Evolution of sigma phase precipitates in Cu-containing 25Cr–20Ni austenitic stainless steels

This study investigated, for the first time, the influence of Cu addition on sigma phase precipitation during aging at 700 °C in recrystallized 25Cr–20Ni austenitic stainless steels containing up to 2.9 wt% Cu. The sigma phase degrades the mechanical properties of steels. Microstructural analyses sh...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Gunjick Lee, Heechan Jung, Han Jun Yu, Jung Hun Han, Seok Su Sohn, Jae-Hyeok Shim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-05-01
Series:Journal of Materials Research and Technology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S223878542501405X
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850182919512915968
author Gunjick Lee
Heechan Jung
Han Jun Yu
Jung Hun Han
Seok Su Sohn
Jae-Hyeok Shim
author_facet Gunjick Lee
Heechan Jung
Han Jun Yu
Jung Hun Han
Seok Su Sohn
Jae-Hyeok Shim
author_sort Gunjick Lee
collection DOAJ
description This study investigated, for the first time, the influence of Cu addition on sigma phase precipitation during aging at 700 °C in recrystallized 25Cr–20Ni austenitic stainless steels containing up to 2.9 wt% Cu. The sigma phase degrades the mechanical properties of steels. Microstructural analyses showed that Cu addition significantly reduced sigma precipitation during aging for up to 1,000 h. However, in the early stages of aging, the amount of the sigma phase was slightly higher in the Cu-containing samples than in the sample without Cu. The amount of the sigma phase in the samples aged for 1,000 h was reduced 15.3, 8.8 and 7.6 % in the samples with 0, 1.4, and 2.9 wt% Cu, respectively. Interestingly, Cu-enriched layers were observed around sigma phase precipitates, which were presumed to consist of Cu atoms expelled from sigma phase precipitates with very limited Cu solubility. These layers seemed to play a crucial role in retarding the growth of the sigma phase in the samples with Cu. Tensile test results for the samples aged for 1,000 h indicated that the elongation of all the samples was significantly reduced compared to that of the recrystallized samples owing to the sigma phase precipitation. Nevertheless, the elongation losses of the samples with 1.4 and 2.9 wt% Cu were much smaller than those of the sample without Cu.
format Article
id doaj-art-24ddae2db3074cbbb32d4ccfbb32883a
institution OA Journals
issn 2238-7854
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Journal of Materials Research and Technology
spelling doaj-art-24ddae2db3074cbbb32d4ccfbb32883a2025-08-20T02:17:29ZengElsevierJournal of Materials Research and Technology2238-78542025-05-0136102341024210.1016/j.jmrt.2025.05.249Evolution of sigma phase precipitates in Cu-containing 25Cr–20Ni austenitic stainless steelsGunjick Lee0Heechan Jung1Han Jun Yu2Jung Hun Han3Seok Su Sohn4Jae-Hyeok Shim5Center for Hydrogen Energy Materials, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul, 02792, Republic of Korea; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of KoreaCenter for Hydrogen Energy Materials, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul, 02792, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea; Corresponding author.Center for Hydrogen Energy Materials, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul, 02792, Republic of Korea; KIST-SKKU Carbon-Neutral Research Center, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Suwon, Gyeonggi, 02841, Republic of Korea; Corresponding author. Center for Hydrogen Energy Materials, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul, 02792, Republic of Korea.This study investigated, for the first time, the influence of Cu addition on sigma phase precipitation during aging at 700 °C in recrystallized 25Cr–20Ni austenitic stainless steels containing up to 2.9 wt% Cu. The sigma phase degrades the mechanical properties of steels. Microstructural analyses showed that Cu addition significantly reduced sigma precipitation during aging for up to 1,000 h. However, in the early stages of aging, the amount of the sigma phase was slightly higher in the Cu-containing samples than in the sample without Cu. The amount of the sigma phase in the samples aged for 1,000 h was reduced 15.3, 8.8 and 7.6 % in the samples with 0, 1.4, and 2.9 wt% Cu, respectively. Interestingly, Cu-enriched layers were observed around sigma phase precipitates, which were presumed to consist of Cu atoms expelled from sigma phase precipitates with very limited Cu solubility. These layers seemed to play a crucial role in retarding the growth of the sigma phase in the samples with Cu. Tensile test results for the samples aged for 1,000 h indicated that the elongation of all the samples was significantly reduced compared to that of the recrystallized samples owing to the sigma phase precipitation. Nevertheless, the elongation losses of the samples with 1.4 and 2.9 wt% Cu were much smaller than those of the sample without Cu.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S223878542501405XSigma phasePrecipitateAustenitic stainless steelAgingElectron backscatter diffractionCu-enriched layer
spellingShingle Gunjick Lee
Heechan Jung
Han Jun Yu
Jung Hun Han
Seok Su Sohn
Jae-Hyeok Shim
Evolution of sigma phase precipitates in Cu-containing 25Cr–20Ni austenitic stainless steels
Journal of Materials Research and Technology
Sigma phase
Precipitate
Austenitic stainless steel
Aging
Electron backscatter diffraction
Cu-enriched layer
title Evolution of sigma phase precipitates in Cu-containing 25Cr–20Ni austenitic stainless steels
title_full Evolution of sigma phase precipitates in Cu-containing 25Cr–20Ni austenitic stainless steels
title_fullStr Evolution of sigma phase precipitates in Cu-containing 25Cr–20Ni austenitic stainless steels
title_full_unstemmed Evolution of sigma phase precipitates in Cu-containing 25Cr–20Ni austenitic stainless steels
title_short Evolution of sigma phase precipitates in Cu-containing 25Cr–20Ni austenitic stainless steels
title_sort evolution of sigma phase precipitates in cu containing 25cr 20ni austenitic stainless steels
topic Sigma phase
Precipitate
Austenitic stainless steel
Aging
Electron backscatter diffraction
Cu-enriched layer
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S223878542501405X
work_keys_str_mv AT gunjicklee evolutionofsigmaphaseprecipitatesincucontaining25cr20niausteniticstainlesssteels
AT heechanjung evolutionofsigmaphaseprecipitatesincucontaining25cr20niausteniticstainlesssteels
AT hanjunyu evolutionofsigmaphaseprecipitatesincucontaining25cr20niausteniticstainlesssteels
AT junghunhan evolutionofsigmaphaseprecipitatesincucontaining25cr20niausteniticstainlesssteels
AT seoksusohn evolutionofsigmaphaseprecipitatesincucontaining25cr20niausteniticstainlesssteels
AT jaehyeokshim evolutionofsigmaphaseprecipitatesincucontaining25cr20niausteniticstainlesssteels