Dependence on Their Mn and Cr Contents of the Microstructures, Melting Range, and High Temperature Creep Behaviors of Cantor’s Alloy and Versions Strengthened by MC Carbides

Decreasing Mn and increasing Cr in the cast Cantor’s alloys and in their MC–strengthened versions may have consequences on the refractoriness and on the high temperatureHigh temperature mechanical propertiesMechanical properties. Differential thermal analysis (DTA) was run to specify the temperaturesTemperature of starts and stops of melting and solidificationSolidification. 3 points flexural creep tests were carried out at several temperaturesTemperature in the [1000–1100 °C] range for several values of the induced maximal tensile stress varying between 10 and 20 MPa. It appears that, at constant contents in Mn and Cr, the solidus temperatureTemperature of the MC–containing alloys is lowered by regards to the MC–free ones, and also that, for the MC–free alloys as well as for the MC–containing ones, the solidus temperatureTemperature increases when the Mn content decreases and the Cr content increases. The creep tests evidence that no systematic effect of the Mn/Cr ratio on the creep resistance exists, neither for the MC–free alloys, nor for the MC–containing ones. In contrast, the MC–strengthened alloys are indisputably stronger against creep deformation than the MC–free alloys, regardless the Mn and Cr contents.