Processing and characterization of a hipped oxide dispersion strengthened austenitic steel

An oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) austenitic steel with a nominal chemical composition of Fe–18Cr–8Ni–1Mo–0.5Ti–0.35Y2O3 (in wt.%) was prepared by mechanical alloying (MA) combined with hot isostatic pressing (HIP). The morphology of MA powders was observed by SEM. The microstructure of the HIPed ODS austenitic steels and chemical composition of the oxide particles were examined by TEM combined with an energy dispersive spectrometry. The oxide dispersion particles with sizes less than 20 nm were determined to be complex Y–Ti–Si–O oxides. The tensile test showed that the fabricated ODS austenitic steel had very high strength and good ductility. The ultimate tensile strength was around 1000 MPa with a total elongation of 33.5% at room temperature, while at temperature of 700 °C, the ultimate tensile strength still reached around 500 MPa.

► An ODS austenitic steel was prepared by mechanical alloying combined with HIP successfully.
► The dispersion particles with sizes less than 20 nm were determined to be complex Y–Ti–Si–O oxides.
► The fabricated ODS steel show both high strength and good ductility at room temperature and 700 °C.