Martensitic Transformation in Ultrafine-Grained Stainless Steel AISI 304L Under Monotonic and Cyclic Loading

The monotonic and cyclic deformation behavior of ultrafine-grained metastable austenitic steel AISI 304L, produced by severe plastic deformation, was investigated. Under monotonic loading, the martensitic phase transformation in the ultrafine-grained state is strongly favored. Under cyclic loading, the martensitic transformation behavior is similar to the coarse-grained condition, but the cyclic stress response is three times larger for the ultrafine-grained condition.