Notch and Fracture Toughness Studies on Stainless Steels Containing Vanadium

Abstract

One of the shortcomings of ferritic stainless steels is their limited toughness. By modifying the steel chemistry to include vanadium, some improvement is obtained in this regard. In this work, the influence of different stabilizers and thermomechanical treatments on the toughness of an experimental 18Cr–4V alloy have been studied. Some tests were also carried out to assess the influence of welding on the toughness and intergranular corrosion resistance.
It was found that vanadium, alone, is not a potent stabilizer. A small addition of niobium is necessary to prevent intergranular corrosion. High annealing temperatures adversely affect toughness, and the benefit of smaller grain size has not been demonstrated in this work.
A combination of inert-gas shielded welding, relatively low heat input and an austenitic filler provides weldments with adequate toughness.