Part XII – December 1968 – Papers - The Effect of Alloying Elements on the Solubility of Nitrogen in Liquid Iron-Chromium-Nickel Alloys

The effect of added alloying elements on the solubility of nitrogen in a liquid alloy of 74 wt pct Fe. 18 wt pct Cr, and 8 wt pct Ni has been studied. At 1600°C and 1 atm nitrogen pressure, aluminum, chromium, columbium, manganese, molybdenum, tantalum, and vanadium increase the solubility of nitrogen in the liquid 18 Cr-8 Ni alloy, whereas additions of cobalt, copper, nickel, silicon, tin, and tungsten decrease the solubility. Interaction parameters based on a constant ratio of iron, chromium , and nickel have been used to quantitatively define the changes in nitrogen solubility. INVESTIGATIONS on the solubility of nitrogen in liquid iron have usually treated the pure metal, and often the influence of a single added element. Pehlke and Elliott1 carried out a comprehensive study on the influence of alloying elements on nitrogen solubility in liquid iron, and compared their results with previous studies. Turnock and pehlke2 have recently reported a study on the solubility of nitrogen in multicomponent liquid iron alloys. The original interaction parameter proposed by wagner3 was successfully employed in these studies. The need for obtaining information on the gas solubility in more complex alloys is indicated by the increasingly significant role played by dissolved gases in the processing of iron-based materials. The commercial stainless steels, for example, represent an area where data on nitrogen solubilities are required as a function of composition, temperature, and gas pressure. The nitrogen solubility in liquid Fe-Cr-Ni alloys has been studied by Humbert and Elliott.4 Their investigation covered the entire ternary system, and attempted to use data from binary alloys to predict nitrogen contents in liquid ternary alloys. Langenberg,5 using a method developed by Morris and buehl,6 calculated the nitrogen solubilities in multicomponent iron alloys from data available on binary iron alloys at 1600°C. Nelson,7 using a regular-solution model, extended this prediction to include the effect of temperature. Chipman and corrigan8 and Turnock and pehlke2 also employed empirical methods to calculate nitrogen solubilities in liquid multicomponent iron alloys. In order to provide a basis for predicting nitrogen solubility in liquid stainless steels, and to extend the data available for thermochemically modeling systems of this type, the following investigation was carried out. The study involved measupements of nitrogen solubility in a nondilute alloy and examination of the influence of a small addition of an alloying element on the nitrogen solubility. The study was focused on a very narrow range Of composition in the vicinity of 18 wt pct Cr-8 wt pct Ni (herein referred to as 18-8) with special emphasis on the change of.nitrogen solubility with the addition of a fourth metallic element. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE A Sieverts' apparatus, described previously,1,2 was used in this investigation. The charge materials were contained in a recrystallized alumina crucible and inductively melted. Additions were dropped from a glass side-arm. All materials were hydrogen-refined and vacuum-treated to eliminate or minimize the oxygen content. The source and purity of materials is given in Table I. The initial metallic charge was heated to approximately 1000°C and held under vacuum for 30 to 45 min as a means for removing hydrogen and adsorbed gases. Argon was used as the calibrating gas to determine the "hot volume". The average hot volume of the system was approximately 50 cu cm STP and a few experimental runs were made using a reaction bulb with a hot volume of 80 cu cm. The temperature range studied was from 1550° to 1700°C and the temperature was measured optically. THEORETICAL PRINCIPLES General Discussion. Nitrogen dissolves in liquid iron alloys according to the reaction: 1/2N2(g) = N (wt pct in solution) [l] The equilibrium constant, K1, for this reaction is written as: