Serrated yielding in austenitic stainless steels

ABSTRACT

Austenitic stainless steels are widely employed in various applications due to many desirable properties such as excellent mechanical properties and corrosion/oxidation resistance. Serrated yielding phenomenon that occurs in austenitic stainless steels during deformation can cause significant changes in microstructures and mechanical properties. Thus, understanding the serrated yielding mechanisms and their influence on the mechanical behaviour on austenitic stainless steels is essential for developing and designing an advanced steel for harsher environment applications. In this article, a concise review of serrated yielding behaviour is examined and discussed with special attention to serration types, models describing the origin of the serrated flow, temperature-strain rate regimes for the serration occurrence, recent findings of the serration behaviour in a variety of austenitic steels and the role of dynamic strain ageing. Contradiction about the negative/beneficial impact of serrated flow on mechanical properties of newly developed austenitic stainless steels also is presented.

KEYWORDS:

• Stainless steels
• dynamic strain ageing
• serration
• solute atom
• mechanical behaviour

Acknowledgments

The author gratefully acknowledges Prof. Murty, Progress Energy Distinguished Professor of Nuclear Engineering at North Carolina state university for his review and valuable comments. Also, the author is thankful for King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) for funding his doctoral degree studies.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).