Martensitic Transformation During Compressive Deformation of a Non-conventional Stainless Steel and Its Quantitative Assessment

This report aims to examine the extent of deformation-induced phase transformation in a non-conventional austenitic stainless steel known as ISO/TR 15510 X12CrMnNiN17-7-5, upon compressive loading at room temperature. Experiments were carried out under varying length to diameter ratios (0.8, 1.0, 1.2, 1.4, and 1.6). TFE (Tetrafluoroethylene)-fluorocarbon tapes were used at specimen-platen interfaces to reduce the effect of friction. The results indicate that the lubrication was effective up to 15% of strain. Optical microscopy and x-ray diffraction (XRD) studies indicated martensitic phase transformation in the deformed specimens. The extent of phase transformation was determined by analyzing the XRD peaks using integrated intensity of the corresponding phases. The results are correlated with the extent of deformation in the respective samples. The presence of γ and α′-martensite on the deformed samples has been substantiated by some limited experiments using transmission electron microscopy.