Effect of silver and heat treatment on properties of 03Kh17N10M2 austenitic steel wire

The article examines the influence of various heat treatments, their temperature, as well as silver alloying on mechanical properties, phase composition and structure of steel wire from chromium-nickel-molybdenum austenitic stainless steel 03Kh17N10M2. Choice of the amount of silver alloying was based on previous studies of the antibacterial effect of modifying medical steels with silver. Since the antibacterial effect was confirmed on several bacterial strains, for the most efficient operation of alloys, it is necessary to determine the best temperature mode for working with them. Steel for the study was smelted and then transformed into wire through rolling, forging and drawing operations. On the obtained wire samples of different diameters with a silver content (0; 0.2 and 0.5 wt. %) mechanical tests were carried out to determine the elongation, yield strength and tensile strength. Various modes and temperatures of heat treatment were tested on wire of different diameters to study their effect on mechanical properties and structure. Microstructure of the wire samples subjected to heat treatment and obtained after drawing was investigated. A phase analysis was also carried out to determine the effect of silver in various quantities on austenitic steel. According to the results of the phase composition analysis, it was concluded that silver reduces the amount of gamma phase in steel, and this effect increases in proportion to the increase in silver amount. This change correlates with a slight drop in the metal ductility. At the same time, there are no significant changes in the strength characteristics and microstructure from the presence of silver.