Solidification path and phase transformation in super-austenitic stainless steel UNS S31254

The solidification path and the sigma-phase precipitation mechanism of UNS S31254 alloy were studied on the basis of directional solidified experiments accompanied by scanning electron microscopy observations and energy dispersive X-ray a nalysis. The resulting temperatures of solidification paths and phase transformation were compared with Gulliver-Scheil and equilibrium calculations predicted using ThermoCalc (c) software. It was confirmed that the experimental solidification path was in agreement with the thermodynamic calculations. The complementarity of the results have made it possible to propose a solidification path and a sigma-phase precipitation mechanism for the UNS31254 steel.