ALUMINOBAROTHERMIC SYNTHESIS OF HIGH-NITROGEN STEEL

High-nitrogen austenitic steels are promising materials, combining high strength, plasticity and corrosion resistance properties. However, to produce high-nitrogen steel by conventional metallurgical methods under high nitrogen pressure, powerful and complex metallurgical equipment is required. From energy-saving viewpoint, an alternative and simpler method for producing high-nitrogen steels can be aluminothermy (reduction of metal oxides by metallic aluminum) under nitrogen pressure. Thermodynamic modeling of aluminothermic reactions in a nitrogen atmosphere was carried out by the authors. Aluminothermy under nitrogen pressure was used to produce high-nitrogen nickel-free Cr – N and Cr – Mn – N stainless steels with a nitrogen content of about 1  %. Microstructure (X-ray diffraction, metallography and transmission electron microscopy techniques) and mechanical properties were examined. Thermodynamic analysis has shown that the aluminothermic reduction reactions do not go to the end. The most important parameter of the synthesis is the ratio of Al and oxygen in the charge, the correct choice of which provides a compromise between completeness of oxides reduction, content of aluminum and oxygen in steel (the degree of deoxidation), and its contamination with aluminum nitride. Cr – N steel ingots in the cast state had the structure of nitrogen perlite (ferrite-nitride mixture), and Cr – Mn – N steel – ferrite-austenite structure with attributes of austenite discontinuous decomposition with Cr2 N precipitations. Quenching resulted in complete austenization of both steels. The compliance of the austenite lattice parameter obtained from the diffractograms for quenched Cr – Mn – N steel with the parameter predicted from the known concentration dependence for Cr – Mn – N austenitic steels indicated that all alloying elements (including nitrogen) were dissolved in austenite during aging at quenching temperature and fixed in the solid solution by quenching. Study of the mechanical properties of quenched Cr – Mn – N steel has shown a combination of high strength and ductility. It is concluded that by the aluminothermic method a high-nitrogen steel can be obtained, which, by mechanical properties, is not inferior to industrial steel  – analog manufacted by electroslag remelting under nitrogen pressure.

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