Stainless Steels: Duplex

As their name implies, duplex stainless steels are

stainless steels containing two primary phases, f.c.c
austenite and b.c.c. ferrite. These alloys were first
observed in the 1920s as an outgrowth of studies on
austenitic stainless steels. Their balance of good
corrosion and mechanical properties has made them
an important part of the stainless steel family of alloys.

1. Development of Microstructure
The development of a duplex microstructure is a
natural outgrowth of the metallurgy of the FeCrNi
system, which is the basis of all stainless steels. This is
illustrated in Fig. 1, which shows the 70 wt.% Fe
isopleth for the FeCrNi system, which is approximately the amount of iron present in most stainless
steels. The austenite is referred to as the phase and

the ferrite as . (In wrought ferritic stainless steels, the

ferrite is typically referred to as , and this nomenclature is also often used in the duplex stainless steel
literature.) The more chromium in the alloy, the more
ferrite will be present, and the more nickel, the more
austenite will be present. Figure 2 shows a typical
microstructure for a duplex stainless steel. Here the
ferrite is etched darker than the austenite and is
denoted as .
Most duplex stainless steels initially solidify as ,
with the phase developing on cooling or during
working in the j phase field. The amount and
morphology of austenite and ferrite depends upon the
exact composition of the alloy, the cooling rate after
solidification, the annealing temperature, and the
processing conditions. Alloying elements in addition
to iron, chromium, and nickel also play a role in
determining the amount of ferrite that can be developed. The exact effectiveness of any element in
stabilizing ferrite or austenite varies from study to
study, depending upon the exact alloy composition,
processing, and heat treatment. Molybdenum, silicon,
niobium, aluminum, and titanium stabilize ferrite, and
manganese, copper, carbon, and nitrogen stabilize
austenite. Carbon and nitrogen are particularly potent
austenite stabilizers, being 1535 times more effective
than nickel (on a wt.% basis). The weighing factors for
the other elements, for austenite or ferrite stabilization,
are about 0.253.0 (also on a wt.% basis relative to
nickel or chromium).
Duplex stainless
steels typically
contain
2070 vol.% ferrite. They can exist in either wrought
or cast forms. In addition, castings which are
nominally considered as being austenitic often contain
540 vol.% ferrite, and are thus strictly speaking
duplex stainless steels, although they are generally not
referred to as such. Austenitic stainless steel weld metal
is also almost always duplex, typically containing
520 vol.% ferrite. In the case of castings and weld
metal, the ferrite is present primarily to prevent hot
cracking during solidification. In the case of those
alloys that are termed duplex, the ferrite is present
because of its influence on corrosion and mechanical
properties.

2. Development of Additional Phases

Figure 1
Pseudobinary diagram showing the 70% isoplethal section
of the FeCrNi phase diagram (reproduced by permission
of EDP Sciences from Stainless Steels, 1993, pp. 61359).

Duplex stainless steels can contain many phases in

addition to austenite and ferrite. The development of
these phases, and the way various alloying elements
influence this development, is illustrated in Fig. 3. For
the most part, the phases shown in Fig. 3 embrittle the
alloy without strengthening it and should therefore be
avoided. This is particularly true for and phases.
The exception is the h phase, which is a chromiumrich b.c.c. phase that strengthens the ferrite as well as
reduces its ductility. As such, duplex stainless steels are
sometimes deliberately heat treated to produce some
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Stainless Steels: Duplex

annealing is also required to prevent undesirable
precipitates from developing.
3. Alloy Properties and Uses

Figure 2
Typical duplex microstructure (reproduced by permission
of ASM International from Duplex Stainless Steels, 1983,
pp. 693756).

Figure 3
Schematic representation of the possible precipitates in
duplex stainless steels (reproduced by permission of EDP
Sciences from Duplex Stainless Steels 91, 1991, pp.
348).

h. This phase can develop by either nucleation and

growth or by spinodal decomposition, depending
upon the composition of the alloy. The spinodal
decomposition into chromium- and iron-rich regions
also strengthens the ferrite.
Many of the phases illustrated in Fig. 3 develop in
the ferrite or at the ferrite\austenite boundaries, so the
amount and morphology of the ferrite determine the
degree to which the alloy properties are degraded.
Figure 3 shows the temperature ranges at which these
phases form, and this sets limits on the temperature
ranges at which these alloys can be fabricated or used.
Rapid cooling from high-temperature processing or
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The chief reasons for using duplex stainless steels are

their good resistance to oxidation, corrosion, and
stress corrosionall this while maintaining superior
mechanical properties. These alloys generally exhibit
the same, or lower, general corrosion rates as austenitic stainless steels in dilute sulfuric acid. This is also
true in dilute hydrochloric acid, and in the caustic
solutions encountered in the pulp and paper industry.
Some of these alloys are also applicable for exposure
to organic acids. Many of these alloys possess superior
pitting and crevice corrosion resistance, compared
with austenitic stainless steels. Duplex stainless steels
possess superior resistance to both transgranular and
intergranular stress corrosion cracking. The exact
degree to which any of these alloys is resistant to any
form of corrosion or stress corrosion depends upon its
composition, microstructure, and the exact nature of
the solution and solution temperature to which it is
exposed.
Duplex stainless steels also possess excellent mechanical properties, and are consequently sometimes
utilized instead of austenitic or ferritic stainless steels.
Duplex steels generally possess higher yield and
ultimate tensile strengths than most austenitic or
ferritic stainless steels. The degree to which this is so
depends not only on the alloy composition, but also on
the way that it is processed. This improved strength is
generally achieved without compromising the toughness of the alloy, providing that the alloy does not
contain any of the deleterious phases shown in Fig. 3.
The toughness of ferrite is decreased with decreasing
temperatures but, being present only as a constituent
of a two-phase alloy, this not does not produce as
sharp a ductile-to-brittle transition as in ferritic stainless steels. The higher the ferrite content, the sharper
the ductile-to-brittle transition.
Ferrite has a smaller expansion coefficient and larger
thermal conductivity than austenite, so the more
ferrite that is present, the lower will be the coefficient
of expansion and the greater the thermal conductivity
of the duplex stainless steel. Duplex stainless steels are
generally very weldable; in fact, austenitic stainless
steels utilize duplex weld metal.
See also: Stainless Steels: Martensitic; Ferritic
Stainless Steels; Austenitic Stainless Steels; Stainless
Steels: Cast
Bibliography
Charles J, Bernhardsson S (eds.) 1991 Duplex Stainless Steels
91. Les Editions de Physique, Les Ulis, France
Charles J 1991 The duplex stainless steels: materials to meet your

Stainless Steels: Duplex

needs. In: Charles J, Bernhardsson S (eds.) Duplex Stainless
Steels 91. Les Editions de Physique, Les Ulis, France, pp.
348
Desestret A, Charles J 1993 The duplex stainless steels. In:
Lacombe P, Baroux B, Beranger G (eds.) Stainless Steels. Les
Editions de Physique, Les Ulis, France, pp. 61359
Duplex Stainless Steels 94 1994 TWI, Glasgow, UK
Duplex Stainless Steels 86 1986 Nederlands Instituut voor
Lastechniek, The Hague

Gunn R N 1997 Duplex Stainless Steels. Abington Publishing,

Cambridge, UK
Lula R A (ed.) 1983 Duplex Stainless Steels. American Society
for Metals, Metals Park, OH
Solomon H D, Devine T M Jr. 1983 Duplex stainless steelsa
tale of two phases. In: Lula R A (ed.) Duplex Stainless Steels.
American Society for Metals, Metals Park, OH, pp. 693756

H. D. Solomon

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