Thermal aging effect on 2205 duplex stainless steel

The effect of isothermal aging treatment on the mechanical and corrosion properties of 2205 duplex stainless steel was investigated by means of impact toughness test and micro-hardness measurement in combination with the critical pitting temperature( CPT) technique. The corresponding fractography of the steel was then observed after the impact toughness test. The results demonstrated that,at the critical temperature for precipitation of the sigma( σ) phase,e. g.,850 ℃,the impact toughness decreased rapidly and the micro-hardness increased gradually with increasing aging time. The CPT decreased from 61 to 15 ℃ as the aging time increased from 4 min to 8 h. In addition,optical microscopy,transmission electron microscope( TEM) and X-ray diffraction studies showed that the ferrite in the steel transformed into secondary austenite and σ phase.