Martensite Formation and Dynamic Recrystallization in Cold Sprayed SS304L

In this study, a comprehensive set of characterization techniques are employed to demonstrate that the cold spray deposition process can result in a significant increase in martensite in austenitic stainless steel. The lack of consensus in the literature on the formation of strain-induced martensite in cold spray can be attributed to the diverse processing conditions and measurement techniques used in different studies. In this work, EBSD, neutron diffraction, TEM imaging, and precession electron diffraction were used in combination to examine whether strain-induced martensite is formed during cold spray deposition of 304L stainless steel powder and to give further insight into possible mechanisms controlling this phenomenon. Cold spray was performed at both 350 °C and room temperature (25 °C) to investigate the effects of spray temperature on the martensite transformation. It is shown that the strain-induced martensite formation is significantly suppressed compared to that which would be expected for comparable levels of plastic strain at quasi-static strain rates. Additionally, the spray gas temperature is shown to directly impact the microstructure formed at the prior particle interface and the formation of dynamically recrystallized regions.