Effect of W and N on mechanical properties of reduced activation ferritic/martensitic EUROFER-based steel grades

The C, N, and W content in EUROFER97, a 9CrWVTa reduced-activation ferritic/martensitic (RAFM) steel, was varied to obtain an experimental assessment of the main effects of the compositional variation on the mechanical properties and microstructural characteristics of six different experimental grades. Light optical microscopy (LOM) and electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) revealed in almost all cases a fine tempered lath martensite structure. Analyses of transmission electron micrographs, together with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) data, shows the precipitation state and spatial distribution of M_xC_y (M = Cr, W and Fe) and MX (M = V and/or Ta, X = C or N) carbonitrides within the matrix. The mechanical characterization of the six different steel grades was carried out by means of A50 tensile testing and Charpy tests on standard specimens (55 × 10 × 10 mm³). Lowering the carbon content and keeping the nitrogen content higher than 0.02 wt%, leads to a reduction of the ductile-to-brittle-transition-temperature (DBTT) in comparison with EUROFER97-2. The addition of tungsten further reduces the DBTT to - 94 °C, while maintaining good tensile strength and elongation.