Non-isothermal Dissolution Modelling of Sigma Phase in Duplex Stainless Steels

In this work, the non-isothermal dissolution kinetics of the sigma phase in duplex stainless steels has been studied and modelled. A semi-empirical model is proposed to describe the kinetics of sigma phase precipitation/dissolution during continuous heating starting from the isothermal transformation kinetics. The proposed model, which presumes validity of the additivity rule, is validated by means of experimental investigations. A good agreement is found between experimental and analytical results.