Investigation of Deformation Induced Martensitic Transformation during Incremental Forming of 304 Stainless Steel Wires

Abstract

Wires with 1 mm initial diameter have been reduced between 10 and 64 percent at different temperatures and strain rates by infeed rotary swaging, which is an incremental cold forming process mainly used for rods and pipes. The volume fraction of martensite in the deformed wires has been determined by X-Ray diffraction and by magnetic induction for different processing parameters. Measurements show that for already small percentage of reduction, martensite is present in the wires and its amount changes with the strain rate and temperature. While for smaller strain rates at room temperature the formation of martensite is promoted, it is restrained for higher strain rates and higher temperatures. Results also reveal that the martensite distribution in the sample is inhomogeneous. Further investigations have been made to analyze the microstructure by optical microscopy and to determine mechanical properties by tensile testing.