annealing with a single pulse of electric current is experimentally investigated to evaluate the feasibility of a two-stage forming process of the selected SUS316L with rapid EA annealing. A tensile specimen is deformed to a specific prestrain and then annealed by applying a single pulse of electric current with a short duration less than 1 s. Finally, the specimen is reloaded until fracture. The stress-strain curve during reloading shows that the flow stress of the SUS316L significantly decreases, which indicates the occurrence of EA annealing. The electric current also increases the maximum achievable elongation of the SUS316L during reloading. The stress-strain curve during reloading and the microstructural observation suggest that the effects of EA annealing on the post-annealing mechanical behavior and microstructure strongly depend on both the applied electric current density (electric current per unit cross-sectional area) and the given prestrain. The results of the present study suggest that the EA annealing technique could be effectively used to improve the formability of SUS316L when manufacturing complex parts.