Microstructural evolution in AISI 304 stainless steel during directional solidification and subsequent solid-state transformation

The microstructural evolution during solidification and subsequent solid-state transformation of AISI 304 stainless steel is studied by directional solidification and quenching methods in this paper. The phase transformation sequence in the steel directionally solidified is that the precipitation of primary ferritic dendrites, ferrite–austenite eutectic reaction, and the direct formation of austenite occur in sequence during the directional solidification of the austenitic stainless steel. At the eutectic reaction stage, plenty of columnar and cellular eutectic colonies composed of the coupled growth of lamellar ferrite and austenite take place. During the course of subsequent solid-state transformation, austenite grows into ferrite gradually, resulting in the disappearing of eutectic colonies and thinning of primary ferritic dendrites, and dendrite cores of primary ferrite are retained as the final skeletal ferrite in the final microstructure.