Steel and Composite Structures
Volume 58, Number 4, 2026, pages 523-539
DOI: 10.12989/scs.2026.58.4.523
Study of stainless steel microstructure by cyclic cryogenic method
Irina E. Volokitina , Andrey V. Volokitin , Bakhyt A. Zhautikov , Gulnura Zhumanazarova
Abstract
The production of wire with improved mechanical properties, capable of withstanding significant loads and maintaining integrity for a long time, faces certain technological limitations. Therefore, thermomechanical processing becomes the optimal solution for high-quality wire obtaining. Technology of stainless wire thermomechanical processing developed in this work consists of preliminary heat treatment - hardening at a temperature of 1050°C and traditional drawing with subsequent cryogenic cooling after each deformation cycle. A comparison of wire intermediate heating effect to room temperature between deformation cycles was also made, which did not change stainless steel wire microstructure and properties. The use of intermediate heating led to the formation of a unique gradient martensitic- austenitic microstructure in stainless steel wire. A nanostructured layer with a grain size of about 500 nm was formed on the surface. This thin, high-strength shell smoothly transitions into a zone with a gradually increasing grain size as it approaches the center of the wire. If intermediate heating to room temperature is not used between deformation cycles, then heating in the deformation zone does not occur. In this case, after three deformation cycles, the microstructure becomes martensitic throughout the volume of wire with 400 nm size grains.
Key Words
drawing; microstructure; martensite; nitrogen; steel; wire
Address
- Irina E. Volokitina — Department of Metallurgy and Mechanical Engineering, Karaganda Industrial University, Respublika Avenue 30, Kazakhstan
- Andrey V. Volokitin — Department of Metallurgy and Mechanical Engineering, Karaganda Industrial University, Respublika Avenue 30, Kazakhstan
- Bakhyt A. Zhautikov — Department of Metallurgy and Mechanical Engineering, Karaganda Industrial University, Respublika Avenue 30, Kazakhstan
- Gulnura Zhumanazarova — Department of Metallurgy and Mechanical Engineering, Karaganda Industrial University, Respublika Avenue 30, Kazakhstan
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