Effect of strain-induced epsilon and alpha '-martensitic transformation on cavitation erosion resistance in austenitic Fe-Cr-C-MnFe-Cr-C-Mnti alloys

Abstract

Effect of strain-induced epsilon and alpha'-martensitic transformation #SIMT# on cavitation erosion resistance was investigated in austenitic Fe-Cr-C-Mn alloys as a function of Mn concentration^ Stacking fault energy #SFE# of Fe-16Cr-0^4C-xMn #x=5, 10, and 15# alloys decreased with increasing Mn concentration. As the SFE decreased with increasing Mn concentration, the volume fraction of transformed alpha'-martensite decreased whereas the fraction of epsilon-martensite increased such that the SIMI' type changed from gamma -˃ alpha' to gamma -˃ epsilon + alpha'. It was shown that the cavitation erosion resistance of the gamma -˃ epsilon + alpha' type alloy was superior compared to the gamma -˃ alpha' type alloy. The improvement in cavitation erosion resistance was ascribed to the presence of the epsilon-martensite, hindering the propagation of the grain boundary damage into the grains. #C# 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.