Plasticity and Metastability of AISI 204 Cu Austenitic Stainless Steel Sheets in Tension

A utensil grade metastable austenitic stainless steel, AISI 204 Cu was tested for plastic flow, tensile properties and strain-induced phase change, and martensite formed. Results were compared with AISI 304, a typical stainless steel usually used in similar applications. AISI 204 Cu showed higher strength properties and little lower ductility properties. Two different martensite phases, å-martensite (hexagonal close-packed, h.c.p.) and á’-martensite (body-centered cubic, b.c.c) have been observed. X-ray and TEM proved the phase change