The material studied consists of a series of alloys with a basic composition (weight %): 18Cr - 0.01 C - 0.2 Si - 0.4 Mn, and levels of nickel varying from zero to 60%. Alloys in the annealed condition and after deformation at room temperature, 350 and 700°C to simulate the high temperatures achieved during machining were observed by optical microscopy. Equilibrium diagrams were generated by computational thermodynamics (Thermocalc) to predict the behavior of these alloys in a wide range of temperatures. The theoretical thermodynamic equilibrium conditions of the system were compared to the observed microstructures, indicating that the CFC phase in alloys with nickel content between 10% and 30% is, in fact, in a metastable condition at room temperature. Martensitic transformation induced by cold work in the alloy with 10% Ni was observed, validating the computer calculations.
Stainless steel; nickel-based alloys; microstructure; machinability; computational thermodynamics
