The effect of N addition on the microstructure, tensile, and corrosion behaviors of CD4MCU (Fe-25Cr-5Ni-2.8Cu-2Mo) cast duplex stainless steel was examined in the present study. The slow strain rate tests were also conducted at a nominal strain rate of 1 ϫ 10 Ϫ6 /s in air and 3.5 pct NaCl ϩ 5 pct H 2 SO 4 solution for studying the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behavior. It was observed that the volume fraction of austenitic phase in CD4MCU alloy varied from 38 to 59 pct with increasing nitrogen content from 0 to 0.27 wt. pct. The tensile behavior of CD4MCU cast duplex stainless steels, which tended to vary significantly with different N contents, appeared to be strongly related to the volume changes in ferritic and austenitic phases, rather than the intrinsic N effect. The improvement in the resistance to general corrosion in 3.5 pct NaCl ϩ 5 pct H 2 SO 4 aqueous solution was notable with 0.13 pct N addition. The further improvement was not significant with further N addition. The resistance to SCC of CD4MCU cast duplex stainless steels in 3.5 pct NaCl ϩ 5 pct H 2 SO 4 aqueous solution, however, increased continuously with increasing N content. The enhancement in the SCC resistance was believed to be related to the volume fraction of globular austenitic colonies, which tended to act as barriers for the development of initial pitting cracks in the ferritic phase into the sharp ones.

The tensile and corrosion behaviors of 0.13 pct N-containing CD4MCU cast duplex stainless steels with different Cr contents ranging from 23 to 28 pct were examined in the present study. The polarization tests were conducted in 3.5 pct NaCl ϩ 5 pct H 2 SO 4 aqueous solution for general corrosion resistance, and the in-situ slow strain rate (SSR) tests were also conducted in air and 3.5 pct NaCl ϩ 5 pct H 2 SO 4 aqueous solution to quantify the resistance to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of the three materials. A substantial microstructural change in 0.13 pct N-containing CD4MCU cast duplex stainless steel was observed with different Cr contents, which in turn affected the tensile and corrosion behaviors significantly. Tensile behavior of 0.13 pct N-containing CD4MCU cast duplex stainless steel, for example, varied in a nonlinear manner with different Cr contents due to the volume change of hard ferritic phase and the presence of the second precipitates of soft austenitic phase in the ferrite matrix. The beneficial effect of Cr for improving the general corrosion and the SCC resistances was largely overshadowed by this variation in microstructural characteristics. The relationship between the microstructural evolution and the tensile and corrosion behavior of 0.13 pct N-containing CD4MCU cast duplex stainless steels with different Cr contents was discussed based on the optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographic and fractographic observations.