High strength austenite steel having excellent cold work hardenability

Abstract

Disclosed herein is high strength austenitic steel having excellent cold work hardenability, consisting essentially of the following elements: C . . . 0.1-0.3 wt. %; Si . . . up to 1.5 wt. %; Mn . . . 16-22 wt. %; Cr . . . 14-18 wt. %; V . . . 0.8-1.7 wt. %; N . . . 0.3-0.6 wt. %; Ni . . . below 0.8 wt. %; and Fe and inevitable impurities . . . balance, with a proviso that the C-, N- and V-contents satisfy the following inequalities: C+N-(V/10).gtoreq.0.4 wt. %; and C+N+V/5.gtoreq.0.75 wt. %. The above austenitic steel may further contain at least one element selected from the group consisting of 0.05-1.0 wt. % of Ti and 0.05-1.0 wt. % of Nb. The above high strength austenitic steel has an extremely high 0.2% proof stress, exhibits excellent resistance to stress corrosion cracking and good hot workability, and maintains its non-magnetic properties.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.