The effect of the nitrogen content on stacking-fault energy was measured in a series of Fe-21Cr-6Ni-9Mn alloys. Stacking-fault energies were deduced from node measurements using weak-beam imaging techniques in transmission electron microscopy. It was found that nitrogen additions lowered the stacking-fault energy from 53mJ/m2 at 0.21wt% to 33mJ/m2 at 0.24wt%. Further increases to 0.52wt% did not markedly change the stacking-fault energy. Carbon and silicon in the ranges of 0.010 to 0.060wt% and 0.17 to 0.25wt%, respectively, had no effect upon the stacking-fault energy. The shift in stacking-fault energy from 0.21 to 0.24wt%N was accompanied by a transition to a more planar plastic deformation mode. The sharp transition precluded the use of linear regression analysis to relate the stacking-fault energy to nitrogen content in this class of alloy.

The Effect of Nitrogen on Stacking Fault Energy of Fe-Ni-Cr-Mn Steels. R.E.Stoltz, J.B.Vander Sande: Metallurgical Transactions A, 1980, 11[6], 1033-7