Relationships Between Microstructure and Properties of Stainless Steels— A Few Working Examples

Microstructral characterisation is crucial for having a basic understanding of the relationship between the properties of stainless steels and their chemistry and processing to improve the existing steels and in search for new processes and new steels. Modern stainless steels are highly alloyed, and often have complex microstructures. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with high spatial resolution provides a powerful means to investigate the microstructure qualitatively and quantitatively, using techniques such as imaging, quantitative image analysis, selected-area electron diffraction (SAED), convergent-beam electron diffraction (CBED), X-ray energy-dispersive analysis (EDX), and EDX mapping. In the present report, a few working examples illustrate that microstructural characterisation is essential to bridge between the chemistry, process, and property of modern stainless steel.