The Influence of Heat Treatment Process on the Residual Ferrite in 304L Austenitic Stainless Steel Continuous Casting Slab

This study investigates the distribution characteristics of residual ferrite in 304L austenitic stainless steel continuous casting slab and the impact of heat treatment processes on its content. Through optical microscopy (OM), thermodynamic calculation software (Thermo–Calc) and heat treatment experiments, it is found that the residual ferrite content along the thickness direction at the width center of the slab exhibits an “M”-shaped distribution—lowest at the edges (approximately 3%) and highest near the center (approximately 13%). Within the triangular zone of the slab, the residual ferrite content varies between 1.8% and 12.2%, with its average along the thickness direction also showing an “M”-shaped distribution; along the width direction, the average residual ferrite content is lower at the edge positions, while within the internal triangular zone, it ranges between 8% and 10%. The ferrite morphology changes significantly across solidification zones: elongated in the surface fine-grain zone, lath-like and skeletal in the columnar grain zone and network-like in the central equiaxed grain zone. Thermodynamic calculations indicate that the solidification mode of the 304L continuous casting slab follows the FA mode. Heat treatment experiments conducted across the entire slab thickness demonstrate effective reduction in residual ferrite content; the optimal reduction is achieved at 1250 °C with a 48 min hold followed by air cooling while preserving the original “M”-shaped distribution characteristic after treatment. Increasing the heat treatment temperature, prolonging the holding time and reducing the cooling rate all contribute to reducing residual ferrite content.