Aging precipitation and recrystallization in high-nitrogen austenitic stainless steel

The interaction between precipitation and recrystallization in cold deformed Fe-18Cr-12Mn-0.48N high-nitrogen austenitic stainless steel was investigated by means of hardness test, optical microscopy (OM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show that the recrystallization of the steel begins at about 750°C. When aging at 750°C, the precipitation occurs prior to recrystallization. Large numbers of the second phases nucleate in dislocation, grain boundary and subgrain boundary. Precipitation of the second-phase particles hinders the formation of recrystallization nucleus.