Effect of Equal Channel Angular Pressing on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of AISI Type 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel

Abstract

The present paper describes the effect of severe plastic deformation on the microstructure and mechanical properties of AISI type 304 stainless steel by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) at room temperature. The strain-induced martensitic transformation occurred in the specimens, and martensite phase increased with increasing strain up to 42% for three passes of ECAP. X ray diffraction was used to identify the strain-induced martensite phase and its volume fraction. The martensite phase, mechanical twins and micro hardness have increased with increasing passes of ECAP. Microstructures of specimens show that with increasing strain, subgrains less than microns are susceptible to be created by fragmentation of twins.