A simulation of Cr depletion in austenitic stainless steel with cellular automaton

A cellular automaton modeling was developed to investigate the growth kinetics of Cr-rich carbides' precipitation and the three dimensional distribution of Cr concentration. The effects of solution treatment conditions and sensitization temperatures on Cr depletion were studied in detail. The results indicated that the amount of precipitate increased as sensitization temperature increased, decreasing along with the solution treatment temperature. Furthermore, the changing tendency of the precipitate's amount was in accordance with that of the degree of sensitization (DOS) obtained from the samples treated at the corresponding conditions.