Double Kinetics of Intermetallic Phase Precipitation in UNS S32205 Duplex Stainless Steels Submitted to Isothermal Heat Treatment

One of the most studied deleterious phases in stainless steels is the sigma phase, due to its high potential to decrease the toughness and corrosion resistance of these steels. Eight samples of as-received cold rolled UNS S32205 duplex stainless steel were submitted to isothermal heat treatments at 850 oC during 10, 15, 30, 60, 120, 180, 240, and 300 minutes in order to study the precipitation kinetics of the sigma and chi deleterious phases. Several complementary microstructural analysis techniques were used to determine the volume fraction of the intermetallic phases, including optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Evaluation was made of the kinetics of isothermal formation of sigma and chi phases in commercial duplex stainless steels (UNS S32205). The results indicated two different mechanisms for sigma phase precipitation: sigma phase formed from the chi phase for shorter isothermal heat treatment times, and sigma phase precipitated at the ferrite-austenite interface for longer isothermal heat treatment times, using a temperature of 850 oC. The phase transformation kinetics determined using the JMA equation indicated that chi phase precipitation caused faster sigma phase formation.