Scale-bridging analysis on deformation behavior of high-nitrogen austenitic steels

Scale-bridging analysis on deformation behavior of high-nitrogen austenitic Fe-18Cr-10Mn-(0.39 and 0.69)N steels was performed by neutron diffraction, electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Two important modes of deformation were identified depending on the nitrogen content: deformation twinning in the 0.69 N alloy and strain-induced martensitic transformation in the 0.39 N alloy. The phase fraction and deformation faulting probabilities were evaluated based on analyses of peak shift and asymmetry of neutron diffraction profiles. Semi in situ EBSD measurement was performed to investigate the orientation dependence of deformation microstructure and it showed that the variants of ε martensite as well as twin showed strong orientation dependence with respect to tensile axis. TEM observation showed that deformation twin with a {111} mathematical left angle bracket 112 mathematical right angle bracket crystallographic component was predominant in the 0.69 N alloy whereas two types of strain-induced martensites (ε and α' martensites) were observed in the 0.39 N alloy. It can be concluded that scale-bridging analysis using neutron diffraction, EBSD, and TEM can yield a comprehensive understanding of the deformation mechanism of nitrogen-alloyed austenitic steels.