Caracterização magnética de aços ferríticos FeCrMo submetidos a degradação térmica

Abstract

Cr-Mo steels are widely used in pipes and components constantly subjected to degradation processes in the petrochemical industries. The exposure of these steels in harsh environments for extended periods when subjected to elevated temperatures lead to microstructural changes, such as carbide precipitation which a ffect its creep and corrosion resistance. Fe-Cr-Mo steels have ferromagnetic properties that can be investigated in order to provide information on these microstructural changes. In this work we analyzed the magnetic properties of Fe-9Cr-Xmo (X = 1%, 5%, 7% and 9%) alloys and the relation between these properties and related to the formation of precipitates. For this, the samples were fi rst subjected to solution heat treatments (except alloy containing 1% Mo) and then aged. The analysis of the magnetic properties was carried out by hysteresis loops obtained by vibrating sample magnetometry. The magnetic parameters analyzed were the coercive fi eld, the residual magnetization and the saturation magnetization. The precipitates were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and EDS spectra, and their distribution and average size were calculated through histograms obtained by the ImageJ software. The results indicate that the distribution and average size of the precipitates are related to the coercive field. In general, the increase in the density of precipitates contributes signi cantly to the increase in the magnetic hardness of the material. This mechanism is related to a process of pinning the magnetic domain walls. The saturation magnetization is a ffected both by the formation of precipitates and by the molybdenum content in the alloy.