Homogenisation effect on mechanical and pitting behaviour of 2205 Duplex Stainless Steel

We investigated the effect of homogenisation on the grain boundary character distribution and its influence on the mechanical behaviour and pitting resistance of an ultrafine grained 2205 duplex stainless steel after cold rolling and annealing. The results revealed that the cold rolling process induced the formation of a strain-induced martensite (SIM). Additionally, the Kurdjumov-Sachs relationship between the martensite laths and the metastable austenite was established through texture analysis. Furthermore, the homogenisation process enhanced the ductility of the steel. An increase in the pitting resistance after homogenisation was attributed to the grain boundary character distribution. This improvement corresponds to the increase in the n-ary sumation 3 boundaries in the austenite and increase in the n-ary sumation 17b boundaries fraction in the ferrite.