Elevated temperature tensile properties of borated 304 stainless steel: Effect of boride dispersion on strength and ductility

This paper has documented the increase in strain to fracture and yield strength obtained with Grade A versions of types 304B5 and 304B7 relative to their respective Grade B, counterparts. The apparent microstructural reason for these property increases is the finer dispersion of boride in the Grade A material, obtained by means of a Powder Metallurgy process, relative to the conventional Grade B material which is produced using an Ingot Metallurgy process. The area size distribution of borides can be well approximated using a log-normal distribution, with the largest boride particles in the Grade B material having areas in the range of 450--600 μm2. By comparison, the largest boride particles in the Grade A material have areas nearly an order of magnitude smaller than the largest particles in their Grade B counterparts. A Section III ASME B ampersand PV code case inquiry has been initiated for non-welded versions of 304B4A, 3045A and 3046A ,material