The Effect of Test Temperature on Deformation Microstructure and Fracture Mechanisms in CrMn High-Nitrogen Steels Alloyed (0-3 wt.%) with Vanadium

A temperature dependence of the tensile mechanical properties, microstructure and fracture mechanism of high-nitrogen Fe-(19-23)Cr-(17-21)Mn-(0-3)V-(0.1-0.3)C-(0.5-0.9)N vanadium-free and vanadium-containing steels was investigated. For all steels, the 0.2% offset yield strength and strain-hardening drastically increase with a decrease in test temperature. This is associated with high interstitial solid solution strengthening of the steels and more pronounced twinning and stacking-fault formation during straining below room temperature. For the vanadium-free steel, a ductile-to-brittle transition was evaluated: at 77K specimens destroy by cleavage mechanism while at room temperature steels show ductile fracture. Vanadium-alloying provides a particle strengthening of the steels and, at the same time, reduce solid-solution strengthening. Increase of vanadium concentration fully or partially suppress brittle fracture of the steels at 77K. Particle strengthening changes interstitial solid-solution effect, dislocation arrangement and slip/twinning relation in vanadium-containing high-nitrogen steels compared to vanadium-free one.