A magnetic study of the reversion of martensite alpha ' in a 304 stainlesssteel

alpha'(bcc) Martensite was introduced by room temperature plastic deformati on by rolling of an AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel. The amounts of mar tensite produced by rolling reductions of 18, 29 and 41% were quantified by magnetization saturation measurements. The reversion of the martensite for med (alpha'-->gamma) was investigated by means of thermomagnetic analysis. It was possible to determine the starting (A(s)) and final (A(f)) temperatu res of reversion for each deformation applied. In the isothermal treatments at 330 and 400 degrees C the amount of martensite increased, as previously observed by other authors. At 550 degrees C the amount of martensite decre ased, showing that between A(s) and A(f) the reversion may progress isother mally. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.