Elastic Properties of FeCr20Ni8Xn (X = Mo, Nb, Ta, Ti, V, W and Zr) Austenitic Stainless Steels: A First Principles Study

Abstract

Austenitic stainless steels suffer from intergranular corrosion and stress corrosion cracking when exposed to elevated temperature (500–800 °C). Under these environments, Cr-carbides and Cr-carbontrides precipitate at the grain boundaries, which results in the formation of Cr-depleted zone. In practice, alloying elements could be added into austenitic stainless steels to modify the precipitation processes. Besides the precipitation processes, the elastic properties of the iron matrix would be influenced. Using the exact muffin-tin orbitals (EMTO) method, the solute effects on the elastic properties of FeCr20Ni8 austenitic stainless steels were studied. Based on the simulated shear modulus (G) and bulk modulus (B), we proposed a design map for FeCr20Ni8 based alloys, aiming to provide a basis for the design of high-performance austenitic stainless steels.