Influence of the addition of gadolinium on the microstructure and mechanical properties of duplex stainless steel

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of gadolinium addition on the microstructure and mechanical properties of duplex stainless steel (DSS) fabricated using a normal casting method. The oxygen content in the cast DSS alloy with gadolinium decreased because of the high reactivity of gadolinium with oxygen. The area fraction and size of non-intermetallic inclusions in the alloy decreased from 0.80±0.12% to 0.58±0.04% and from 6.9±0.7 to 5.8±0.4 μm upon gadolinium addition, respectively. Notably, the ultimate tensile strength and strain at break of the cast alloy significantly increased with the addition of gadolinium from 919±25 to 969±8 MPa and from 24.8±1.9% to 28.4±1.1%, respectively. The hardness of the cast alloy with gadolinium increased from 23.6±1.3 to 25.0±1.2 HRC. A significant increase in the impact energy of the cast alloy was observed and the brittle-to-ductile transition temperature slightly decreased by approximately 10 °C with the addition of gadolinium.