Influence of microscopic strain heterogeneity on the formability of martensitic stainless steel

Both finite element modeling and mean field (Mori-Tanaka) modeling are used to predict the strain partitioning in the martensite-ferrite microstructure of an AISI 410 martensitic stainless steel. Numerical predictions reproduce experimental trends according to which macroscopic strength is increased when the dissolution of carbides leads to carbon enrichment of martensite. However, the increased strength contrast of ferrite and martensite favours strain localization and high stress triaxiality in ferrite, which in turn promotes ductile damage development