The proposed research program is designed to examine the fundamentals of both interfacial carbide precipitation and precipitation of carbides within a grain matrix in 316 stainless steel. Researcher, including engineers and minority students at the University of Texas, will compare the geometrical and crystallographic features of 316 stainless steel with martensite nucleation in 304 stainless steel. Their task will be to determine whether specific interfacial sites for precipitation of carbides are also specific for martensite nucleation, and whether invariant strain intersections within the grains (which are specific to alpha prime-martensite nucleation in 304 stainless steel) are precipitation nucleation sites in 316 stainless steel. Practical consequences of developing a fundamental understanding of the deformation-induced sensitization and precipitation mechanisms will be examined in the context of potential alloy modification and modeling of potential hazards imposed by storing and transporting hazardous and corrosive wastes in stainless steel containers or pipeline systems.
