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DOI: 10.10O2/mawe.20O6O0O68
Nickel and nitrogen are the two most widely used alloying elements which can impart the face-centered-cubic crystal lattice to
stainless steels. With the recent price increases and the price volatility of nickel, nitrogen is ever more important as an alloying element for a number of reasons. First, nitrogen is easily available
everywhere and thus is not subject to speculation at the Metal Exchange. Second, in addition to making stainless steels austenitic,
nitrogen can also make them stronger and more corrosion resistant
It is also a well and clearly established fact since many years, that
nitrogen in solid solution makes austenitic stainless steels more
wear resistant and more fatigue resistant.
Austenitic stainless steel alloy design with nitrogen has for many
years now taken account of the role of carbon. This is not only because carbon is just a useful austenite former, but also because nitrogen reduces the temperature where carbides begin to form. Thus
there is always an optimum carbon to nitrogen ratio. Finally it is
now well established that carbon in solid solution helps to increase
the strength, the corrosion resistance and the wear resistance of austenitic stainless steels.
A number of quantitative correlations between alloy composition and materials properties are presented and their useful role in
alloy design is pointed out. This will further help to lower the nickel
content in austenitic stainless steels or even replace nickel altogether.
Key words: nitrogen steels, stainless steels, austenitic steels,
strength, corrosion resistance, wear resistance, carbon in solid solution.
above the gamma border line. This is, of course, to use as little
nickel as possible, because the main role, and often the only
role of the expensive nickel is to make the stainless steels austenitic. From die formulation of the nickel equivalent in Figure 2, one can see how nitrogen can partially or even fully take
over the role of nickel as an austenite former.
The austenite borderline, with the chromium and nickel
equivalents used in Figure 2 is determined as follows:
Nickel Equivalent = 1.2 Chromium Equivalent minus 13.
(equation 1)
3 Adding nitrogen
M. O. Speidel
>
0.2
0.4
0.
0.8
1.2
1.4
IS
10
30
40
SO
SO
70
80
MARC = Cr+3.3Mo+20C+20N-0.5Mn-0.25Ni
877
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
SO
M A R C = Cr+3.3Mo+2OC+20N-0.5Mn-0.25Ni
Fig. 6. MARC controls both, pitting corrosion and crevice corrosion in stainless steels.
BiW 6. Die Wirksumme MARC korreliert gut mit dem Widerstand
gegen Lochfrass und Spaltkorrosion.
Table X. Three price levels assumed for the alloy cost to add one weight percent of each alloying element to austenitic stainless steel. (USD
/ton).
Tabetic 1. Niedrige, mittlere, oder hohe Kosten fiir jedes Legierungselement, urn dessen Gehalt in austenitisch rostfreiem Stahl um ein
Gewichtsprozent zu erhohen
Price
Cr
Mn
Ni
Mo
low
4.5
60
100
10?
medium
13
6.5
100
400
10?
high
16
14.5
160
800
10?
Table 2. Cost to increase the corrosion resistance by one MARC. (USD / ton)
Tabelle 2. Niedrige, mittlere oder hohe Kosten fiir jedes Legierungselement, um den Korrosionswiderstand um eine MARC - Einheit zu
erhfihen.
Mo + 1.8Ni
N + 15Cr
N + 25Mo
cost
Ci+ 1.2 Ni
low
106
63
4?
24
medium
175
175
6?
98
nigh
273
330
7?
195
878
M. O. Speidel
totally different ways. Even if the nitrogen price shown in Table 1 is unrealistic on an absolute scale, the essential message
remains: nitrogen prices are not subject to large fluctuations,
particularly when nitrogen is added as gas, for example in
AOD.
With the alloy element cost given in Table 1 we can now
calculate the cost to increase the corrosion resistance by 1
MARC unit by taking into account how strongly each element
increases MARC (equation 3) and what other additions will be
necessary to stay above the austenite borderline (equation 1).
The result is shown in Table 2.
It turns out, as expected, that nitrogen-chromium additions
are the most economic way to increase the corrosion resistance of typical austenitic stainless steels. The chromium
here is necessary to increase the nitrogen solubility in the
steel, according to equation 2.
Thus, if nitrogen containing, low nickel austenitic stainless
steels of the 200 series were an economically meaningful
choice for applications in the year 2000, when the alloy costs
were "low" according to Figure 7 and according to Tables 1
and 2, then this choice would make even more sense in the
year 2006, when the alloy costs were" high".
trogen containing austenitic stainless steels, as has been discussed in detail in [9,20,21,22], It is thus meaningless to discuss strengthening theories of polycrystals without taking the
grain size effect ( and its temperature dependence!) into account. [17,18]. To a first approximation, however, the hardness increases linearly with the nitrogen content, as seen in
Figure 9. In the same linear fashion, the wear resistance
>
x
*x>
0.3
0.0
1.3
1J0
1.4
1.1
rr
R,=2SI)J-250VC+N
01
c
3
100
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.1
1.0
1.2
1.4
IS
0
18
0.1
0-2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.S
0.7
1
0.S
0.8
Figure 10. Nitrogen and carbon in austenitic solid solution increase the fatigue resistance and the corrosion fatigue resistance .
Abb. 10. Stickstoff und Konlenstoff in austenitisch fester Ldsung
erhoht die Ermiidungsbestandigkeit und die SchwingungsrisskorrosionsbestSndigkeit
Stainless Steels
879
7 Conclusions
Nitrogen in austenitic solid solution is an enormously useful element with respect to austeoite stability, corrosion resistance and raechanic.il properties. It is also economically useful
because it is not as subject to price volatility as are nickel aud
molybdenum. It is therefore to be expected that nitrogen-containing; austenitk; stainless steels with little or no nickel (the
so-called 200 Series austenitic stainless steels) will be more
widely used in the foreseeable future.
8 References
1.
2.
3.
4.
[T68]
1 Einleitung
Zur Erfassuog dea Einflusses einer mehrach:
spruchung anfdas Festigkcitsverhslten sind zahln
teifshypothesen entwickelt worden. Vorausgese
dtesen Hypothesen, dass sich das Festigkeiusvt
mehrachsiger Beanspruchung mil Hirfe einer Vcr;
nung auf das VetfuUten bei einachsiger Beanspi
riJclcfubjco stunt. Bei sehwingender Beanspruch
tangent bekannt, dass konventionelle Hypothec
Sehubspamungs- und die Oestattlndertingsenerg
(van Mises) nur bei propottioitalcr Beonspruchur
det werden dUtfen (1, 2J. FUr sichlproportionai<
chungen, bei denen sich in der Regel die Hauptspu
tiiag wiihrend ci::cs Sdivr^tjjsais!: ir.dert, versaj
ventionellen Hypothesen. Hier giht es eine Reihe
zen, die aU Mcthoden der kritischeu Schnittebene,
len Ansbeogung und der Energicumwandlung bei
den sind [ 3 , 4 , 5 ] , FUr korapjexe mehnziale Abis
im Betrieb haufig aufneten, besleht noch ein crhet
retischer und experimenteller Forschungsbcdarf
vetlassigere Besclueibung des Einflusses der Men
[6j.
In der vorliegenden Unlcrsuchung soil ein set
Beanpnichnngsfall betrachtet werden, der bcinah
mutet: Ein ebener Spannungszustaod, bed dem ei
spanmtng a schwingend und zwei Normalspaa
und Gym statisch aufuxten, Bilri J. Da keine Schi
880
M. O. Speidel