Solidification and microstructure of a high alloy stainless steel

Abstract

The steel considered in the present work can be classified as a 6Mo austenitic stainless steel, which has a much higher corrosion resistance than many other commercially available stainless steels. However, because of macrosegregation during solidification of ingot casting, the high alloy content in the steel, especially Mo, N, C, enhances precipitation of intermetallic phases such asa phase. Such precipitation mainly occurs in the center of the material and has normally no significant effect on mechanical properties or surface corrosion resistance. The introduction of modern production methods such as continuous casting of slabs for stainless sheet production has reduced the macrosegregation tendency and related precipitation. However, the microsegregation in a small scale may be enhanced as the higher cooling rate prevents the diffusion in the solidified region. In the present work, the continuous casting solidification process was simulated in a laboratory gradient