The drawability of sheet material in deep drawing followed by redrawing has not been studied theoretically in detail. The clamping force during deep drawing has not been properly simulated by FE method in the past due to the neglect of the operating machine stiffness. In addition, deep drawing process with centre hole blank has not been investigated in detail experimentally and numerically in the previous work. All of these aspects are studied in this work. A new FE model for deep drawing and redrawing has been developed, which accounts for the operating machine stiffness. In this model, the draw die is connected to a semi-rigid component of the test frame by some spring elements so that the stiffness of the operating machine can be controlled by the stiffness of these springs. Also, a mathematical model to determine the limiting drawing ratio (LDR) of deep drawing and redrawing processes has been derived based on the extension of an existing analytical model and Hill's anisotropic criterion. The results of the mathematical model have been validated by corresponding experimental and FE simulation work in terms of punch load and clamping force versus punch displacement and thickness distributions along the product profile. Furthermore, deep drawing with centre hole blank has been studied in terms of flanging ratio and the results of FE simulation are in good agreement with experimental work. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

The effect of a specific type of pre-exposure heat treatment on the susceptibility of AlSI type 304 stainless steel to stress corrosion cracking was studied in terms of time for crack nucleation and rate of crack propagation. U-bend specimens were exposed to 42 weight percent magnesium chloride aqueous solution after pre-exposure heat treatments at 140°C and 154°C. The straight-line relationship between maximum crack depth and the logarithm of exposure time expressed by the empirical equation log t = log t_o + D/M was obtained. The stress corrosion constants derived from the empirical equation indicate that this type of pre-exposure heat treatment promotes crack nucleation because of the formation of less protective surface films, and retards the rate of crack propagation because of effects on internal structural changes within the alloy. / Master of Science

An investigation was conducted to identify the type nitride formed in Type 304 stainless steel. Specimens of this material were nitrided commercially by The Chapman Valve Manufacturing Company using a patented process known as Malcomizing. These specimens were investigated utilizing both X-ray diffraction and metallography techniques. The results implied that the nitrogen combines principally with the iron in the stainless steel forming three iron nitrides - Fe₄N, Fe₃N, and Fe₂N. The alloy was selected because it contained a minimum number of elements which might form nitrides. It was concluded that for this particular alloy the relative concentration of the nitride forming elements determines largely which type of nitride will form. / Master of Science

Hydrogen embrittlement of austenitic stainless steels and temper embrittlement of a martensitic stainless steel have been studied by impact testing, metallography, and SEM fractography. New data for uncharged and hydrogen-charged specimens of Types 304L and 316L austenitic stainless steels show significant hydrogen effects on the impact behavior of both materials. The Type 316L specimens showed greater hydrogen effects and a more pronounced"ductile-to-brittle transition." Analysis of new and existing data for austenitic stainless steels suggests that a steel's susceptibility to hydrogen may be estimated on the basis of the magnitude of its ductile-to-brittle transition. Due to the roles played by slip planarity, transformation to martensite, and other strain rate sensitive factors, strict ordering of various steels' susceptibilities to hydrogen cannot be expected by this method. Nevertheless, the method may provide a reasonable alternative to thorough characterization of the effect of hydrogen on the mechanical properties of a given material. The Type 416 martensitic stainless steel specimens possessed a banded ferrite/tempered martensite microstructure. Non-embrittled specimens exhibited a microvoid coalescence mode of fracture. The temper embrittlement mechanism promoted transgranular fracture of the tempered martensite phase. In the banded microstructure, ferrite/ferrite and ferrite/tempered martensite interfaces were extraordinarily weak. Their failure early in the deformation process promoted ductility by permitting relaxation of constraint on the tempered martensite phase. Tempering condition, impact data, and hardness data were correlated in order to specify a maximum acceptable hardness for a given minimum service temperature. / M.S.

To compare the optimum recoveries of an inoculation of <i>Salmonella enterica</i> serotype Typhimurium, fluorescent microspheres (1.0 μm diameter, carboxylate-modified, crimson FluoSpheres®, Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR), or a combination of both from stainless steel, three recovery methods, including a standard rinse, a one-ply composite tissue (Kimwipe®) or a sonicating brush were used. Findings were used to assess the effectiveness of fluorescent microspheres as surrogates for <i>S.</i> Typhimurium. For each method, ten coupons (304 grade, 2.5 x 8 cm) were inoculated with either 100 μl of a <i>S.</i> Typhimurium culture, or a solution of fluorescent microspheres, or both, at approximate concentrations of 10⁶. After drying for one hour, coupons were sampled using either a rinse of 100 ml of phosphate buffered saline solution (PBS) for one min, a Kimwipe® tissue method, or submerged in PBS and subjected to a sonicating brush for one min. After treatments, PBS solutions were analyzed using duplicate plate counting (<i>Salmonella</i>) or hemacytometry (microspheres). For microspheres and <i>Salmonella</i>, recovery by sonicating brush > rinse > Kimwipe® method. Additionally, the retention of microspheres on the steel ranged from 16 to 25% (mean from five coupons each recovery method). Microspheres yielded a significantly higher recovery rate (11 – 60%) than <i>Salmonella</i> (~1%) for each recovery method, therefore the microspheres used in this study, are not appropriate surrogates for <i>S.</i> Typhimurium for future recovery studies on stainless steel. However, due to their low standard deviations for their mean percent recovery, they hold the opportunity to provide better accuracy and reproducibility. / Master of Science

No description available.

Student Number : 9904952F - MSc Dissertation - School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering - Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment / This dissertation is a study of the effect of manganese, nitrogen and molybdenum on the corrosion behaviour of a low nickel, austenitic stainless steel. The trademarked steel, HerculesTM, has a composition of 10 wt% Mn, 0.05 wt% C, 2 wt% Ni, 0.25 wt% N and 16.5 wt% Cr. Eighteen alloys with a HerculesTM base composition were made with varying manganese, molybdenum and nitrogen contents, to establish the effect of these elements on the corrosion behaviour of the steel, and to determine a composition that would ensure increased corrosion resistance in very corrosive applications. The manganese was varied in three levels (5, 10 and 15 wt%), the molybdenum in three levels (0.5, 1 and 2 wt%) while the nitrogen was varied only in two levels (0.15 and 0.3 wt%). The dissertation details the manufacturing and electrochemical corrosion testing of these alloys. Preliminary tests were done on 50g buttons, and full-scale tests on 5 kg ingots. The buttons had a composition that was not on target, this was however rectified in the making of the ingots. Potentiodynamic tests were done in a 5 wt% sulphuric acid solution and the corrosion rate (mm/y) was determined directly from the scans. From the corrosion test results, it was clear that an increase in manganese decreases the corrosion rate, since the 5 wt% Mn alloys had the highest corrosion rate, whereas the 15 wt% Mn alloys, the lowest. The addition of molybdenum at 5 wt% Mn decreased the corrosion rate such that a trend of decreasing corrosion rate with increasing molybdenum was observed. At 10 and 15 wt% Mn molybdenum again decreased the corrosion rate significantly, but the corrosion rate value remained more or less constant irrespective of the increasing molybdenum content. At nitrogen levels lower than those of HerculesTM (less than 0.25 wt%) there was no change in corrosion rate as nitrogen was increased to levels closer to 0.25 wt%. For nitrogen levels higher than 0.25 wt%, corrosion rates decreased as nitrogen levels were increased further from 0.25 wt% but only at Mo contents lower than 1.5 wt%. The HerculesTM composition was developed for its mechanical properties. Microstructural analyses revealed that the 5 wt% Mn alloys were not fully austenitic and since the 15 wt% Mn alloys behave similarly to the 10 wt% Mn alloys, it was concluded that 10 wt% Mn was optimum for HerculesTM. All the alloys tested had a much lower corrosion rate than HerculesTM. Any addition of molybdenum thus improved the corrosion rate of this alloy. An alloy with a HerculesTM base composition, 10 wt% Mn, 0.15 wt% N and a minimum addition of 0.5 wt% Mo would be a more corrosion resistant version of HerculesTM. Pitting tests were done on the 10 wt% Mn ingots in a 3.56 wt% sodium chloride solution. The results showed that an increase in molybdenum increased the pitting resistance of the ingots. Immersion tests in a 5 wt% sulphuric acid solution at room temeperature on the 10 wt% Mn ingots confirmed that the ingots corroded by means of general corrosion.

Duplex stainless steels have a microstructure that consists of almost equal shares of austenite and ferrite, which leads to excellent material properties. During production and processing, the steel can be exposed to high temperatures which leads to the development of a third (sigma) phase, and thus to a change in material properties. The objective of this research is to assess the material damage in thermally degraded 2205 duplex stainless steel using nonlinear ultrasonics (NLU). Seven 2205 duplex stainless steel specimens are thermally degraded at 700 C for a series of different time durations. Nonlinear Ultrasonic measurements are conducted in a pitch-catch setup to avoid any adverse nonlinear influences of reflections and wave interference. The material nonlinearity parameter, beta, is then obtained by directly applying the fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to the measured time-domain signal. The results show that the nonlinearity parameter beta increases to a peak at 30 minutes aging time, then droppes to a low at 360 minutes and then increases again for increasing thermal damage. This demonstrates that the nonlinearity parameter has the potential to be used as a quantitative tool to estimate thermal damage in a specimen.

Corrosion and stress corrosion cracking of structural components cost an estimated $300 billion annually in the United States alone and are a safety concern for a number of industries using hot alkaline environments. These process environments may contain different amounts of sulfide and chloride; however, the combined role of these ions on the stress corrosion cracking of duplex stainless steels, which are widely used because of their generally reliable performance, had never been studied. This study shows that chlorides in sulfide-containing caustic environments actually have a significant influence on the performance of these alloys. A mechanism for stress corrosion cracking of duplex stainless steels in hot alkaline environments in the presence of sulfide and/or chloride was proposed. Microstructural and environmental aspects were studied using mechanical, electrochemical, and film characterization techniques. The results showed that selective corrosion of the austenite phase depended on percent sulfidity, alkalinity, and chloride content. Chlorides enhanced crack initiation and coalescence along the austenite/ferrite phase boundaries. Unstable passivity of duplex stainless steels in hot alkaline-sulfide environments was due to anion adsorption on the surface leading to defective film formation. Chlorides and sulfide available at the electrolyte/film surface reduced the charge transfer resistance and shifted the response of the films to lower frequencies indicating the films became more defective. The surface films consisted of an outer, discontinuous layer, and an inner, barrier layer. Fe, Mo, and Mn were selectively dissolved in alkaline and alkaline-sulfide environments. The onset of stress corrosion cracking was related to the extent of selective dissolution and was consistent with a film breakdown and repair mechanism similar to slip-step dissolution. Recommendations for reducing the susceptibility of duplex stainless steels to stress corrosion cracking in sulfide-containing caustic environments include reducing the chloride to hydroxide ratio and alloying with less Mo and Mn. The results will impact the petrochemical, pulp and paper, and other process industries as new duplex grades can be developed with optimal compositions and environments can be controlled to extend equipment life.

Duplex stainless steel (DSS) is a dual-phase material with approximately equal volume amount of austenite and ferrite. It has both great mechanical properties (good ductility and high tensile/fatigue strength) and excellent corrosion resistance due to the mixture of the two phases. Cyclic loadings with high stress level and low frequency are experienced by many structures. However, the existing study on corrosion fatigue (CF) study of various metallic materials has mainly concentrated on relatively high frequency range. No systematic study has been done to understand the ultra-low frequency (10-5 Hz) cyclic loading effect on stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of DSSs. In this study, the ultra-low frequency cyclic loading effect on SCC of DSS 2205 was studied in acidified sodium chloride and caustic white liquor (WL) solutions. The research work focused on the environmental effect on SCC of DSS 2205, the cyclic stress effect on strain accumulation behavior of DSS 2205, and the combined environmental and cyclic stress effect on the stress corrosion crack initiation of DSS 2205 in the above environments. Potentiodynamic polarization tests were performed to investigate the electrochemical behavior of DSS 2205 in acidic NaCl solution. Series of slow strain rate tests (SSRTs) at different applied potential values were conducted to reveal the optimum applied potential value for SCC to happen. Room temperature static and cyclic creep tests were performed in air to illustrate the strain accumulation effect of cyclic stresses. Test results showed that cyclic loading could enhance strain accumulation in DSS 2205 compared to static loading. Moreover, the strain accumulation behavior of DSS 2205 was found to be controlled by the two phases of DSS 2205 with different crystal structures. The B.C.C. ferrite phase enhanced strain accumulation due to extensive cross-slips of the dislocations, whereas the F.C.C. austenite phase resisted strain accumulation due to cyclic strain hardening. Cyclic SSRTs were performed under the conditions that SCC occurs in sodium chloride and WL solutions. Test results show that cyclic stress facilitated crack initiations in DSS 2205. Stress corrosion cracks initiated from the intermetallic precipitates in acidic chloride environment, and the cracks initiated from austenite phase in WL environment. Cold-working has been found to retard the crack initiations induced by cyclic stresses.