S.

Turcott
October 6, 2021

885°F Embrittlement of
Duplex Stainless Steel
Duplex stainless steel has some advantages over austenitic stainless steels – such as its higher
corrosion resistance to chlorides. Yet this family of stainless steel also comes with some
constraints which designers, operators and inspectors should be aware of. Such as they are at
risk of two different forms of thermal degradation which can dramatically reduce their integrity.
The most commonly known is the formation of sigma phase which forms after tens of minutes
at temperatures between 1350°F to 1750°F (730°C to 950°C). A brief summary of the formation
and issues of sigma phase can be found here.

Yet the lesser-known degradation mode is that high-chromium stainless steels containing
ferrite can suffer embrittlement when exposed to the temperature range of between 600˚F and
1000˚F (315-540˚C). With the combination of high chromium and half their microstructure
comprising of ferrite, duplex stainless steels are included on the list of being at risk of what it is
called “885˚F Embrittlement”.

To demonstrate the effects of 885˚F embrittlement, 2205 duplex stainless steel was held at
885˚F (475˚C) for durations between one week and six months. Note that embrittlement
occurs fastest at this temperature. Table 1 illustrates how the original, new material had
toughness properties greater than 290ft-lb and beyond what a conventional impact tester
could rate. Yet after a week of being held at 885˚F (475˚C), the toughness was dramatically
reduced and fracture transitioned to a brittle nature. The degradation to the toughness
properties slowly worsened over longer durations at this critical temperature.

Table 1: 2205 Duplex SS Charpy Impact Test Results (Room Temperature)

Absorbed Energy (ft-lbs)
Sample
Measurements Avg.
New, As-Purchased >290 >290
885˚F, 1 Week 32, 40, 38 37
2205 SS
885˚F, 4 Week 32, 32, 30 31
885˚F, 6 Month 11, 12, 11 11

Demonstration of 885°F Embrittlement of 2205 Duplex Stainless Steel Page 1 of 4

 S. Turcott
October 6, 2021

To further illustrate the effects of the embrittlement, Figure 1 compares the Charpy specimens
after testing. Whereas the new, as-purchased material exhibited ample ductility and
deformation during Charpy impact testing, the heat treated samples had failed in brittle
manners with no notable deformation/lateral expansion.

885˚F, 885˚F, 885˚F,

New (no HT) 1 week 4 week 6 month

a) 2205 Duplex Charpy Samples

>290 ft-lbs, 100% Shear 37 ft-lbs (avg.)

No deformation
Significant
(i.e. effectively
deformation
brittle)
(i.e. ductile)

b) 2205, New (no HT), 10x c) 2205, 885˚F, 1 week, 10x

31 ft-lbs (avg.) 11 ft-lbs, 0% Shear

d) 2205, 885˚F, 4 week, 10x e) 2205, 885˚F, 6 month, 10x

Figure 1: Photograph and macrographs displaying the 2205 SS Charpy fracture surfaces. Note that the as-
purchased, new 2205 exhibited ample ductility – contributing to its high toughness. Yet the
Charpy samples made from material held had 885°F (475°C) failed in brittle manners without any
notable lateral expansion (deformation).

Demonstration of 885°F Embrittlement of 2205 Duplex Stainless Steel Page 2 of 4

 S. Turcott
October 6, 2021

To complicate the problem, 885°F embrittled duplex stainless steel is challenging to detect
through non-destructive inspection. The best methods to assess for its embrittlement is
destructive testing such as bend, tensile and/or Charpy testing. Although the embrittlement
phenomenon does result in a hardness increase, portable hardness testing alone is not usually
trusted for such a critical matter (Table 2.

Table 2: Rockwell Hardness Test Results

Measurements
Sample Avg. Hardness
(Rockwell)
As-Purchased 97, 98, 98, 97, 97 HRB 97 HRB
885˚F, 1 Week 34, 34, 34 HRC 34 HRC
2205 SS
885˚F, 4 Week 36, 36, 36 HRC 36 HRC
885˚F, 6 Month 36, 37, 36 HRC 37 HRC

Further confounding its detection, the embrittlement is attributed to the formation of the
brittle phase delta ferrite (α’) yet no changes to the microstructure can be observed by optical
microscopy. Figure 2 illustrates how even embrittled material appeared identical to the new
steel with superb toughness. Therefore, neither lab-based optical microscopy nor field
metallography can be used to detect or qualify the extent of 885°F embrittlement.

In summary, the use of duplex stainless steel has several advantages due to its corrosion
resistance and cost. Yet designers, manufacturers, operators and inspectors need to be aware
of its constraints – one being that exposure to temperatures above 600˚F (315˚C) begins to
cause embrittlement. Combined with the difficulty of inspecting for its degradation, the
concerns of 885˚F embrittlement limits the temperatures at which duplex steel can safely be
used.

Demonstration of 885°F Embrittlement of 2205 Duplex Stainless Steel Page 3 of 4

 S. Turcott
October 6, 2021

a) New (no HT), 400x b) New (no HT), 1000x

c) 885˚F, 1 week, 400x d) 885˚F, 1 week, 1000x

e) 885˚F, 4 week, 400x f) 885˚F, 4 week, 1000x

g) 885˚F, 6 month, 400x h) 885˚F, 6 month, 1000x

Figure 2: Micrographs comparing the structures of the new and heat treated 2205 duplex
SS samples. Although the material had become embrittled from exposure at
885°F (475°), no changes to the microstructure could be resolved by optical
microscopy. Electrolytically etched using sodium hydroxide (NaOH).

Demonstration of 885°F Embrittlement of 2205 Duplex Stainless Steel Page 4 of 4