Annealing effects on the microstructure and mechanical properties of hot-rolled 14Cr-ODS steel

The oxide dispersion strengthened ferritic steels with nominal composition (weight percent) of Fe–14Cr–2W-0.5Ti-0.06Si-0.2V-0.1Mn-0.05Ta-0.03C-0.3Y₂O₃ were fabricated by sol–gel method, mechanical alloying, and hot isostatic pressing techniques. The evolution of microstructure and mechanical properties of the hot-rolled specimens with heat treatment was investigated. Tensile strength and hardness of hot-rolled ODS steel are significantly enhanced due to the formation of mechanical twins and high density dislocations. Uniformly dispersed oxide particles (10–40 nm) and fine-grained structure (200–400 nm) are responsible for the superior mechanical properties of the hot-rolled specimen annealed between 650 °C and 850 °C. With further increasing annealing temperature, the grain size of the hot-rolled specimens increases while the size of oxide particles decreases, which leads to lower strength and hardness but better ductility. The tensile strength and total elongation of samples in the rolling direction are higher than those in the transverse direction after the same treatments owing to the grain anisotropy induced by the large mechanical deformation.