New ferritic stainless steel for service temperatures up to 1050 ◦C utilizing intermetallic phase transformation

A large number of thermodynamic simulations has been used to design a new Nb-Ti dual stabilized ferritic stainless steel with excellent creep resistance at 1050 ◦C through an optimal volume fraction of Laves (η) phase stabilized by the alloying elements Nb, Si and Mo. By raising the dissolution temperature of the phase, which also corresponds to the onset of rapid grain growth, the steel will better maintain the mechanical properties at higher service temperature. Laves phase precipitates can also improve creep resistance through precipitation strengthening and grain boundary pinning depending on the dominant creep mechanism. Sag tests at high temperatures for the designed steel showed significantly better results compared to other ferritic stainless steels typically used in high temperature applications at present.