Structure change of 430 stainless steel in the heating process

The microstructure analysis was employed for the ferritic stainless steel (SUS430) with the carbon content from 0.029wt% to 0.100wt% under the simulated heating process condition. The higher carbon sample (430H) contains the duplex phase microstructure at the temperature of 1150°C; on the other hand, the lower carbon content sample (430L) does not touch two phase area even at the temperature of 1450°C and has the single phase ferritic microstructure. The carbon content need be well controlled for the 430 ferritic stainless steel since it can significantly affect the heating process curve, and the heating process may not be done in the two phase area due to the uncontrolled carbon content. With the low carbon content and the proper soaking time, the grain size is not sensitive to the heating process temperature and the soaking time. In the present heat treatment experiments, the soaking time is about 10 min, and the processing parameters can be chosen according to the requirement of the gross energy, the efficiency and the continual forming.