Correlation of Fe/Cr phase decomposition process and age-hardening in Fe–15Cr ferritic alloys

The effects of thermal aging on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Fe–15Cr ferritic model alloys were investigated by TEM examinations, micro-hardness measurements and tensile tests. The materials used in this work were Fe–15Cr, Fe–15Cr–C and Fe–15Cr–X alloys, where X refers to Si, Mn and Ni to simulate a pressure vessel steel. Specimens were isothermally aged at 475 °C up to 5000 h. Thermal aging causes a significant increase in the hardness and strength. An almost twice larger hardening is required for embrittlement of Fe–15Cr–X relative to Fe–15Cr. The age-hardening is mainly due to the formation of Cr-rich α′ precipitates, while the addition of minor elements has a small effect on the saturation level of age-hardening. The correlation of phase decomposition process and age-hardening in Fe–15Cr alloy was interpreted by dispersion strengthened models