Influence of Cold Rolling Reduction on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties in 204C2 Austenitic Stainless Steel

The present study investigated the effect of cold rolling reduction on microstructure and mechanical properties of a 204C2 Cr–Mn austenitic stainless steel which contained 16%Cr, 2%Ni, 9%Mn and 0.083 %C). The 204C2 austenitic stainless steels were cold rolled at multifarious thickness reductions of 10%, 20%, 30%,40% and 50%, which were compared with the solution-treated one. Microstructure of them was investigated by means of optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction technique and scanning electron microscopy. For mechanical properties investigations, hardness and tensile tests were carried out. Results shows that the cold rolling reduction induced the martensitic transformation (γ→α ́) in the structure of the austenitic stainless steel. With the increase of the rolling reduction, the amount of strain-induced martensite increased gradually. Hardness, ultimate tensile strength and yield strength increased with the incremental rolling reduction in 204C2 stainless steels, while the elongation decreased. At the thickness reduction of 50%, the specimen obtained best strength and hardness. Hardness of 204C2 stain steel reached 679HV. Ultimate tensile strength reached 1721 MPa. Yield strength reached 1496 MPa.