COMPOSITION DESIGN OF 316LN AUSTENITIC STAINLESS STEEL FOR LIQUID-HYDROGEN STORAGE BASED ON HIGH-FLUX PREPARATION

Designing multi-element alloy compositions to achieve target performance was the first step in the development of modern materials, but the traditional trial-and-error experiment seriously restricted the development of new materials due to its low efficiency. In this investigation, the composition design of 316LN austenitic stainless steel for enhanced liquid-hydrogen storage using multi-crucible synchronous metallurgy in a high-flux experiment was proposed. Sixteen groups of as cast austenitic stainless steel samples with different compositions were smelted using high-flux material preparation. Then, through the observation of their microstructures, the chemical composition that best matched the target performance was finally selected. The results show that high-throughput experiments can greatly improve the efficiency of composition design optimization of new stainless steel products. At the same time, this investigation also analyzed the elemental composition of δ-ferrite and the method for effectively controlling the δ-ferrite content. In 316LN stainless steel, Cr and Mo were easily enriched in ferrite grains or grain boundaries, forming Cr and Mo enriched regions. This resulted in a gradient transition of Cr and Mo from the ferrite region to the austenite region, forming galvanic corrosion. In this study, the distribution of Cr, Mo and other elements in 316LN stainless steel was studied by means of a metallographic microscope, electron probe microanalysis, transmission electron microscope and scanning electron microscope. In addition, the relationship between the ferrite content and chemical composition was explored. Finally, it was determined that high-temperature, long-term sensitization treatment is an effective method for controlling the δ-ferrite content.