Anomalous stabilization of austenitic stainless steels at cryogenic temperatures

The deformation-induced formation of α′ martensite was investigated by tensile testing of a Fe-19Cr-3Mn-4Ni-0.15C-0.17N cast austenitic steel between −196 °C and 400 °C. The steel did not exhibit spontaneous α′ martensite formation at temperatures as low as −196 °C. Therefore, the critical driving force for the formation of α′ (−2780 J/mol) was obtained by determining the complementary mechanical energy necessary to trigger the...