Effect of Aging on the Fracture Behavior of Lean Duplex Stainless Steels

The influence of aging in the range of 550 °C to 850 °C for 5 to 120 minutes on the impact fracture behavior of 2101 and 2304 lean duplex stainless steels (DSS) was investigated in the present study. The 2304 steel displayed ductile behavior irrespective of aging conditions. In contrast, the 2101 steel displayed a ductile behavior only in the case of aging for 5 minutes at 550 °C and 650 °C, whereas in all other cases, it fractured in a brittle manner. The brittle fracture behavior of the 2101 steel has been attributed to the precipitation of small black particles at the α/α and α/γ grain boundaries (nitrides), which form paths for easy crack propagation. In the 2304 steel, such particles precipitated at 750 °C and 850 °C, but they were located inside the austenitic grains because of the formation of secondary austenite. They therefore did not embrittle the steel. The larger Ni content of the 2304 steel favored the formation of the secondary austenite that is absent in the 2101 steel.